Everyone around our community is aware that although lots of things have been done throughout the decades to resolve racism in our country, it is not completely resolved. I think there is most definitely a racial problem at Bowie, but I may be thinking something different than you assume.

Everyone knows the issues with race against African-American people, or minorities in general throughout history, and many things have been done to reduce the segregation, even though it’s not completely gone.

In my opinion though, now there is an issue at our school with racism against white people as well. Racism by definition is the discrimination of a different race for various reasons, and that is not limited to just racism from white to black people, which is what I think people are brainwashed into thinking.

Yes, there is more history to back up the slavery and horrible discrimination against blacks in the past, but now, racism is disguised in many different forms throughout our community, and I don’t think people at school are really realizing how important it is to fully accept one another, no matter our skin color.

In schools and on social media, there is always various posts or complaints against white people not being able to do or wear something “because they’re white.” Most people may take it jokingly, and I’m not one to say that I don’t joke around about a lot of things, but instances like that are most definitely racism in disguise.

I also feel like staff members and teachers do not address it enough, which allows others to keep being racist. If someone white were to say something negative about someone of color, the world would end; that person would be suspended, and maybe even expelled, but because of the brainwashing I have been talking about, no one really catches the discrimination in the other direction in my opinion.

I also know that a lot of people that will read this will argue that black people maybe should be allowed to make those jokes because of what happened to their culture in the past, but the truth is, it’s a new generation. I want our generation to be different than the one’s centuries before, and that begins with all of us accepting one another no matter what we look like.

People insist that the community is changing for the better and I agree with that, but I also feel like every time we take two steps forward, we take another step backward. Personally, I don’t feel that discriminated, but I know others that certainly are. I just don’t understand why it’s not as important when a white person is discriminated against versus a black person. I thought we all had equal rights.

My point is, I believe that all of us at school should be treated equally, and I feel like that concept is being overlooked. Racism is one big problem and is not just directed from white to black people, and I think students and staff need to keep a more open mind on this topic for the benefit of all of us here at Bowie.