Parents & school districts must educate children on the reality of modern-day racism
As children and teenagers become more exposed to racism in the news and media, parents and school districts should help children understand how racism still affects the twenty-first century.
If more young people understood that racism is a serious issue and that they should work to eliminate it, racial prejudice and bias would start to dwindle in the country.
Instead of teaching the severity of how racism still affects America, many parents and teachers do not address the issue. By not addressing the issue with their children, many young people get older and see the Black Lives Matter and AAPI Unity protests as ridiculous.
These uneducated young people then start to belittle activist organizations and protests.
On April 28, Kaila, the head organizer for Skate to End Hate, was harassed by a group of young skater boys. She filmed the encounter and captured the racist remarks the boys shouted at her.
She has since pressed charges on the boys. Out of concern for safety and while the investigation is ongoing, the organizer asked to only be referred to by her first name or by the Instagram handle @tallcabbagegirl .
As Kaila was scouting Tustin Legacy Skate Park for a location for an upcoming protest, a mob of young skater boys surrounded her and tried to intimidate the activist.
Kaila’s video on instagram show that the boys knew her from social media, and planned to attack her. The video also shows the boys staging an attack, where they would claim Kaila was the aggressor.
Kaila’s video also showed that they pulled back their eyes to make fun of her being an Asian woman and shout racists remarks at her.
While the boys should know better than to intimidate or attack a woman, their parents and teachers are to blame for their behavior.
If their educators and parents had taught them that making fun of a person because of their race is not okay, they would not have harassed Kaila.
If young people do not learn about the severity of racism in America, they will continue to harass people because of their race. They will continue to be insensitive to minority communities.
The best way to end racism in America is to educate young people on how racial bias and prejudice has created a large divide in the country.
By encouraging the nation’s youth on how to treat every equally and to get involved in ending systemic racism, America can end its legacy of discimination.
