Featured Artwork: Alice Skinner

Scrolling through social media these last few weeks has brought so many things to my attention. I’ve become more aware of the prevalent racist society that we live in, the insensitive laws and history this country has died for, as well as the countless videos and pictures of people constantly facing racism.

But in the past couple of days, I have also had to take a break from social media to remove myself from everything going on for the sake of my mental health. With everything going on, I hadn’t had time to reflect and take a break. Until a couple of days ago, I broke my own rule when I found myself scrolling through Instagram, and a post caught my eye. The post stated how big of a privilege it is to be able to delete social media and not have to worry about it. Reality hit me as I realized how I was easily able to remove myself from social media for my well-being. It did not cross my mind how fellow Black people cannot easily do that, and the amount of privilege I have to not have to constantly deal with the racist society we live in.

Even as a person of color myself, I believe I have more privilege as compared to my fellow Black Americans, who are constantly harassed everyday solely because of their darker skin.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had countless conversations about discrimination against the Black community, intentionally or unknowingly. The issue, as well as the impact of racism, is quite substantial in the society we live in today. Unfortunately, this issue won’t go away anytime soon if we don’t educate other people about it and hold them accountable for their actions. So as a person of color, how can you help?  The most important step is reflecting and identifying racism in your own household. Often, colorism is a culprit when it comes to racism and discrimination within your own race.

Educating yourself and having conversations with friends and family is an important step, and much needed during these times. More conversations need to happen to fight racism as well as advocating for equal rights.

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For more information on ways to help, please visit DoSomething.org.