People Of Color Stand Up!
There are still more men of color in jail than any other group of men. There are still more women of color in jail. You like me might be asking yourself: "Why?". Well some of the reasons are obvious while others are hard to pin point. This is what I think:
People of color have less money:
We know that statistically people of color make less money hence they often cannot afford to pay a good attorney. OJ Simpson who is an exception had rock star attorneys and got off with murder. Most of us don't have that kind of money and qualifying for a free attorney means you have to be willing to sell your home. If you own a home you will not be assigned an attorney because it is expected that you will sell your home. People of color simply cannot afford to face this flawed system and be able to intimidate authority the way that the rich can. The threat of being sued in itself can sway a judge big time when a high powered attorney is involved.
People of color are racially profiled often:
It has been established that people of color are profiled by the police. There is this perception that if you are a person of color you may be up to no good. I recall when I was driving around in my BMW and was stopped more than once. The first question I was asked was: "is this your car". The police assumed it was not mine and that I may have stolen it. I was even stopped at random one night while parking my car and asked about the car and if it belonged to me. Racial profiling is one of the reasons that people of color are targeted and hence prosecuted for something minor.
People of color are not treated the same way as whites:
Let's be honest. People of color are mistreated solely based on their race and color. It is not the same to be a college graduate that is Latino while on the other hand being white and educated. In fact it is often assumed that we are not educated. I cannot say how surprised people are when I tell them I have three degrees. When people note I do not have an accent they would rather I be Italian than Latino. In fact when I was younger I simply allowed people to believe that. Ironically I found out I am part Italian but I look very Latino. The bottom line is that we don't treat us the same way as whites. It does not look like it will end end time soon so our job is to protect ourselves and our children by doing all that we can to avoid it and to stop it. Until there is an honest dialog we wont' see an end to this dilemma.
People of color don't have the experience needed and the warning signs to look for:
We are not raised to be suspicious and to know the signs of racism and discrimination. We must prepare our children for the reality that there are many people who judge us and will mistreat us based on our race and color. We are not preparing our children for the reality of racism. We are not warning our children so that they know what to look for and to protect themselves from it.
People of color, stand up! All people stand up! Be in your truth about racism and the reality of discrimination based on our color. The only way that this will end is if we are in unity and we all fight for the rights of everyone. No it is not the same to be gay, bisexual, transgender or asexual unless you are a person of color. Even then whites are in a priviledged class. We need only look at very light skinned white looking Latinos to understand that it is about color. Some of us have even passed for white and allowed others to think we are white to avoid the pain or the horrible comments made by bigots. People of color, stand up and defend yourself and be collaborative with others who are struggling even if you are not one of them. Stop the self-hate. Stop the denial. Stop eliminating your language and your culture. Teach your children Spanish. Love who you are. Love others no matter what their background. Don't fall into the trap of doing what others do to you. Stand up people of color! Be who you are and don't apologize for it.
People of color have less money:
We know that statistically people of color make less money hence they often cannot afford to pay a good attorney. OJ Simpson who is an exception had rock star attorneys and got off with murder. Most of us don't have that kind of money and qualifying for a free attorney means you have to be willing to sell your home. If you own a home you will not be assigned an attorney because it is expected that you will sell your home. People of color simply cannot afford to face this flawed system and be able to intimidate authority the way that the rich can. The threat of being sued in itself can sway a judge big time when a high powered attorney is involved.
People of color are racially profiled often:
It has been established that people of color are profiled by the police. There is this perception that if you are a person of color you may be up to no good. I recall when I was driving around in my BMW and was stopped more than once. The first question I was asked was: "is this your car". The police assumed it was not mine and that I may have stolen it. I was even stopped at random one night while parking my car and asked about the car and if it belonged to me. Racial profiling is one of the reasons that people of color are targeted and hence prosecuted for something minor.
People of color are not treated the same way as whites:
Let's be honest. People of color are mistreated solely based on their race and color. It is not the same to be a college graduate that is Latino while on the other hand being white and educated. In fact it is often assumed that we are not educated. I cannot say how surprised people are when I tell them I have three degrees. When people note I do not have an accent they would rather I be Italian than Latino. In fact when I was younger I simply allowed people to believe that. Ironically I found out I am part Italian but I look very Latino. The bottom line is that we don't treat us the same way as whites. It does not look like it will end end time soon so our job is to protect ourselves and our children by doing all that we can to avoid it and to stop it. Until there is an honest dialog we wont' see an end to this dilemma.
People of color don't have the experience needed and the warning signs to look for:
We are not raised to be suspicious and to know the signs of racism and discrimination. We must prepare our children for the reality that there are many people who judge us and will mistreat us based on our race and color. We are not preparing our children for the reality of racism. We are not warning our children so that they know what to look for and to protect themselves from it.
People of color, stand up! All people stand up! Be in your truth about racism and the reality of discrimination based on our color. The only way that this will end is if we are in unity and we all fight for the rights of everyone. No it is not the same to be gay, bisexual, transgender or asexual unless you are a person of color. Even then whites are in a priviledged class. We need only look at very light skinned white looking Latinos to understand that it is about color. Some of us have even passed for white and allowed others to think we are white to avoid the pain or the horrible comments made by bigots. People of color, stand up and defend yourself and be collaborative with others who are struggling even if you are not one of them. Stop the self-hate. Stop the denial. Stop eliminating your language and your culture. Teach your children Spanish. Love who you are. Love others no matter what their background. Don't fall into the trap of doing what others do to you. Stand up people of color! Be who you are and don't apologize for it.
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