Reflections on StitchCast Studio Episode XI “Decoding Racism”
By Jada, Story Stitchers STL Youth Jobs 2020 Intern
Several generations back, our African American ancestors fought and protected for our freedom. They took beatings, risked their freedom, and risked their lives for us to be able to be free. Dr. Martin Luther King once had a dream that black and white kids would one day be able to come together and be accepted by one another. Though we have made progress, we still have a lot of work to do.
Today, blacks no longer face the problem of segregation or seeing “whites only” signs, but we are still being killed because of racism. You can turn on the TV and hear about several cases where a black person has been killed due to police brutality, hate crimes, or discrimination. What saddens me the most is that we still face the problems that the generations before us fought to erase for us. We are taught to not trust the police and sometimes not trust people of other races— but it shouldn’t have to be that way.
The podcast “Decoding Racism” covered the current protests that are taking place in the year 2020. It highlighted some of the issues that blacks have been having for many years. “I really, really hope and pray that we can come to love ourselves enough that we will be able to fully love others the way they are”, someone stated in the podcast. I believe this is an important statement and I strongly agree with it. I really hope that one day our communities and different cultures will learn how to love, which will result in improving lives and this world that we live in.
After reading this and listening to the podcast I hope that people will see the importance of being more loving and understanding of others. With doing so there will be less hate crime and police brutality taking place. Even if this generation doesn’t get to see the results and benefits of this potential change, hopefully the next generation will.
