America & the Struggle to Earn Peace Through Pain

By: Mariah Mosby-Gee                                                                                             

NNPA    

I was seven years old when the Michael Brown was murdered by a cop. I will never forget watching the news that morning when the story came on about an 18-year-old African-American young man who had been shot with his hands up by a Caucasian American cop on August 9th, 2014 in Ferguson Missouri.  I barely understood what had happened but , all I could do was cry and ask my mother why does this happen so often to innocent people that look like me?

Racism has always been a struggle. We should never down each other and treat others different because of their skin or religion. It was never okay and it still isn't okay to be racist or say a racial slur because it's very offensive. “I think that race was something made up by society to put down people who are different from themselves.  I feel that once people do not have equality but equity, then race may not play a factor in the hatred that the world's people give out.” said Brittany London 6th grader at Northwest Middle School. We should all put race aside and focus on personality and just treat others on how you feel then the world would be a little more peaceful.

People have made a change in inequality in the United States, and have stepped up to the plate over the years. That has made a big change on the perspective of America .“Martin Luther King Jr.,  Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, Michelle Obama, Tupac Shakur, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., they were all regular people who witnessed inequality and decided to do something about it.” Brittany said. They have made an impact on my life as well as some others. They’ve all made  a change in America and shown the world could be better if we all treat others with kindness. They are role models and show kids today that the world can change, and anybody can make it happen.

Disney princesses, cartoon characters should be different races. Kids should be able to watch TV and see races like their own and say I could be them I want to grow up to be them.  There are commercials with just one race and one person from a different race, but we all have an opinion on it. “Disney's Princesses are almost all white, only a few of them are black or other races. There should be multicultural cartoons to show children that you do not have to be white to be a princess.”  Brittany said. Little girls should be able to say she looks like me I want to be just like her, instead of thinking you have to be a different race to be adventurous, a princess, or to be pretty and so on.

We are all different,  we have different personalities that others should focus on instead of defining us by our skin and predicting how we are as a person.

We should all be accepted and treated equally and feel comfortable in our own country and skin.  We should accept people who come here from different places around the world, and treat them with respect. Love one another and treat each other how you want to be treated.