Heather was dating a black boy and neither of their parents accepted it and were not allowed at each others house. Her dad out right stated that he wanted to keep races separate. He tried to take away her phone, forbidding her to see him, etc in order to break it up. He did state however that he would accept it if he was who she really wanted to be with, really? It didn't look that way! His parents were just as unsympathetic from what I saw. It is really a shame that parents cannot look past outward appearances and give these two a chance. Additionally, Heather and her boyfriend drove separately to the prom, probably because they were not allowed at each others houses to go together. She also stated that she had lost friends because she was dating a black boy. Yet, while at the prom- they got the biggest cheer from their peers when walking across the stage together. Their relationship will be tested everyday in a town like Charleston.
Jessica was a little spit fire in that, she told you how it was and that was that. Her parental relationships seemed very dysfunctional which appeared to make her a stronger girl. She was very proud to say that she had black friends, and that color didn't matter to her. She was labeled negatively in her town because of it. As well, she claimed that businesses wouldn't hire her due to the fact that she associated with black people. I have a feeling this is exaggerated, but looking at the town, I am not so sure. Her stepfather even threatened to kill one of her black friends because he was at her house.
I think that it is easy for my generation to say that we grew up color blind, but I was not one of them. The biggest thing that makes people mad in my hometown is that buses of children are being sent to our schools from inner city Milwaukee. The taxes where my parents live are really expensive, and most of that goes toward the school system. My mom lived in a town that tried integration, where some of the inner city kids were sent to the suburbs, and vice versa. My mom was one of the students that was sent to the downtown location and she faced racism every day. She was shoved down the halls by black students and witnessed multiple fights where knives, hair picks, and other weapons were pulled on students. She was all of 100lbs soaking wet and was not able to stand up for herself, and she has a lot of built up anger towards black people because of it. My mom is really mad for the fact that she moved away from that city so that her kids did not have to go through that and they are going to do it in the city she moved to. I think that if that decision is made to integrate my old high school, my parents will move.
However, I keep trying to tell my parents that it is because of white suburbs that integration is happening. When white people move out of cities and take businesses with them, what are left are people who have no resources and no source of income. If businesses were opened up downtown Milwaukee, more jobs would be available which allows for an expendable income for its citizens. As well, these school systems are failing and no one wants to teach for them because of the low wages and sketchy neighborhoods. Yet, one of our elementary schools had flat screen TVs in their cafeteria with announcements and the lunch menu playing. How can you say that his is a necessary purchase for the school? If that money was put into fixing up school systems downtown- there wouldn't be this need to send the inner city kids to the suburbs.
I think that my parents generation is a big set back for many equality changes and hopefully my generation can be the beginning to fixing these problems.
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