If you think racism doesn’t exist
SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 ~ JORDAN WOMACK
So many times I’ve seen people say racism is not an issue anymore. So many times I’ve been
told I’m living in the past. So many times I’ve been blown off about it because “it’s 2017 that’s
over with.” I’m a young mixed kid who was raised on the southside of Oklahoma City….not a
pretty place. My dad died when I was young in a gang related incident, and I have five brothers
and sisters with all different dads. I guess you could say I come from a rough family. My
grandma took my little brother and I when I was 12. I’m a junior at a rural public school where
everyone on my mom’s side of the family has graduated from. I’m focusing on being a physical
therapist after high school and furthering my education in sports medicine. I’ve been labeled as
many things just because of how I grew up. If you think racism doesn’t haunt this world today,
then you have yet to open your eyes to one of America’s underlying issues. I’ve talked to people,
even family, who have told me racism is no longer an issue, but they haven’t encountered it first
hand like I have.
Growing up my grandma didn’t really talk to me much about race. It was never something we
really addressed. But I feel like some of the reasoning behind that is because she is white. If I
was white like her, would I even know about the troubles that black people face just because of
