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A Discrimination Event that Changed my Life

In the right of the present-day tractions between people from different communities, mainly in the United States, I feel it is worthy of sharing my experience with discrimination and how the experience helped me to perceive the world from a different perspective. Instances that we face in life are two-sides; they can either be good or bad, and this is what has particularly made my journey as a student and a community member impressive. Having grown up in a fairly mixed, culturally mixed community, I think I have had all types of challenges that people from different communities face. As a standard practice in any contemporary society, it is quite obvious to notice children from poor neighbourhoods and those from affluent suburbs. I was one of those who come from in-between, and most of my friends were from middle and low-class. I recall I was only 12 when my perception about cultural integration and coexistence completely changed. Discrimination meted in my friend made me realized we are human beings of equal abilities, and we can achieve what we want if we believe and work for it despite colour difference.

Since the age of 8, I have had friends from different cultural backgrounds. I have never had a problem perceiving the black or the white as distinct; to me, what I was more interested in is the personal qualities and mannerism of my acquittances because they would also influence behaviour. I was in grade 7 when Johnnie and I walked across our regular route towards the playing ground. I was exiting that we were to play a football game with other classmates from the neighbouring community. One characteristic of our competitors was that they were from well-to-do families, a privilege that I cannot positively say we shared very well. Their languages were more 'advanced;' more of arrogance rather than 'superior.' But the business of the day was to play a friendly match.

However, sooner after arriving at the pitch, the 'rich kids' started taunting my friend, on the basis of his 'blackness' and the fact that he did not have a proper sporting shoe. Standing up for my friend when he was not able to defend himself against the harsh reality was the bravest...