This day is a big day. It means
more than just a president being sworn into office. Today marks a grand step in
the right direction. It marks the day that people who look like me, take a
closer step towards being accepted as citizens who are no different from other
citizens. It marks the day that the nation said, loudly, that we want and
embrace a new “change.” Today means that people of darker skin descent, can
take a step closer in being seen as humans rather than the list of stereotypes that
has held many of us back. This day is special to me, because I, as a Black man,
can be taken just a little more serious among many of my White counterparts.
Now, for many who have never been
called a derogatory racial slur, been denied seating because of the color of your
skin, been presumed guilty simple because you are “dark,” been seen as “less
than” because some scientist has labeled your ethnic group that way, been told you
“cannot” because your ancestors never have, or have been degraded through
subtle racism’s which deteriorates the very fabric in which your ethnicity sits
on, this day might not mean as much. However, for “us”— meaning African
American people, Puerto Rican people, Mexican people, Korean people,
Euro-American people, African people, and any one else who identifies with
their ethnic background and culture—this day means that we take a closer step towards “all men created
equal…” and realize that people of darker persuasion can be “all they
can be.”
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