I’m writing this letter out of deep concern for the too great of an emphasis placed on “race.” I truly hope this letter to the editor stirs up conversation, awareness and a new frame of thought.
I feel it is time for me to say something, to reach out to people, to implore change and to motivate the students of this university to open their eyes. This is something that not only plagues the University of Missouri-Columbia but the world as a community.
I’ve yet to understand what it means to be “black,” “white,” “Hispanic,” “Asian,” “Indian,” “Arab” etc, but I do understand what it means to be human. And it is in my strong belief being human should trump any “race” others see fit to categorize people in. People are meant to be different. So, it is with this letter I urge you to be different.
Be the person to realize, to speak up and say it is completely absurd to promote the existence of “race” and make assumptions about people based on skin color. This isn’t an attempt to blame people for stereotyping or to pinpoint its origin. This is an attempt to encourage awareness. Be aware that interest, political affiliation, religion, culture, music and other characteristics are not determined by a person’s skin color.
If students can be heard on issues of tuition increases and proposed cuts to higher education, we can definitely be heard on the issue of unity. We are all one race: human. I can only request we, as individuals, do our best to see that. After birth, not many of us remember what it was like to open our eyes and see for the first time. But, here lies a perfect opportunity to do so. Open your eyes to see people, not skin color, and to see the fallacy created behind the idea of “race.”
It is with deep, heartfelt concern I plead to the students of this university to give each other chances, to find common ground, to get to know someone, to see him or her as a person, to know his or her interests. Know it’s okay to disagree with and dislike someone but not as a result of what they look like. I challenge my peers to look for different words to describe people. If you must turn to race to describe someone, “human” works just fine. Unlike other “races,” “human” doesn’t come with assumptions about morals, music taste, culture, background, athletic ability, intellectual capacity, values or any other sacred thing that defines us as individuals. Because every time someone is described by “race,” certain implications are automatically accompanied with that description, stripping us of our individuality.
The things I’m imploring my fellow students to do will not be easy, but change has to start somewhere. The MU-KU rivalry stemmed from slavery. MU was on the pro-slavery side of things. Let’s show the world the University of Missouri-Columbia is speaking out against “race.” Let’s show the world names and titles like Black History Month, the Black Caucus, Hispanic Heritage Month and countless more only further perpetuate the separation between people in the world we live in by recognizing “race” no matter what its intended purpose is.
Change has to start somewhere, and I truly hope you join me in helping the world wake up and open their eyes.