Last week I went to the Race Monologues. This was a very interesting, entertaining program that opened my eyes about how race is still very much an issue in modern day society. There were about ten college students of all different races on the main stage. They all took turns telling us stories of different people who had to deal with injustice because of their race. I am very glad that I attended this event during Racial Identity Week.
To my surprise one of my friends was upon the ten collage students on the stage. I was never aware of how big of a deal not being white affected her life. She is a music major, and is hoping to sing for a living after she graduates. Physical appearance is very important in the profession that she plans on entering. She has mentioned that she always has to be really careful about her weight because of the profession that she is going into, but never mentioned the fact that it isn’t as likely for her to have a successful career because the fact that she is from Filipino decent. It makes me sad to think that that is the case. She is a wonderful person with a wonderful voice who deserves to be among the famous but it very unlikely that she will make it that far simply because she is not white. She briefly explained this injustice to the audience.
There is still way too much racial injustice in this world, and that really needs to change. It was so interesting listening to the stories that were told during the Race Monologues. I have always avoided such events because I have expected them to be very boring and a waste of time. I also avoided them because I thought that I knew everything I need to know about race, and that the events couldn’t teach me anything important. The race Monologues made me much more aware of all the racial injustice that happens, and also opened my mind to the fact that I actually have been creating some of the racial injustice myself. I have many colored friends and even a couple family members that are African American, and am by no means a raciest, but I still have been unconsciously stereotyping people of different races.
It is important to occasionally attend events on racial injustice and listen to the stories, because when we don’t we tend to forget that it really is still a great problem and that it might actually be partly our fault, as part of society, that is making it that way. I enjoyed attending Race Monologues very much and I plan on attending other events that are similar in the future.