Racism is like a slow disease that spreads throughout the body and affects all parts whether the whole body realizes it or not. As a nation, we are that diseased body, and have been since the beginning, and it will not stop until we all come together to bring about change.

            There is a local organization called Building Bridges that is working diligently for that change through 9-week sessions using dialog and awareness as the bridge between blacks and whites. Last night I attended the first of this nine-week session. They have already done 28 of these session groups. I was quite impressed with their deep commitment.

            There are about 80 of us in this session. The first hour we are together, and the second half we break into small groups to discuss the topic of the week. Last night’s topic was “honoring our diversity”. We were shown a video on a study that the show 60 Minutes did years ago regarding racism. The video showed us two young men that are equal in every area of their life. They both have a great education; middle class; great personalities; and they are known to be hard workers. The only difference is the color of their skin. They were asked to go to find housing and jobs with a camera attached to them. The treatment they received from the same people was quite obviously different. Over and over again racism show up in so many ways throughout this video. This video only shows a small fraction of what a minority person experiences on a day-to-day basis.

            Unless we are a minority or involved with a minority most of us do not even have a clue about the feeling of discrimination in our life. It wasn’t until I adopted my children who are biracial did I even begin to feel this in my life. I was very naïve and believe that racism did not exist in our country anymore since the civil rights movement. So when we were asked to adopt our children, we gladly accepted, and didn’t even think that race would be an issue.

            In the 16 years since I have adopted my children, race has become quite forefront in my mind. I have become aware of how people treat my children when they are with me versus when they are not with me. I have watched teachers change their attitudes about my kids when they see that they have a white mother, and I have watched my children as young adults not get the same treatment or opportunities as a young white adult.

            I have also experienced a lot of racism from the African American community against me in regards to my children. Some of my children have been told that I am not their real mother because I am white. One woman even told my daughter to leave me so she can raise her properly. I have been harassed, looked at in strange ways, and pushed away when I have tried to raise my children with more diversity. One of my daughter’s has been told by her African American boyfriend that she should not have anything to do with us because we are white.

            So yes, my life has been more directly affected by racism than a majority of whites, but the truth is we are all affected. Whether we are taught to be afraid of someone or we treat someone different because of the color of their skin , we are not acting from our true nature. As long as there is no equality than there will always be a nation of exploiter and prey. In order to know true peace and have true freedom, we must all feel safe and welcomed. Immaual Kant who was a philosopher in 1700s said “ Every man is to be respected as an absolute end in himself; and it is a crime against the dignity that belongs to him as a human being to use him as a mere means for some external purpose”.

            We can see that our society has become a place of seeing others as a way to achieve the intended goal. This thinking not only allows for racism to exist but it creates an empty society of people using each other for their own desires. I believe that it is important to take the step towards a greater and healthier society, and Building Bridges has some great tools to get there.