Thank You, Ruby Bridges
by Marissa M.
Dear Ruby Bridges,
Racism is a horrible thing. When I think of racism I see a world that excludes people because of their different nationality, ethnicity, and race. I wonder why we can’t see beyond another’s appearance the way the other animals in the world do.
Have you ever watched a bunch of dogs running around in a park? You can see all types playing together. They come in big, small, and medium, and all colors. They don’t treat each other differently based on their color or shape of their ears, so why should we treat people differently based on their color and/or appearance?
As Martin Luther King Jr. said in his “I Have A Dream” speech, “when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promise that all men, yes black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
People assume that since the Civil Rights Movements is over, that everyone is treated equally. Sometimes at my school, people say, “those black kids,” instead of, “the kids from Boston.” When they use the term black it is really singling them out based on the color of their skin. Everyone has feelings. Everyone has passions. Everyone needs to be loved and cared for even if they don’t look and act like everyone else.
If WE as a nation want to put an end to racism, WE, have to be the big people in life. WE have to stand up and take action when we see racism in our lives. Just imagine, if in a couple of years this could be a world where people think of each other as human beings, not as colors.
Marissa M., 6th grade, Massachusetts