What Students Are Saying About Race and Racism in America By Nicole Daniels Feb. 18, 2021 This past fall, we held a Civil Conversation Challenge for students, inviting young people to engage in respectful, productive discussions about some of the most divisive issues of the 2020 presidential election. In a series of online forums hosted by The Learning Network, they reflected on their experiences of the coronavirus pandemic and debated education, voting and other issues they cared about. Across forums, they told us that “2020 has been a wake-up call.” But the discussion that perhaps challenged students the most was our forum on the fight for racial justice, in which we asked them to share their opinions on protests, policing, systemic racism and more. By the end, the conversation had generated over 2,000 comments, and if you read even a few of the highlights we feature below, we think you’ll see why we thought it merited its own roundup. Though we were impressed by student posts on all of the topics in our challenge, this forum was special. Some students shared heartbreaking stories of discrimination. Several told us what it’s like to have a family member who is a police officer. And many wrote about becoming deeply aware of racism for the first time after the death of George Floyd and the protests that followed. Throughout, the teenage participants showed a willingness to write candidly about their own experiences as well as to stretch to understand the experiences of others. But this discussion is also a microcosm of a conversation happening across American society, and it mirrored its sharp divisions, too. Students engaged passionately on core issues like the existence of white privilege, the extent of systemic racism, the legacy of slavery, the effectiveness of protests and the role of the police. Though the roundup below doesn’t feature conversations so much as individual posts, it is still easy to see how students handled these difficult topics thoughtfully and respectfully. We have published responses in thematic groups so that you can easily navigate the various points of view, but clicking on each student’s name will take you back to the original conversation so you can read it in that context if you like. Thank you to all who participated and to the teachers who brought their classes to the discussion. As always, but especially for a forum as important as this one, we are grateful to be a place students can share their voices. Please note: All student comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity, but we did not change individual words. Therefore, while it is Times style to capitalize “Black” when describing people and cultures of African origin, student uses of the word remain rendered the way they were originally submitted. “As a black girl, I have experienced a lot of pain because of my skin color.” As a black girl, I have dealt with a lot of comments from others over the years pertaining to my skin color and other features that make me a person of color. I still remember girls telling me my hair looked “normal” after straightening it, or girls petting my curly hair calling it “different,” treating me not like a person, but an exotic object. During the summer, when moments like the Black Lives Matter protests took place, I realized how many of my “friends” weren’t willing to say anything. It made me feel sad knowing they decided to stay silent. I also couldn’t believe the city I was born in would later be known as the city where the life of Floyd was taken. — Naomi, Georgia As a black young man in America, I feel every day is a new worry. I’d like to be able to go out and not be afraid of something happening to me, my friends, my family or other people of color. When the death of George Floyd occurred, something definitely changed. People became more aware of the fear that people of color go through in everyday life situations. I’d love to one day see a country where skin color doesn’t contribute to how a human being is treated. — Q, New York As a young black girl, I’ve experienced racism numerous times. I’ve been called the N-word, been told that it should’ve been you instead of Breonna, etc. All things that hurt me. People wonder why these protests get so violent and so intense. It’s because racial inequality and all these problems aren’t being addressed. — Camryn, New York As a black girl, I have experienced a lot of pain because of my skin color. A lot of my childhood friends were nonblack, and I often was made to feel like an outsider with them. Once I was told by a white classmate, “Wow, your hair is finally normal!” upon having my hair straightened for picture day. Suddenly, I felt as though my natural curls were abnormal, and I never wanted to be abnormal again. So, the internalized racism began to grow and flourish within me. I was so ashamed to be black, so desperate to not be seen as “hood” or “ghetto” that I demeaned my own people in order to raise myself up … Today, I am very pro-black; I love my hair, and I love my skin. But it’s still hard to find beauty in the mirror when I go to look. Sometimes it hurts knowing that lighter girls will always be seen as being prettier than me, that I don’t fit most people’s idea of being the “acceptable version” of blackness. But I have to remind myself that it’s OK, things will change. I’m still young enough to help create a future where no other black girl will suffer like I did, or how I sometimes still do. — KJ, Texas “This summer was really the first time that I was actually aware of the impact racism had.” I am white, and I live in a predominately white suburban town. I have never been treated differently for the color of my skin because I am a product of white privilege. I was not very politically active until George Floyd was murdered and the Black Lives Matter protests began in May. Since then, I’ve tried to better understand the hardships that people of color endure as a result of racism. I think it is of the utmost importance to speak out against corrupt systems, especially if you are not affected by these systems. Because in my opinion, choosing not to speak up against something because it does not involve you is proof that the system is working. Turning a blind eye with the thinly veiled excuse “politics isn’t for me” can no longer mask selfish ignorance. This is not the time to be anti-political because silence is contributing to the blatant discrimination of black Americans. Hiding behind privilege instead of utilizing that very privilege to initiate change can no longer be justified. — Annie, New Jersey I think that this summer was really the first time that I was actually aware of the impact racism had. My parents have taught me, from a young age, that racism and injustice exist but I guess I did not understand to what extent. As a person who benefits from white privilege, I feel kind of guilty that I had not realized how it affected me before. Also, as a person who cannot yet vote, I am struggling to find ways that I can help make change. Do you have any suggestions? — L, Pennsylvania In ninth grade, before the pandemic and killing of George Floyd, I used to be thankful to the police officers who stood at our doors to prevent any school shooting. After hearing of the George Floyd incident, I remember suddenly feeling like the police hadn’t made our school safer at all. To be honest, it infuriated me. I was raised in a bubble that taught me to think racism was extinct. To think that the police protected all of us as equals … George Floyd was a father, a son and a brother. Imagine seeing your son get murdered by the people that are supposed to protect you. As a white person, I will never truly understand the horrors of being discriminated against for my skin color. I am privileged, not because of what I am, but because of what I’m not. The best thing I and other white people can do is listen and share. We will never completely know what racism will feel like, but we can listen and try to understand the pain of being harassed or attacked by the people who are supposed to protect you. — Lindsay, North Carolina As a kid with divorced parents, I have two sides of my family: My mom’s house, where we can have talks about racism and go to protests together; and my dad’s house, where the existence of white privilege is denied completely and even joked about. I’ve seen news, real and fake, about the police cases and the protests, and I’ve come to a few conclusions. The first is that people with privilege and power will do or deny anything to stay in that place, even when they have proof it’s hurting others. The second is that if it were only a few bad apples, those “bad apples” would be fired and arrested — but they’re not. The police system protects racists and always has, as a system born out of catching runaway slaves.