Awakening to Racial Awareness

I was not raised in a racist environment, but living in the South, I developed a superficial racial awareness. In school, White and Black kids made racial jokes, but they were just that—jokes. My true awakening came with the Trayvon Martin case. Initially, I struggled to understand the controversy and thought Zimmerman was justified. This led me to search for 'black on White crime' and discover a disturbing pattern of violence that was largely ignored by the media. I was shocked to find similar issues in Europe, where the situation appeared even worse. This research opened my eyes to broader racial issues and made me acutely aware of the complexities surrounding race.