- Lori-Ann
Differences (A reflection of Black History Month)
Updated: Jan 30, 2022
October in the UK is celebrated as Black History month and very often I reflect on how far we have come as a nation to address equality, however there is still so much work that we must do in order to experience real change. I believe this quote from Nelson Mandela is the answer to our global catastrophy: "No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. "
Ironically we are in the middle of a pandemic but more realistically racism has been an endless epidemic which continue to stifle the community of ethnic minorities. Racism can best be described as learnt behaviour and I believe the answer to end this, is by emancipating our young children from this mentality. Most adults who are racist are already set in their mindset, which already poses its challenges however children are like blank canvasses and if we can teach them the true lessons of equality and diversity, I believe our tomorrow will look so much different to yesterday.
It still takes me by surprise that even after so many years of tackling racism, people are still treated differently because of the colour of their skin even though we clearly see that they are just as human as other ethnic origins. Whether a person is white, black, asian, european (etc), history has proven time and time again that we are all apart of the human race and should all be treated equally. It is certainly ignorant to believe that someones colour should identify them as less equal to another and it's time for us to accept the truth. We have seen black presidents, black doctors, black CEO's, black entrepreneurs and the list is extensive to prove that which is: We are all humans in this race and should all be treated as equals because we are all capable of the inevitable.
Lets continue to fight the good fight to end the real epidemic of Racism!