In a recent conversation with a group of friends, it was said that it isn’t possible for black people to be racists because of the long history of oppression that the race has faced in the past, and still faces to this day.

Before I reflect on the statement, I want to give a little background of the topic of conversation to explain the context of why the statement was made.

I had just watched a news story about an unarmed African American male who was shot and killed by a police officer. Those who follow the news should know that this been happening all over the country for a very long time. It should also be known that, recently, there has been a dramatic increase in murders of African American males at the hands of police officers. This has caused a lot of people to become outraged and lose trust and respect for police officers.

A lot of people, included myself, believe that race is the biggest factor in why these black men have been targeted, and also why these white police officers have been acquitted. However, this should not create a war between black and white people. Instead, people should get together and go after these systems and institutions that have allowed these police officers to get away with murder.

That’s my opinion on how to reach an effective solution, but there are a lot of people who disagree with me, including some of my friends. I realized this during a conversation that was sparked when I asked for their opinion of who they thought the problem was and how an effective solution can be sought out.

The conversation started off with everyone agreeing that the race of both the victims and police officers are why these cases turned out the way they did. We even shared stories of how we have been victimized by racism. I was surprised to find out about the similar stories that I have with my friends. Then, the conversation took a turn for the worse.

Someone started making hateful remarks toward the white community out of rage for what has been happening to black males and for what they have gone through. I completely understood why they were angry, because I have been victimized by acts of hate and racism too. However, making racist and hateful remarks are inexcusable, no matter what color the person is who is making them.

I decided to interrupt the conversation because of the low tolerance that I have for racism. I told everyone involved in the conversation how I felt and warned them that if they continued to make these rude remarks, I would remove myself. 

Then, the person who started making the rude remarks got offended. I guess they thought that because I am black and have been victimized by racism, that I was supposed to hate white people. They were wrong.

I explained to them that just because they have been victimized by racism does not mean that they have to retaliate and treat others the same way. I thought that someone who treats someone differently because of the color of their skin was a racist.  Actually, I was pretty sure. 

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