Self Reflection About Racism

I could honestly say I was not extremely surprised to hear any of my responses. I know that at the beginning of this course, I was very intimidated to talk about this topic but the professor and my classmates have really made talking about this topic a little less stressful. Due to my anxiety about the topic, the initial recordings do show my hesitation in answering some questions. I think that would be the only thing that surprises me now looking back at my recording, my intimidation about the topic. If I were to complete the first part of the self-reflection project now, I think my answers would be different in that they would be more concise and my attitude would be much more assertive about the topic.

After hearing my responses, I feel

So now that I come to this realization, I am disappointed I have not done more to stand up against racism. It may be perhaps because deep down inside I know all the odds are against me; I am a female, I am Latina-a minority, I am young…I probably will not be taken seriously and may even place myself in danger at some point. I think this is most definitely a huge reason as to why people do not stand up to racism, they are scared. They are scared because anti-racism advocates still seem to be the minority. If one speaks up, who knows what will happen. You may encounter yourself with a racist person who is very hostile but yet has the sense to advocate for his/her beliefs without violence but you may also encounter yourself with a racist who will stop at nothing to get his/her point across. You never know. I think this is the greatest fear people have. It really is very scary that minority people do not feel safe enough to express the injustices they are subjected to without feeling they are placing their life and wellbeing in danger. Yet you are in a predicament because as an anti-racist you should be willing to openly be an anti-racism advocate and speak up because you are targeted at all times but yet you do not feel safe enough to fight for your rights. So what do you do? Speak up and place yourself in even more danger or remain silent and continue to suffer racism as always? Being a mother,

Before, I had a sense of how I identified in terms of many different factors. With this class, I was able to realize that my racial and overall identity is composed of a mixture of the factors not considering these factors independently from one another. I believe that my strong sense of self has always remained the same, the great difference is that I now know why I think the way I do and I am now also able to see why people think the way they do. My story tells a lot about me; it says that I have always had a strong sense of self and have always tried to live according to that sense of self. It also says that I have not always known how to interpret myself or make sense of why I am the way I am. It has definitely shown that I struggled with understanding other people’s perspectives, especially when they conflicted with mine but I am now working on maintaining an open mind instead of becoming immediately defensive. My story also shows that although I have always been well aware of racism and have always felt against it, I have not done what is necessary of me to stand up against racism. The resources I can rely on within me to fight against racism are the coping skills I have internalized for so long. Some resources I have outside myself include the skills I am learning in my Master’s program at Simmons as well as some local community outreach programs that strive to advocate and end racism and other oppressive