Racial Pride | Teen Ink

Racial Pride

March 30, 2009
By Blakely Dickey BRONZE, Pooler, Georgia
Blakely Dickey BRONZE, Pooler, Georgia
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The definition of proud according to Dictionary.com is, “having, proceeding from, or showing a high opinion of one's own dignity, importance, or superiority.”

Three minutes till class, the bus is full due to the weather having multiple personalities this week and today it decided to be freezing and windy. Another girl and I dash in the cold. I’m glad to escape the crowd in the bus but now I’m speed walking to my next class. I look up and see the girl’s back and her shirt says “Black Student Alliance.” As I keep walking to class this phrase is being tossed around in my head. I first wonder about what would happen if a white student wore a “White Student Alliance” shirt. I thought about the looks that person would get and what people from other racial groups would say or probably do. And then my next thought I went to is why should anyone be proud of their race? Why should white people be proud to be white? Why should black people be proud to be black? The more I thought about it the more I believed that no one should be proud of their race, not a single person.
I feel like history has presented numerous instances of how pride can ruin different racial groups. One example of this is when Hitler had pride for being a “true German” and how this idea created an extermination of what he considered “unfit.” The same thing goes along with the “Trail of Tears.” The white settlers thought they were superior to the Indians and this, along with others, was one of the reasons why they forcibly move the Indians to the west. No one should think they are better than the other. Not only has this caused warfare and injustice, but it also keeps a country from growing. An example of this is The Civil War. It held Americans back by putting them in more debt and they became vulnerable to other attacking nations. Instead of using that time to grow politically and become a strong, unified nation, differences in ideas on races broke the nation a part. In order to create pure equality for the sake of self-growth and self-preservation, we must get rid of the idea that one person is better then the other due to the color of their skin.
It’s not just about a person looking down on a racial group; it’s about that same person looking up towards another. People don’t realize this creates racism. Being prideful in your own race is subconsciously looking down on other races. This is clearly stated in the definition of racism: “A belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.”
I’m not saying you can’t be proud of your country or where you are from or even your culture. But all of these things don’t make up your race. Race is just a pigment in your skin. Your country and culture is your choice of where you live. I believe it is okay to say, “I am proud to be an American,” because one chooses to be an American every day and they choose to stand up for their country and its general beliefs. It is okay to be proud of your culture. Culture and race are two different things. One can have the same background as another but not share the same race. Having pride in your culture does matter because your culture affects who you are. It is an important element in keeping close to your family and country. This also distinguishes who you are and makes all of us different from each other, not based off of what we are born with but what we decide and know.
Really question yourself and others around you about whether being prideful about race is right or not. I noticed the problems it has caused and the lack of good it has created. It continues to affect my generation today like it has affected humanity in the past. I believe if people don’t become aware of this then we will continue to live in hostility and repetition. In my opinion, knocking racial pride out in our generation is the next step to ending racism. Ending this comes down to people accepting each other for who they are. But if we can’t accept each other over something we can not control, how will we accept each others ideas, opinions, religion, morals, sexuality, and rights? We are all one; we are all humans trying to achieve the same goal…happiness. Why continue the separation? I believe unified through acceptance we can reach happiness and peace in the world.



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This article has 9 comments.


on Jan. 24 2015 at 11:44 am
Mockingjay_54 GOLD, Mount Laurel, New Jersey
12 articles 0 photos 17 comments
Being proud of your own race is in no way looking down on another. White people have had all of history to think that they were superior and make black people(and really any other race that was not white) feel inferior or sub-human.So stop feeling like a victim. Me being proud of my race is me being proud to be black, despite what history and white supremacy has taught me. Its ok to feel proud of you race if your white, because really no one can stop your inner feelings, but advertising it into groups or alliances like people of color do has the historical context of a hate or terroristic group, such as the KKK who advertised "White Pride". White people don't have society and history and racist people telling them to feel ashamed of their race, so they don't need alliances or a White History month. They felt and made themselves superior for the longest. So stop complaining.

on Aug. 20 2011 at 9:53 pm
savetheplanet PLATINUM, Anaheim, California
45 articles 9 photos 564 comments

Favorite Quote:
It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Hmmm, I think you have the right idea but there's a difference between being proud and being superior.  I think one can be proud of their race and still respect others.

on Mar. 19 2011 at 8:01 am
Look_to_the_stars BRONZE, Kentwood, Michigan
4 articles 0 photos 24 comments

I sort of disagree, I am very prideful of my race, but if i was a different race i'd be just as proud of it becasue its part of who i am and it undeniably effects me in many different ways as it will everybody at one point. I think that being prideful to point of sneering down on other races is wrong though, i agree though

 


FlowerZombie said...
on Oct. 9 2010 at 2:48 pm
I totally agree with you Nick  - PRIDE is a good thing, I never understand when people feel threatened because someone feels good about who they are

on Aug. 11 2010 at 11:39 pm
Nick_Xao BRONZE, Roseville, California
4 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I&#039;m alive again, more alive than I have been my whole entire life I can, see these people&#039;s ears perk up as I begin to spazz with a pen&quot;<br /> -Eminem

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you quite a bit. Racism is NOT the result of Racial Pride, it is the result of intolerance and hate. I personally would be fine if you wore a "White Student Alliance" or what ever your ethnicity shirt. There is nothing wrong with people having pride in their culture; whats wrong is people looking down on people with pride in their culture and blaming them for racial problems, when the intolerance and hate is THEIR fault, not ours.

on May. 15 2010 at 6:05 pm
MarinaOreo GOLD, King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 148 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Your soul is the whole world&quot; -Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I also find that offensive when you said that non-hispanics are not discriminated against. That is very un-true. I'm not even close to being hispanic and I'm discriminated against. I'm biracial as well; Greek and African-American and I get all the jokes and whatever and so we all have to deal with racism. Don't think one race is more discrimianted against more than another.

on Apr. 23 2010 at 7:13 pm
Um....I'm Caucasian, but I've been discriminated against a lot...I don't think there is anything wrong with being proud of heritage but I don't think anyone should be or have to be defined by heritage. Everyday people are expressing how bad it is to be white and it is really annoying...And as I'm German, Austrian, English, Irish, Scottish and a bunch of other groups I don't even know about, I'm just proud to be a person, I don't care about my race....Again I don't think it is wrong to be proud of a heritage as they are all wonderful and unique, the part about non-Hispanics not knowing racism kinda bugged me :/ cause everyone is discriminated against. Just today my ‘friend’ was talking about how evil whites were…to my face…and none of my friends defended me… All my friends can’t stop gloating about how awesome Asians are; saying things like ‘Asians pwn’ ‘Asian fail!’ etc, making me feel like I don’t belong... anyway, sorry, that was long… I think all races have important backgrounds and that everyone should honor every cultural background…If I sounded bratty or jerkish I'm really really sorry I was just trying to point out that discrimination harms everybody...

on Oct. 29 2009 at 4:02 pm
CaseyLeigh PLATINUM, Moraga, California
31 articles 6 photos 137 comments

Favorite Quote:
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to.

Personally, I think it's okay to be proud of your heritage so long as you don't look down upon others for being different. I think you make good points however.

on Oct. 26 2009 at 7:06 pm
I disagree with parts of your writings, i as a Puerto Rican am proud of my ethnicity and my heritage it does not mean i look down on Cubans and Dominicans i just have a personal connection to the people of my island and my island itself, and yes all these things do in fact make up my race, you as a non-hispanic do not see the importance of racial pride, you have never experienced racism, what we do is not combating racism but standing up to it I am proud to be Latino and you can't take my pride