Living in the bubble of suburban [City], my family was treated like a blemish on its pristine surface. A house with a black father and white mother, along with a handful of mixed kids, easily stood out in our predominantly white neighborhood. Though some families talked about us, and never to us, my father always reinforced the importance of our lineage and helped immerse me in our culture.
Our family comes from a small village in upper Egypt; its proximity to Sudan and prevalence of Nubian lifestyles created a melting pot of cultures that encapsulates my identity as a first-generation Muslim African American. Although kids made fun of my skin tone and practices, my father taught me to be proud to emphasize the African in being African American. My peers’ derogatory comments and terrorist jokes were so common I became desensitized to the insults. And though I spoke out against their hateful rhetoric, my words seemed only to bounce off the Kevlar vest that is ignorance. It wasn’t until years later, while working on an election campaign, that I found the solution.
A state representative had asked me to stand a few feet farther from the door than the typical distance of my white coworkers while canvassing door-to-door because my dark skin could scare off potential voters. In that moment, she treated me not like the seasoned campaign veteran I was, or even as a person, but as a liability. I pulled the campaign manager aside and talked to him about the representative’s crass comments; from that day forward I helped to advise the campaign on diversity and inclusion issues. Learning about these topics allowed our staff to understand the issues facing underrepresented members of the community, and thus allowed us to better represent the entire district.
That experience taught me the power of education in changing people’s perceptions and led me to use my positions as a platform for diversity issues. As a debater, I promoted racial and ethnic understanding in round by reading from Afro-pessimism or Afrocentricity to broaden my opponent’s perspective. While chief justice of the Student Government Supreme Court, I worked with the student president to create a proposal for a mandatory diversity and equity class that would later be presented to the Faculty Senate.
I am proud of my African background and black ancestry as it has given me the opportunity to shape the outlook of people I meet. Skin tone and religion do not justify malicious behavior, which is why I strive to educate as many people as possible to create a world more accepting of all identities.
i tried hope i helped
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