Dear Racists,

As we began this year of 2019, I wished, more than anything, to grow as a person -- To grow in acceptance, love, and most importantly, equality.  But, this is not about me, as I have slowly began to reach my own goals. You, however, have not. Where is your acceptance? Love? Equality? In no way is this a personal attack.  By writing this letter, I hope that you, too, can see what I, and my colored brothers and sisters see.

My parents are immigrants.  They came to America with almost nothing.  Today, they are in a position they thought they would never be in.  In the United States today, we are at our highest level of legal immigrants to date; over 37,000,000 other people were in the same shoes as my parents.  Did you catch that? Legal.  How can you discriminate against them, when they are just one of you?  Did you walk on foot from Central America? Were you, a refugee, separated from your children after a long, treacherous raft ride?  Did you leave your family and fly all the way across the world, just to be denied entry to this country? No. Those are some things that we, lucky Americans, will never have to experience.  

What I ask of you is this: love everyone.  Do not tell the Mexican lady to go back where she came from.  Do not tell the Chinese man to speak English because we’re in America.  Do not stare at the African American family in an all white church, or the beautiful Middle Eastern girl with the hijab.  We are all one people. Our color does not define who we are. America is a melting pot of all kinds of people, and it is your job to recognize that.  Then, you, too, can grow in love, acceptance, and equality.

Sincerely,

A Proud American of Color