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Racism means... basically like.....
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A large part of a race feels that they're superior to another race.
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And so... and so not only do they believe that, but they act on it.
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Examples will be... in class, sometimes I'll be the only black kid.
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And we read a book like... you know Huck Finn.
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And there's that uncomfortable moment.
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The... "magic word" come up.
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And people will look at you and like, "What's his reaction?" Things like that.
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I was walking home from school with this one white girl and....
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We just gone off the bus and we were about to... we were almost home.
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And there's this group of black kids like, had just gone out of school.
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And she was like, "Oh let's cross the street. It's a group of black kids. I don't want to run into them."
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And, so she told me!
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Which I don't even know why she would do that.
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I used to a sweat band just to reinforce my wrist.
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I had a teacher come up to me and said,
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"You should take it off because it looks gang affiliated"
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I have been in situations where, you know, I had to cross the street.
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Because I didn't want to scare the white lady that was walking.
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I would actually... it would get to a point where I would start to count.
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How many times a woman would clutch her bag.
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When I was 16, I was leaving my mom's house.
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In my pajamas which had snowmen on them um...with my brother, and...
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We were actually stopped by the police, rather aggressively.
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I've been stopped by the cops on my way between classes.
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Because we have two separate buildings walking from one building to the other building
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As my white students in the same class walk by me.
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It's kind of upsetting, because...
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We live in a world where my mom has to be afraid when I walk outside
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From the people that are like... meant to protect me.
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And I just... I don't like when my mother feels like that.
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You know, I love my mother.
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She should always... I want her to always be happy.
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You know I... walk tall. I keep my head up.
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Very... you know, try to be very articulate and...and polite.
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And so of course, I was like, OK I'm...I'm gonna be fine because I act a certain way, and...
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Of course that has absolutely nothing to do with it.
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People... the way people perceive you... you know, it's not up to you.
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My parents taught me, oh you know...
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"Cops are your friends. You're supposed to know they're here to protect you."
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But all I'm seeing is the opposite.
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So how can I not be afraid when I feel like I'm being hunted?
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When I feel like I'm there to fill a quota?
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We are in a so called "free society".
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And as a black man, we literally don't feel free.
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We don't know what "freedom" is.
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Every time when we're killed, the first thing you see on the news is...
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Oh, criminal record or something like that. So...
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From the second... the bullet hits us.
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Already we're starting to be dehumanized.
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With black people like myself, we don't get as many chances as...as...as they do.
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So you have to be aware. You have to watch out.
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You can't mess up.
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This is an extremely emotionally-taxing process for me in terms of coming in terms with...
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Maybe the nature of...of racism in my own life, entered in this country, in this world.
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If you wait until somebody's 12, 13, 14 to put that on them...
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It's...it's really... it can be really difficult.
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My dad... he's just like the honest one, he's like, "Listen, son," like...
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"There are things... and this world... like you have to...you kind of have to watch out."
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He doesn't want me to live in fear.
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But he wants me to be aware.
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I want people to know that I'm perfectly fine.
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I'm not gonna hurt anybody or do anything bad.
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I should be judged about...like...who I...who I am.
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And like, what kind of person I am.
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My parents would tell me, mostly my mom, she would tell me...
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"You have to endure. You have to muscle through it."
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And like... this is no different.
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It's part of being a person of color in America.
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And there is a certain comfortability associated with that.
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Because if I know, if something is inevitable, then I know how to deal with it.
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Fortunately, I've had parents who have said, "This is what you do."
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Mom and dad, I'll be fine because you did a good job raising me.
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You gave me all the resources, the time, the blood, sweat and tears.
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To make me a good man, an honorable man, and...
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The foundation to survive in this country.
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I want you to know that, I will act in an appropriate manner.
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And do everything that you told me to do.
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Because I do love you.
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And I know that everything you say is not "for a reason", and not just to talk the talk.
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And I love you.