My earliest racial memory began in kindergarten. I was considered the black child. There were no African American kids in my kindergarten class, however there were in the other class. In the summer, i get very tan because of my family background. I have always been friends with the people of other races, but in kindergarten I was considered by both myself and others to be nonwhite.

  My mother used to call me her little chocolate baby because of my skin tone. When I drew any self portraits about myself, i used a brown crayon. When ever i was in the supermarket with my mom, the cashier would tell my mom, “She is so beautiful, is she yours?” My mom is just about as pale is you could be, so no one would believe that her child had dark skin. Even still to this day, when someone new talks to me, one of the first things they ask is “Are you Hispanic?” They couldn't possibly believe a lighter mother could have a darker child.  The lesson to learn from this is don’t jump to conclusions based on looks.

I don’t think people should judge based on skin tone. One of my best friends who is African American acts like the stereotypical “white girl.” She is a cheerleader, loves shopping, drinks Starbucks, and even lives in Brookline. One of the big misconceptions around the high school is all black kids live in Boston, specifically Dorchester and everyone who is white lives in Brookline. My friend who is the stereotypical white girl gets asked all the time, “where in Boston do you live.” She actually lives in a very nice neighborhood in Brookline. I get asked the very opposite question, “Where in Brookline do you live.” This is a question i have been asked since kindergarden. People assume that because i'm white i automatically live in Brookline. They follow up question is usually “Then how do you go to this school.” I find this question kind of offensive because i could be in Metco, but because they know i'm white from already asking if i'm Hispanic, they just assume im rich and live in Brookline. It shouldn't be that based on your race you are expected to act a certain way or be a certain way. It is stereotypical of a “white girl” to be rich and always wear Uggs or Sperry’s, lulu lemon, and a vineyard vines jacket. Yes, some of these stereotypes are true but not every white person dresses or acts a certain way, and neither does every black person.

Racial stereotypes like these are going on everyday. From the Michael Brown case to the Eric Gardener, or the most recent case in Detroit. This is dating us back 50 years to when everything was completely separated by race. We have come so far from that, but i feel as if we are moving backwards. I don't think Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. would be happy with our violent protesting, though he would be proud for standing up for what’s right. We need to find a solution to ending this violence and racism specifically between white cops and black civilians.