I went to an all-white school, and being the only black girl, I felt left out of the group. I did not understand why people hated me so much. I would go to the beach all the time and I would see others sitting there for hours trying to get a darker skin to look like me, but they hated me. I come from a big family who always tried to achieve greatness. My grandfather worked for 18 years without taking a sick day and happily retired at an early age. I learned from him and obtained a master’s degree. But even with higher education I feel discriminated against. At work, I get paid less and I’m not given the same opportunities as someone with my same credentials. This has affected my confidence and has impacted my work performance.
We are descendants of Kings and Queens. If I have kids, I’ll tell them that every day. I’ll talk to them about our great history. I’ll tell them about all the great things we can achieve even though we still don’t get equal opportunities. I’ll tell them to dream big and be anyone they want to be without feeling different from others.