(ThyBlackMan.com) The other day, I ran into an older adult woman who used to work at my old elementary school. She quickly came up to me and said “Wow, I expected you to be gone by now!”. I later realized that what this lady meant by “gone” was that she expected me to be in jail, or probably dead by now. For the next few days I kept thinking about her words to me and why she thought I would be gone at such a young age. Was it my race? Was it my age? Or was it the fact that I am growing up in the city of San Bernardino, California, which according to the FBI is number 76 in America;s top 100 violent cities.
I began to realize that this woman’s thinking came from a place where she had probably seen dozens of young African American boys my age and younger, that are in the state of being “gone“. I began to think about the plight of young african american boys that are in my age group in our society. I was no longer upset about what this woman had said, but instead I became
determined to beat the odds. I decided that I was not going to allow anyone to write me of. I was going to use the words this woman said to me to challenge myself to rise above social stereotypes through dedication, hard work and education.
Me getting an education is important because it will open up my options in the future such as a better job , an open mind ,and the opportunity to educate other youth. I personally will use my education to help young African American males like myself from becoming victims of America’s legal system. I plan to pursue a law degree and become an Attorney so I can come back and help change the lives of the young boys in my community and helping troubled youth in that are stuck in the legal system.
I do realize that Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner were important cases but I also realize that there are hundreds of other males who look like me, walk like me and talk like me, but unlike me these boys have had their life, hopes, and dreams cut short due to violence and racial prejudice in America. With my education I can help end laws that hurt the minorities in America. By me getting an education I can educate America on the problems that occur in the inner cities of its country.
In conclusion, educational is powerful because it will make me denounce the stereotype that the woman from my school had for me and it will make prove that not all young african-american boys are menaces to society; but potential leaders of America.
Staff Writer; Brandon Watts