Is It Black and White?

The skin color of a person used to be a big issue in America, which appeared to have been resolved; however, it is still a big issue today. Although there is no longer slavery, a number of people continue to act in a racist fashion. They pass on these thoughts of prejudice and racism to their children, who then pass it on to their children and so forth, therefore it becomes extremely difficult to prevent it. Prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason (www.dictionary.com). There are still numerous stereotypes that can be associated with a person’s skin color. Stereotypes are regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type (www.dictionary.com). However, there is not only prejudice towards the black community, but also a prejudice against the white community. I have experienced a sense of prejudice before, in both cases of whites and blacks, and it is a tragic and heartrending site to witness.

When I was in eighth grade, I had a black gym teacher, Coach Washington, a middle aged man who looked to be in his mid to late fifties. Coach Washington was a very racist man who seemed to have never fully gotten over the slavery period in America, which therefore propelled his thoughts and feelings towards a more stereotypical point of view. Everyone in the class knew he was prejudice against whites because he would never acknowledge them. When we went outside to participate in games on the football field he would always pick white students to carry out the equipment and later bring it back inside. No one would ever say anything because they knew he would either not listen or simply would not care. A few students had told their parents of Coach Washington’s rude behavior. The parents took the racist issue to the head of our school, principal Larson, but there was no proof of such occasions so nothing could be carried out.

One day in class, we were playing tag football and a boy from the class named Jimmy tripped and twisted his ankle. He was in a great deal of pain and agony and was unable to get up off the ground. Coach Washington in no way aiding the situation started yelling at him and told him he was weak and to get up. He used a few racial names; one that I clearly remember was; white cracker. White Cracker is a stereotypical named used to represent the white community in an offensive way. Everyone stood in silence, appalled with incredible shock. Two of Jimmy’s friends nevertheless helped him up and carried him to the nurse’s office without Coach Washington’s consent. Coach Washington continued to yell as the three boys were walking away, but surprisingly did not try to stop them. He then stopped the activity and gave our class a brief lecture on how acting in that manner wouldn’t get you anywhere, shortly after we continued our game. I’m not really sure what happened to Jimmy and his two friends, but they were not in our class from then on. This is a good example of blacks acting prejudiced and using a stereotypical approach to criticize whites. Living in America’s past, Coach Washington had a lot of pent up anger and stereotyped thoughts constantly circulating through his mind concerning whites, and as a result he took it out on his students.

In addition to the awful experience in Gym class with Coach Washington, I have another experience concerning