The NBA players protested and did not play any games recently. I found myself very near tears, not because the games aren’t being played but because it has hit me in the gut. The racism that these players and all people of color experience and the effects on their psyche has really hit me in the gut.
Being Hispanic, I have experienced racism because of my heritage and my religion, but it is nothing that an African American experiences. I don’t get arrested for driving while Hispanic, but I have experienced being under the watchful eye of a store clerk or security officer. That is nothing compared to what other people of color (Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, to name a few) have experienced or witnessed.
Inevitably, this letter will be steered to the racist-in-chief at the White House. I don’t understand how any person of any color, whites included, can support him and his racist beliefs. So, it makes me wonder if the people I know who support him and will vote for him are also racist. It really hits me in the gut and makes me extremely sad.
Bella Martinez, Salt Lake City