I ran cross country in high school. We had an obligatory team photo. I was one of two Black girls on the team, and without thinking I wanted to create contrast. I placed myself in the center of the photo. My brown skin against the chalky white bodies of the team would swell in crescendo with my face at the loudest note before a descent into nothing. My teammates encouraged me. “Emma, you should get in the middle!” The grass rustled under our knees as we laughed and shifted around. The photographer raised his camera. He lowered it, pointed it at me, and asked me to move one spot to the left. I traded spots with a teammate. “And one more spot.” I obliged. One more. I was at the edge. The flash POPPED.
Hi Emma! Thank you so much for sharing! It is a really sad story. It is so unfair that you can have qualifications and experience for a position and you cannot be accepted because of your skin, your ethnic background. I can feel the way you feel as well! I have also suffered from discrimination for not being white, for being from and living in a developing country, for not belonging to a middle- or high-class family, etc. It is disappointing and frustrating! But we only have to keep looking ahead and do not stop!
Hi Emma! Thank you so much for sharing! It is a really sad story. It is so unfair that you can have qualifications and experience for a position and you cannot be accepted because of your skin, your ethnic background. I can feel the way you feel as well! I have also suffered from discrimination for not being white, for being from and living in a developing country, for not belonging to a middle- or high-class family, etc. It is disappointing and frustrating! But we only have to keep looking ahead and do not stop!
I'll keep reading your posts!
Cheers, Miguel Gutiérrez