Johna Speller,
Laurinburg, NC
p>I chose the words “I choose to love and persevere” because I believe that it best represents my standpoint on racism and racial inequalities that I face and see others face within our society. I stated that I “choose” because I feel that at the end of the day we all are faced with a personal decision and or choice that needs to be made in terms of how we chose to view and respond to race in our society. This choice could potentially be either detrimental or beneficial to our lives and the lives of those who we are surrounded by. Yes, racism is something that is taught. But, there will come a certain point in everyone’s lives where we have the ability to either choose love or hate. In my statement I say that “I choose to love and persevere”. I decide to love because love is the light that will drive out the darkness of hate in our world. I am optimistic of a better future and know that love will be the key to entering that future. Additionally, I choose to persevere because I understand that even though I know that love is the key, there are many people who still choose to live in hate. Therefore, even though I see and experience the hatred of racism in our society I will persevere through those challenges and continue to live in love and treat others with love with hopes that one day love will prevail in a better society where we uplift and appreciate one another rather than oppress and look down on one another.
