One day, my mom sent me grocery shopping. While I was on my way to the checkout line, this Caucasian man that was in front of me turned around and handed me a dollar. At first, I was startled, so I asked him why he gave it to me? He then responded saying, "You look like you needed." I felt highly offended because I honestly think he gave me the dollar implying that I was a poor black child. Although racism is no longer legal, it still exists. The article Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria gives us a different perspective on why black youths tend to associate with each other youths of their race, versus going outside of their comfort. It also explains identity development in adolescence, helps us understand how adolescents cope with racist encounters, how academic achievement is viewed amongst black youths, and why adolescents search for alternative images or role models. In addition, I interviewed my grandfather who is also African-American, to get an idea of how racism was during his adolescent time period in comparison to now. .
Crossing racial boundaries with ease is uncommon during the adolescent stage because during puberty adolescents start to question self-identity, and they start to think about who they are ethnically and what it means to be black. I asked my grandfather, "When and how you first became aware of your race?" He responded, "I first became aware of my race ate the age of six when I was in elementary school. I became aware of my race at school because they taught us that white people kept to themselves and they were the ones who controlled the jobs, finance, and economy. The news media also helped me become aware of my race since racism was so prevalent at the time." I found it quite interesting that they were taught that Caucasians basically controlled everything, which is brainwashing to an extent. What is problematic is that young people are operating with a very limited definition of what it means to be black based on cultural stereotypes and lack of knowledge.