Kaitlin Ivanoff
121 Happy Valley Block
Unalakleet, AK 99684
10/30/07
Educational Institution of Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Dear Educational Institution of Little Rock,
Fifty years ago, nine African American students courageously entered an all white school facing racial segregation. It took bravery, but after that day the nation was in a debate about African Americans rights. Racism was a big role in that, but President Eisenhower had ruled that segregation was illegal. Many black students refused to go to ‘White Schools’ because they saw what happened to the nine students and others were threatened, assaulted and even killed. Many African Americans fought for their rights not only on the streets, but also in court and progress was made slowly.
Although segregation is still illegal, we endure it from day to day. It’s not just African Americans anymore though it has come to affect all races. For example, if someone was a racist white boy and went to school, he’d expect that only white people should attend. That’s not how it works though; just because your skin is a certain color it doesn’t mean you have a higher priority than anyone else. It simply means you’re a different race and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. No one’s perfect and no one will ever be. You just have to accept people for who they are and treat them with equality.
After reading the article about the nine students I’ve come to realize that racism is a powerful thing and plays a big part in segregation. Since segregation is rare now a days, it feels like racism has taken over it. I believe you should be treated how you want others to treat you. It’s easy, but there is always a factor that affects the way you feel about others. Maybe it’s because a person has been racially seized and doesn’t know how to take it so they act upon it like they’ve been treated. We’ll never know, but we certainly can try to avoid it.
Yours truly,
Kaitlin Ivanoff