Who am I?

I am not my race.

I am not my religion.

I am not my sexuality.

I am not my gender.

I am me.

Myself is the only one I represent.

But what about my people?

Slavery.

The Holocaust.

The Sikh Genocide.

You see, we all want justice for these events (and many more) but for who exactly? ‘Our’ people? I for one don’t agree with this mentality at all. These events should be taught to us not only because they are a distinct part of history but because they show that we have all suffered in one way or another. Granted, some have suffered more but history shouldn’t be seen as one big dick measuring contest – it’s not about who suffered the greatest loss or which ethnic minority/religion deserves the most sympathy, it’s about learning what shaped and made the world the place it is today. I mean, I don’t learn about slavery because my ancestors were a part of it, I learn because to me there is no difference between black history and my history. I don’t relate to those that suffered through the colour of my skin tone but through the simple fact that I too am a human being, just like them. We are all bleed red so what does it matter if your particular ‘group’ of people wasn’t affected by an injustice, does that mean you won’t recognise it? Won’t learn about it? Won’t disseminate the information to teach others?

It’s not my intention to get people hung up on grudges from hundreds of years ago, however, I think the world and the people in it would benefit greatly from learning more about the history behind each other and not just themselves. We live in a world where knowledge is key and more importantly, a world where history is vital. Yes, the past is the past but without the past there would be no present. It should be in everyone’s best interest to learn, don’t deprive yourself of knowledge due to ignorance.

Furthermore, we shouldn’t be so concerned with race/religion etc because as much as I hate to use the cliche, at the end of the day, we’re all exactly the same. Segregation doesn’t need to exist, especially not in terms of history. So long as you are on this earth, it all applies whether you are black, white, asian or rainbow.

We should never forget the pain endured to allow us to live the way we do today whether it was experienced through our own bloodline, or not.