[Applause]
when I was 13 years old I exchanged
South America for our nation’s capital
as my new home my mother enrolled me in
school and just like that I became part
of this new world I absolutely adore I
was still learning English and my accent
made me shy I couldn’t really express
myself much but I noticed a few things a
few things that seemed bizarre boys
would fight and call themselves names
names I didn’t understand and girls
would fight and call themselves names
names I didn’t understand but soon my
vocabulary expanded as I learned that
the Robert Horry term for each race and
my 13 year old brain can capture why
skin color was part of the fight because
I didn’t come from a place where I
noticed race causing fists to fly but
here I became acutely aware that the
color of my skin was brown here I became
acutely aware that some people didn’t
like me because of that and it seems so
ridiculous in my childhood mind that
something so beautiful unchangeable and
innate to my creation would be cause for
abomination it seems so strange so
strange almost like a game but
inevitably I started to notice the veil
had been lifted and dice had been
inducted racism was the battlefield and
skin color the catalyst so I hung out
with Latino kids because I felt
protected and thus began my American
education with the experience of self
separation and modern segregation
fast-forward to today and then my
experience we still segregate assert
with myself Hispanics in the u.s. we
have a sort of understanding a sort of
Latin pack
because of the language commonality and
because of the experiences we’ve had in
this land but it used to be such a
hypocrite to this Latin pact because
even though I have Mexican friends I
could get so offended when someone
called me Mexican when I’m not but
instead of simply correcting and
educating I’d get outside my skin to
make sure just so sure people knew I was
not Mexican why I helped create a sub
separation in my culture which is
already marginalized here so I think a
really honest with myself to figure out
that I was demeaning a nation to make my
immigration situation seem better but in
getting honest and really uncomfortable
with myself I was able to move away from
that space because that was not okay and
I wish others would go within to figure
out their pain because my cab driver was
so proud so proud to be of white
European descent fantastic man but in
the same breath he said stuff and he
damned our current immigration despair
you may not remember my friend but
someone in your family came here from
somewhere else and now you’re
complaining about immigration today when
one of your white European ancestors
came here on a boat crossing the sea to
Ellis Island seeking the light of Lady
Liberty trying to experience freedom
just like the rest of us but now you
forgotten your immigrant roots and
somehow this allows you to feel superior
to other immigrant groups when you two
came crashing down on this land that
belonged to our noble people before any
of us so you are an immigrant too
the proof is your white skin cab driver
please go within and figure out why you
are so angry I immigrated here in
contrast I was having a conversation
with a white Caucasian woman who kept
whispering every time she said the word
black she was frightened and 2pc
reluctant to say the wrong thing but
what has he been uncomfortable and
learned to talk about race because the
silence reluctance and inaction just
isn’t helping out today and I’ll never
pretend to know the exact struggle and
pain of black America so for you I have
but one request for the future of today
I hear the n-word and certain songs as
normal as putting butter on toast and I
used to get so offended for you when
someone who wasn’t black saying along
but now I realized this word it’s a
double standard of separation in our
nation today because I know I’m not
supposed to say it but most importantly
teach kids not to say it yet I’m hearing
it a bunch and from your mouth and this
sense mixed messages about a word that
it’s unkind so what if we stop saying it
altogether what would it look like to
try and stop the perpetuation of this
historically heart-wrenching word I’ll
follow your lead show me how because I’m
telling you what I don’t see how this
word is helping our divide but I think
we all took it too far
we separated into her own little world
creating impressions of another race
preconceived notions of what once
someone told you history media or even
experience and today we have a very
culturally divided non United States and
if you don’t think you’re part of this
divide ask yourself
how do you feel about other races or
different religions or about those who
identify as part of the LGBTQ skill and
let’s not even get into the negative
separations of women and men or our
political identities splattered all over
the internet because the truth is for as
long as everyone in this room has been
alive we have been experiencing some
kind of divide we’ve fought so hard for
equality in this segregation and today
we step on them without hesitation we
are afraid of one another and out of
that fear has grown this Dehner we
really surprised that what’s happening
today because I’m gonna ask that we
understand that the state of our nation
isn’t just a statistic from the recent
times know we have been dividing for a
long time so be honest with yourself do
you have a little slice of this body
because it is we who have helped create
this we take steps forward yes but make
no mistake going backwards still in our
DNA and I have had enough haven’t you
it’s time to reunite and create
something new come out of your cocoon
and research what social media says
prove it for yourself and don’t
sensationalize just because you can why
are we letting fear propel when it can
get the best of us can’t we keep our
First Amendment intact and respect our
beautiful differences and preferences as
well and I’m not saying that I hang out
with your own let’s just not disconnect
to the point of exclusion anymore unite
let’s unite we
choose love yes I am brown I am an
immigrant I am a woman who loves women
but I am
first of all human human and we all
bleed the same can we look at that first
if we like compassion take hold instead
we would find the true essence of
ourselves because deeply we are one one
human race look look into my eyes and
see my soul and realize that in that
belief you and I are the same the same
ask me questions hold my hand and please
see me as your soul friend instead of us
someone you should hate and if you’ve
ever been offended in any way you have
nothing to prove by attacking back be
calm and this is hard I know be calm and
show the elegance and the intelligence
of our human mind you’ve heard this
before but don’t just let it roll off
now help me help me raise the
consciousness of our world because we
need to keep each other and our stories
in mind to not allow this segment to
settle in our hearts let’s be kind to
those we don’t know and what if we’re
not so afraid of the unknown what would
happen if we don’t use words that hurt
us anymore and what if we were willing
to relearn what we think we know yes I
know I cannot get back to my 13 year old
mind but we are better than this
much better I’m recognizing where we
actually are
instead of where we one day hope to be
it’s a good first baby step so let’s
work on ourselves starting inside
one-by-one dissolve the lines and maybe
one day when they just around the corner
my heart won’t be so broken and we will
say we the people and really mean it
for all of us this time
[Applause]
when I was 13 years old I exchanged
South America for our nation’s capital
as my new home my mother enrolled me in
school and just like that I became part
of this new world I absolutely adore I
was still learning English and my accent
made me shy I couldn’t really express
myself much but I noticed a few things a
few things that seemed bizarre boys
would fight and call themselves names
names I didn’t understand and girls
would fight and call themselves names
names I didn’t understand but soon my
vocabulary expanded as I learned that
the Robert Horry term for each race and
my 13 year old brain can capture why
skin color was part of the fight because
I didn’t come from a place where I
noticed race causing fists to fly but
here I became acutely aware that the
color of my skin was brown here I became
acutely aware that some people didn’t
like me because of that and it seems so
ridiculous in my childhood mind that
something so beautiful unchangeable and
innate to my creation would be cause for
abomination it seems so strange so
strange almost like a game but
inevitably I started to notice the veil
had been lifted and dice had been
inducted racism was the battlefield and
skin color the catalyst so I hung out
with Latino kids because I felt
protected and thus began my American
education with the experience of self
separation and modern segregation
fast-forward to today and then my
experience we still segregate assert
with myself Hispanics in the u.s. we
have a sort of understanding a sort of
Latin pack
because of the language commonality and
because of the experiences we’ve had in
this land but it used to be such a
hypocrite to this Latin pact because
even though I have Mexican friends I
could get so offended when someone
called me Mexican when I’m not but
instead of simply correcting and
educating I’d get outside my skin to
make sure just so sure people knew I was
not Mexican why I helped create a sub
separation in my culture which is
already marginalized here so I think a
really honest with myself to figure out
that I was demeaning a nation to make my
immigration situation seem better but in
getting honest and really uncomfortable
with myself I was able to move away from
that space because that was not okay and
I wish others would go within to figure
out their pain because my cab driver was
so proud so proud to be of white
European descent fantastic man but in
the same breath he said stuff and he
damned our current immigration despair
you may not remember my friend but
someone in your family came here from
somewhere else and now you’re
complaining about immigration today when
one of your white European ancestors
came here on a boat crossing the sea to
Ellis Island seeking the light of Lady
Liberty trying to experience freedom
just like the rest of us but now you
forgotten your immigrant roots and
somehow this allows you to feel superior
to other immigrant groups when you two
came crashing down on this land that
belonged to our noble people before any
of us so you are an immigrant too
the proof is your white skin cab driver
please go within and figure out why you
are so angry I immigrated here in
contrast I was having a conversation
with a white Caucasian woman who kept
whispering every time she said the word
black she was frightened and 2pc
reluctant to say the wrong thing but
what has he been uncomfortable and
learned to talk about race because the
silence reluctance and inaction just
isn’t helping out today and I’ll never
pretend to know the exact struggle and
pain of black America so for you I have
but one request for the future of today
I hear the n-word and certain songs as
normal as putting butter on toast and I
used to get so offended for you when
someone who wasn’t black saying along
but now I realized this word it’s a
double standard of separation in our
nation today because I know I’m not
supposed to say it but most importantly
teach kids not to say it yet I’m hearing
it a bunch and from your mouth and this
sense mixed messages about a word that
it’s unkind so what if we stop saying it
altogether what would it look like to
try and stop the perpetuation of this
historically heart-wrenching word I’ll
follow your lead show me how because I’m
telling you what I don’t see how this
word is helping our divide but I think
we all took it too far
we separated into her own little world
creating impressions of another race
preconceived notions of what once
someone told you history media or even
experience and today we have a very
culturally divided non United States and
if you don’t think you’re part of this
divide ask yourself
how do you feel about other races or
different religions or about those who
identify as part of the LGBTQ skill and
let’s not even get into the negative
separations of women and men or our
political identities splattered all over
the internet because the truth is for as
long as everyone in this room has been
alive we have been experiencing some
kind of divide we’ve fought so hard for
equality in this segregation and today
we step on them without hesitation we
are afraid of one another and out of
that fear has grown this Dehner we
really surprised that what’s happening
today because I’m gonna ask that we
understand that the state of our nation
isn’t just a statistic from the recent
times know we have been dividing for a
long time so be honest with yourself do
you have a little slice of this body
because it is we who have helped create
this we take steps forward yes but make
no mistake going backwards still in our
DNA and I have had enough haven’t you
it’s time to reunite and create
something new come out of your cocoon
and research what social media says
prove it for yourself and don’t
sensationalize just because you can why
are we letting fear propel when it can
get the best of us can’t we keep our
First Amendment intact and respect our
beautiful differences and preferences as
well and I’m not saying that I hang out
with your own let’s just not disconnect
to the point of exclusion anymore unite
let’s unite we
choose love yes I am brown I am an
immigrant I am a woman who loves women
but I am
first of all human human and we all
bleed the same can we look at that first
if we like compassion take hold instead
we would find the true essence of
ourselves because deeply we are one one
human race look look into my eyes and
see my soul and realize that in that
belief you and I are the same the same
ask me questions hold my hand and please
see me as your soul friend instead of us
someone you should hate and if you’ve
ever been offended in any way you have
nothing to prove by attacking back be
calm and this is hard I know be calm and
show the elegance and the intelligence
of our human mind you’ve heard this
before but don’t just let it roll off
now help me help me raise the
consciousness of our world because we
need to keep each other and our stories
in mind to not allow this segment to
settle in our hearts let’s be kind to
those we don’t know and what if we’re
not so afraid of the unknown what would
happen if we don’t use words that hurt
us anymore and what if we were willing
to relearn what we think we know yes I
know I cannot get back to my 13 year old
mind but we are better than this
much better I’m recognizing where we
actually are
instead of where we one day hope to be
it’s a good first baby step so let’s
work on ourselves starting inside
one-by-one dissolve the lines and maybe
one day when they just around the corner
my heart won’t be so broken and we will
say we the people and really mean it
for all of us this time
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: