As Im typing this Im sitting here thinking when will racism end?

What is it going to take?

Since my first day of kindergarten, I felt different. I didn’t know English I was always the last to learn everything. My parents didn’t have the typical American job. My parents weren’t lawyers, doctors, or teachers my dad is a landscaper, and my mom cleaned houses. I used to be embarrassed about my culture. I tried so hard to fit in. Now I am proud to be Latina I am proud of who I am and I and especially proud of my parents for giving me all the amazing opportunities I have. They sacrificed everything for me and my sibling to have a better future and an education. My parents came to the U.S. when they were only 15 years old.

I am beyond proud of all those immigrant parents who come here with nothing and give it their all for their family. 

It wasn’t until my junior year of high school that I experienced so much racism it started to affect my mental health I no longer wanted to go to school. Me and my friend Jackie Muñoz decided to do something but this big problem going on at Kingston High School. We decided to organize a protest. Sadly, our voices were not heard. A couple days later we see that the protest we organized was on Kitsap Sun. We didn’t even get credit for it. A different student got all the credit. The Kitsap Sun interviewed and credited her, and she was a running start student that had no classes that year at Kingston High school. We emailed the Kitsap Sun multiple times, and we got no response. When a Hispanic person does something positive for the community, we never get recognized. On the other hand, if it was something negative, we would definitely be in the newspaper.

Our voices were never heard but I’m not giving up.

At Kingston high school me and my friend got in trouble for speaking in Spanish. The teacher assumed we were saying bad words and talking about other students. In reality we were having a normal conversation. Me and my friend were failing that class. I would look around and everyone in that class would just be talk and not do anything. I proceeded to talk to the teacher about my grade after school one day and he ignored me. I felt so frustrated and tired. I felt hopeless. I reported that teacher but as always, they did nothing about it. There was another incident that happened at Kingston High School. Me and my cousins were called puercas, Marranas, and nacas (in Spanish) by a teacher. We also reported her, and they told us they did something about it. To resolve this issue, they just told me to not get near her. We wanted to set up an appointment with the teacher and my mom, but she canceled the appointment a couple hours before it even started. The school wouldn’t let the parents talk to her. I find this so ridiculous. After me and my cousins reported her, she kicked me out of her classroom and didn’t tell me why. She told the staff she sent me to a different teacher to work on an essay, but I didn’t even have that teacher in the first place. She was just saying that so it would look like I was lying when in reality the whole class saw. I had enough so I transferred schools. Teachers and students need to be educated about racism.  

Schools also need to have interpreters. We are not interpreters.

It is so stressful having to translate and still focus on what the teacher is teaching. Imagine trying to learn a new language and just be put in a class with absolutely no help. Those students aren’t going to learn anything they will just feel stressed and left behind. 

Racism leads to having mental health issues.

Students often feel like they don’t belong or don’t have a safe place.

Racism causes trauma and needs to be taken seriously. It doesn’t only affect you mentally but physically too. Students need to feel safe and welcomed. Schools need to have serious consequences for students and teachers participating in any act of racism. We’re in 2023 and this is only getting worse. We all need to be treated EQUALLY. We shouldn’t be fighting for our basic human rights. 

I am proud of who I am. I am proud to be Latina. And, I will keep using my voice to stand up for my community and People of Color. You are not alone we are in this together!

Bio:

Hello, my name is Vanessa Larios Ramirez I am a student at Western Washington University. I want to become a Physicians Assistant. My dream is to make the world a better place and make everyone feel welcomed!