“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”
― Shannon L. Alder

Racism is a learned trait.  Go to any school yard and you likely to find two little boys playing together.  What is noticeable one will white the other African American.  There is not one sign of racism between them.

“I hate racial discrimination most intensely and all its manifestations. I have fought all my life; I fight now, and will do so until the end of my days. Even although I now happen to be tried by one, whose opinion I hold in high esteem, I detest most.”
Nelson Mandela

Growing up I was blessed to have two great examples of lives who were empty of racism, my mother, and my maternal grandmother.  I always knew I could take my friends to either home without any racial remarks being made.  My mother had two rules about our friends. First, she had to meet them, second was that she had their phone numbers.  Never once did she tell us we couldn’t be friends with certain people.

I also grew up living with someone who was very racist, I call him Archie Bunker the second.  He wouldn’t say much around my mother, but away from home he truly showed it.

Racism comes in all colors, backgrounds, and cultures.  However, the upfront form of racism is towards black people.  Things looked like they were going to be different because of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education, and outlawed segregation in public facilities. from History.com

The next group that has suffered racism is the Gay community.  For years homosexuality was defined as a mental illness.  It was finally removed from the Mental Health illness list.

…the American Psychiatric Association (APA) — the largest psychiatric organization in the world — made history by issuing a resolution stating that homosexuality was not a mental illness or sickness. This declaration helped shift public opinion, marking a major milestone for LGBTQ equality.

For years they fought for the same civil rights that every heterosexual couple had, marriage.  On June 27, 2015 The Supreme Court ruled that Gay couples could now be legally married in all fifty states of America.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right across the United States. from BBC.com

If we ever reach a point to eradicate racism throughout every country people must come together and learn about each other, understand each other.

I have in my life experience first hand how First Nations people live, their hopes, their dreams, and their struggles.  I lived on a First Nations reserve, served with a Pastor who was a First Nation person.  On the books of a town near where I was raised had a law that a First Nation person could not stay overnight.  For years it was illegal to sell alcohol beverages to First Nation people.  All of this happened on Canadian soil.

So dear reader, let’s make an honest effort to end racism before this century is over! Change must start now!