Practicing Awareness of Microagressions

I went to college in Western Maryland near the West Virginia line. There were limited African American there.  The surrounding cities' populations are mostly filled with low income Whites who have had limited or no interaction with ethnicity's  others than their own.  The biggest store near the college is Walmart which is a town away.  One afternoon I was walking through Walmart with my sorority sisters, I was light skin with very short hair (boy cut), she was dark skin with locs, and the other was brown with wavy hair.  As we were walking and shopping, a little white girl ran up to my darker skinned friend stopped in front of her and yelled at the top of her lungs "AHHHHHH NIGGGGEERRRR"! We were all baffled, speechless, angered so much so, we froze.  No one moved because we were shocked that this happen 1 and shocked that the mother was right there and laughed.  Not that we thought racism was dead, because we all know it is alive but, that the level of blatant disrespect that children learn from their parents is generational and long lasting.  Moreover, it takes everyone involved to want to grow into an accepting culture and if people choose not to expand their horizons or choose to believe the inaccurate representations of African American on TV (reality shows, music videos) are true, then things will not change.

I was hurt for my friend who shook it off, as one she not an African American citizen, she British but, I was more hurt for that child as she is being taught hate at such an early age.  I would categorise this example of microagression as microasault as it was deliberate intentional and purposefully done in attempts to hurt (Laureate Education, 2011).  This was one of the most overtly noticeable examples of microagression I have observed or be apart of.  I hope that with education things will slowly begin to change.

Laureate Education (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life