My friend Klarke and I are the only African-American students in this program and in fact, it seems like some of the few African-Americans in this part of Spain. I look around and see very few people like me and it doesn't bother me because growing up I have always looked around the classroom and seen few fellow blacks. However, today as Klarke and I were walking across the street, something kind of offending happened....we got called "negritas" which in direct Spanish translation, means "little black girls." Now it's nothing like the "N-word" but there's something about someone catcalling you by calling you a little black girl that bothers you. For one, it's rude to catcall and two, it's rude to call someone out by their race. Klarke's host mom told us that it was a term of endearment and because there are so few Blacks in Basque Country, many don't know what is appropriate and not appropriate when dealing with our race. In the past couple of years, our country has seen a variety of issues come about in terms of race relations from Trayvon Martin to Mike Brown and it's amazing that I can come all the way over to Spain and experience the same ignorance. I'm seeing that this is not only a US problem but a world problem. It's sad but I keep on moving forward with my life and continuing to respect all other cultures and people, hoping one by one we can build a better world.
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AuthorChristine Pope Click Here to See Blog Broken Down by Months!
April 2015
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