TRP Feature: Tajh Restrepo, Brooklyn, New York, USA
TRP: What is your definition of racism?
TR: My definition of racism is the discrimination of a different race, and the practice of inferiority and superiority. Racism allows a group of people to make judgments on another group of people from stereotypes that have been created. This leads to a miseducated society that now forgets how to open up and learn about each, ultimately creating very ignorant environment.
TRP: Define a time when you experienced racism.
TR: I’ve been racially profiled numerous times, but one time that hit me the hardest was in my own residence. I live in a diverse building, which I appreciate. What has turned me off about my neighborhood is that we all stay in one building yet, most of us still don’t learn from one another. I was coming home one night. It was approximately 8 p.m. I heard the elevator was opening up, so I made a dash to catch it. Inside of the elevator was a middle aged Chinese woman who I’ve seen numerous times, but she may not have noticed me. As soon as I entered the elevator, she quickly walked out and waited for another one to come. I was shocked by her actions, yet I was not surprised. In her eyes, I was a hoodlum and one to watch out for. I knew then that many people live their lives based of false pretenses, but we are trained to be this way from what we see and hear.
TRP: Do you believe racism can be eradicated? If so, how? If not, why?
TR: In our society where racism was set in place to keep a few ethnic groups oppressed, I believe it would be very difficult, and almost impossible to eradicate racism. What I think can occur are forums. These forums would be set up state-to-state, country-to-country to have different cultures come together in one room and actually learn about each other. A lot of people will have the prejudices before entering the room, but God willing, this can change as each race is now exposed to the culture differences. Exposure is key. To fully eradicate racism, media must change their platform and what is televised. It’s a psychological game, and it starts with transforming each person’s way of thinking.
TRP: What role are you playing in educated privileged America on racism?
TR: My Facebook has become a tool for me to help educate those about my race, and where I come from. I went to high school with a people from different social and ethnic backgrounds. Through images, reposted messages, statistics, and my own thoughts, I choose to share with my facebook audience who I am, what I stand for, and what others around me stand for. I’m also working on a mentoring piece where I hope to get different races together to come and have conversations with one another. These young people will be exposed to the cultural differences and hopefully not be as prejudice as they might have been before.
TRP: Why is it important for us to talk about racism?
TR: This is topic is very necessary. We all need to learn how to live on this earth together. We all may have our differences but its times we stop placing people in categories because of their race and not who they are as an individual.
About Tajh:
My name is Tajh Restrepo. I'm a 25 year-old male from Brooklyn, N.Y. My mother is an Afrikan woman who was born in Brooklyn, and my father is an Afrikan Male who hails from Queens, N.Y. My family is very diverse. We have family from Colombia, Barbados, and Haiti. I attended public school in New York until high school. I received a scholarship to attend a boarding school in Virginia named Episcopal High School. This is where I understood and appreciated my social status and race. After graduating high school, I attended St. Joseph's University for one semester. I was not content with my financial aid package and I decided to come back to New York to attend Borough of Manhattan Community College. I felt my calling was in philanthropy, and I slowly left school to help a small non-profit organization in Brooklyn called 500 Men Making a Difference. Our mission is to help provide volunteers for different projects, mentor young men within the community, and uplift the black male within our community and others. My social engineering began to build up and expanded by joining my fellow college colleagues in company. I'm a partner for Common Ground Management, LLC. Our consulting firm assists small businesses with strategic planning, with the goal of enhancing their profit and provide longevity. I look forward to a country that chooses to learn from one another and end this senseless act of systematic racism.
