Consolation of Unity

When I was younger, the thought of racism had never really crossed my mind. I had been friends with everyone - no matter their race, culture, or beliefs. I was a child and my love knew no bounds. But as I grew older, I had begun to notice the different cliques that would form; one skin color would generally stick to hanging out with that specific color, and while I didn't know why this was happening, I had learned to accept it.

The first time I had truly recognized racism as a real problem was in the seventh grade. As I was riding the bus home, I had noticed a few of my peers of Caucasian descent bullying another boy who was in my science class. They were making fun of the fact that he was an African-American and happened to be darker than them. I could only watch as they ruthlessly tore into the boy until he was finally able to get off the bus and escape the torment. I hadn't told anybody what I had witnessed.

Then, in the ninth grade, I had experienced my first taste of racism toward people of Caucasian descent. I was rushing to my biology class when I had accidentally ran into a black girl as I turned around the corner. She had been extremely angry and called me a "privileged white cracker" who needed to understand where I stood with her; according to her, I was the dirt beneath her feet along with a slew of vulgar words.

As the years passed, I had witnessed more cases of racism, experienced more racism, and more importantly, learned of racism throughout history. It was sometimes heart-wrenching to hear of how there were mass genocides of people who had been deemed "unworthy" in the eyes of others. I could not fathom why people would hate other people simply because of the color of one's skin. But it happened, and it seemed like there was nothing I could do to stop it.

And now, as I scrolled through Instagram on my phone, it seemed that racism would never end. There was a picture of Sandra Bland promoting the mass murder of white people on my feed, and I could only let out a loud sigh over the sheer stupidity that this woman possessed. How would promoting racism against one race possibly end racism against the other? It was contradictory, and I couldn't believe that so many people actually agreed with her. It was unsettling nevertheless, and after spending countless hours attempting to show the world that racism would never solve anything, I had achieved nothing. I had been awarded nothing but the mocking of my fellow peers, the hatred from the opposition, and the knowledge I would never succeed in my endeavors. I had pretty much given up with trying to help end racism.

As I let out another sigh, scrolling past the photo and onto something more vibrant, I felt as though someone was standing in my room. I quickly looked up and took note of the random woman standing at the foot of my bed; instead of being afraid and concerned that a total stranger was in my room, I was almost in awe of her. She was extremely beautiful with light brown skin and a flawless complexion. Her blue eyes were round, and it seemed as though her gaze could pierce into the very depths of my soul. She had a mane of wild, brown hair that framed her face and cascaded over her shoulders. She wore a gown of many colors - the most predominant colors being black, brown, and white - and I noticed that throughout her gown were different pictures that depicted the multitude of cultures in the world. Not a single race, not a single culture was absent from her dress. In her left hand was the only item she carried: a small globe.

The woman looked down at the phone in my hand and her expression changed to one of complete anger and disgust. When she spoke, her voice was full of authority: "Why do you waste your precious time on something so trivial, something that only distracts you from the outside world? Put away that device so that you and I may converse freely without the possibility of distraction."

I did exactly as she instructed me, and I tucked my phone away under my pillow. I watched as she sat down on the edge of my bed and I gave the mysterious woman my full attention, curious as to who she was and what she would say. But she must have noticed some confusion etched onto my face because she chuckled soft and said, "You must not realize who I am. I am the antithesis of racism, the end of the beginning. I am pure where racism is corrupt."

And in that instant I knew she was the lady Unity. "But why are you here?" I questioned her.

"I am here because I see your struggle, my child," she told me. "I see that you are wrestling with an inner torment, and I have come here to help your relieve yourself of this dilemma. Because it is in my name that you face this evil and it will be in my name that you are cured of this depression."

"It's not that I would call myself depressed," I said with a hint of misery in my voice. "I'm not sure that's an accurate word to describe my situation."

The lady Unity nodded in understanding. "You are correct," she spoke. "It is not depression that ails you; it is helplessness. You feel as though you cannot contribute to the cause of my ideals. There have been many others throughout time that have felt what you are feeling right now, and they have risen to do great things. Frederick Douglass suffered through the horror of slavery and the scorn of enemies for many years. Now his books are being read in schools and the history of slavery is being presented. Jean-Jacques Dessalines faced persecution within Haiti even after becoming its emperor, and while he wad despised for his brutality during his reign, he is regarded as one of Haiti's founding fathers. Martin Luther King, Jr. is remembered as one of the most prominent Civil Rights activists, but even he was assassinated for what he believed to be true."

She paused, eyeing me up and down before saying, "While you may not be protected in the flesh for your actions of my behalf, while you may face the scorn of many, it is ultimately what you leave behind that will have you written down in the history books. You must pave the way for others. Do you comprehend what it is I am trying to tell you?"

"I think I understand what you are saying," I replied with a shrug. "What I don't understand is what I can do. How can I aide the troops who fight racism for your sake if no one will pay me any attention? I am considered to be privileged in today's society. Because I am white, I am automatically racist. Because I am white I am perceived to be something that I am not. Because I am white I can do nothing according to some to end racism, and I can do everything according to others. And yet, right now, I feel like I can't do anything but sit here and watch as this world continues to dive into the depths of racism."

"It was eerily silent for a moment. I watched as Unity processed my words and formulated her own response. "Racism is not going to end because of one individual," she explained to me. "One person alone cannot expunge an issue that plagues the whole earth. No, racism will only cease to exist once the world unites as one to overcome it."

I was confused. How exactly were the races supposed to unite? "I've heard people say that they don't see the different races; they only see the person. Is this what you mean?"

She shook her head slightly in disagreement. "No, that is not the solution. If you claim that you see no distinctions between the races, you won't remember the beauty of the different cultures this world holds. You will ultimately see one race, one culture, one people, and in the end, you will have thrown away the histories of all nations. You will not achieve unity this way. You will achieve more opposition, more hate.

"But if we continue to see the different histories of the races," I protested, "we won't be able to forget the past. People will still be angry about the things that happened years ago! If we cannot forget the past, we cannot stop the animosity between white people and black people, between Hispanics and Asians, between one culture and another." I sat back and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"There is a problem with forgetting: you will not learn," she voiced. "You must remember the different conflicts that each race has faced throughout history. Because if you don't, you are doomed to repeat these actions in the future. Segregation and slavery will be reinforced and no one will be happy."

"It feels as though we are segregating ourselves, if I'm honest. More than ninety percent of the time you will see white people hanging out with only white people or vice versa for the other races. It's rare to see a white person and a black person hanging out nowadays. It's rare to see any races hanging out nowadays!" I explained to her.

"The only way this will end is if the entire world joins together in unity."

"What exactly is it we need to do to achieve this unity then?" I asked her directly, wanting to hear the answer.

"The answer is simple but painfully hard to do," she said. "Every race, culture, color of people must meet in the middle of this feud. Each party must extend the olive branch of forgiveness forward to usher in a new era. Just as you would not want to be punished for sins committed in the past, neither does each race. They cannot do so to the other. There must be agreement from every end of the spectrum to cease racism."

I processed the information. It made sense and it seemed like it was the only solution that would actually have positive results. "But it's impossible," I told Unity after a moment. "There is so much animosity and hatred that some people have made a living based off of it. It fuels some individuals. It's not plausible to believe that everyone will join together."

"It isn't impossible," she began, "but it isn't something that will just magically happen anytime soon. This will take time, effort, dedication, even bloodshed for this to become a reality." She paused before adding, "But it's not impossible." Her dress crunched as she stood up from the bed and gazed at me. "Do you understand now what you must do, my child? Do you feel better about the situation?"

I nodded. "I do, and I understand what it is that you command of me."

"The world must come together in the ultimate form of peace to combat racism: unity." And then she vanished, leaving me to my thoughts and my phone forgotten.