Kaffir Boy

 

"Kaffir Boy" by Mark Mathabane is an eye-opening short story that tackles the issue of stereotyping and getting past racism. The boy went with his granny and when they went into Mrs. Smith's house, her son said a couple things that hurt his self-esteem. The story really moved me and brought many things to light. It is crazy how different whites treat blacks. Segregation was more common back then and in the story in Lines 25 it says, " at our school we didn't even have a school bus. Oh, how I envied the white schoolchildren, how I longed to attend schools like theirs". I feel disgusted to even think that America was once divided and viewed and treated black people, or other minorities as if they were nothing. There is no difference between a white person, a black person, or any person . We all bleed, love, and experience heart break, etc. We are all human, the more we differentiate the more divided as a nation we become. After all, "We the People" should stand up for each other and get past stereotypes and move towards a more peaceful future. In line 123-124 it says, "...I simply don't understand why those damn uncivilized Boers from Pretoria teach children such things. What future does this country have if this goes on?" They needed more people that thought like Mrs. Smith.

The picture above really got me thinking. When we are born we are not born racist. Children themselves are not racist, but its their parents and other people that tell and influence them that blacks, or other minorities are different from them in a negative way. That's what makes hatred in their hearts. See the innocent children reaching for each other's hands. Let's all look past color, religion, race, gender, lets look deeper into our souls. We are one...

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