Monday, February 9, 2009

Lessons From the Weekend

Because all my friends who have being cutting my hair in the last two years of college have graduated, I had no choice but to visit a barber last Friday. So I went to this barber shop not too sure what to expect, just like every time we do something for the first time. The two barbers were white, the clients there were white, and the hair on the floor was all blonde. I am not white. There was this urge to check if there were any sign that wrote “whites only.” No, this is 21st century America-- a free country. OK. I wondered if the barber would treat me differently. It turned out he didn’t. OK. I wondered if this scene was possible 80 years ago, or even 50 years ago. I got out of the barber shop, sporting a new hair style. OK.

Then in class today, the second week of class, I noticed in one of the lectures that all the students of color were sitting in the last row. White students occupied the first two rows. None in that class really knew each other, so my guess is that most chose their seats based on whom they wanted to sit with.

We have progressed so far, yet so little. Maybe the young ones, who grew up in 21st century America, could learn a thing or two from those who lived through the segregation period. Like my barber--my new found friend.

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