The city of Dunkirk is incredibly diverse compared to many places in Chautauqua County and this is well known.

Many of the city’s citizens are minorities and people of color, while the towns surrounding, are much less diverse. Due to this, Dunkirk is often viewed in a way that is inferior to towns such as Silver Creek, Fredonia, and so on. While some might deny that this is the reason Dunkirk is viewed in such a way, this presents the problem that our area is facing: undercover racism.

With the climate of America right now, it is important that every community, no matter how small, acknowledges the discrimnation it shows toward people of color, even if unintentionally.

Racism is not just being blatantly outright racist, it is also choosing to turn a blind eye towards racism, refusing it is in our own lives. As someone who has experienced the racism of the people in our area, I can only imagine the things other people have endured, and that is why I think it is important to educate those in our area on the issue.

Racism is a complex issue, and whether people like to admit it or not, chances are most of us have said something racist at least once in our lives, and not meant harm by it. The issue with this is that it does in fact cause harm to others. It causes as much harm as the people have said or done racist things more than once.

This is because racism has a domino effect. When one small act of racism happens, it often starts small and then grows, whether that be by the same person, or others who are there to witness the small act of racism and then pass it on. Like teaching children racist tendencies, or surrounding yourself with racist individuals. What people in our area have failed to understand about this movement is that Black Lives Matter is a direct representation of all lives matter. The movement not only acknowledges that all lives matter, but bases itself off of this.

Our area also often refuses to acknowledge white privilege, and this is important in the fight against racism. White privilege doesn’t mean that white people have easy lives no matter what. I know this is far from true, and plenty of the white population here experience hardships just like minorities. It simply means that being white is not the reason that your life was har, and this is important to admit and accept.

The acknowledgment of racism in our own lives and in our own region is a huge start to the problem.

When we acknowledge our own racism, we begin to stop spreading it and thus, we see change even if it is as minor as just our town, or area, or county. Some in our area have been called slurs, many have received unfair treatment from police, and many people we know are stereotyped simply because of their race. I have seen this happen to my friends and family, and it has even happened to myself, and our own mayor.

We cannot continue to deny what is right in front of us. White people being the majority in our country, have the power to help change this when they stand up to racism and use their voice, because your voices are listened to more often than ours, and that is why we need you to acknowledge your racism, understand why we are fighting and what we are going through, and help bring change to our community.

In a time where we are isolated from each other, and the country needs to unite again, it is important to know that instead of talking about change we do what we need to as individuals to help spark change instead of desiring it.

The wonderful communities that make up our area can be so much more if we stand together, and be an example of what our country should be if we can just create the spark within ourselves to want to bring change.

Gabrielle Hart is a Dunkirk resident.