To the fellow citizens of the United States of America, a lot has significantly changed over the

years. There is a African American man, Barack Obama, as President of this country and has
been for the last 8 years and slavery is now seen as an atrocious thing of our historys past.
However, something that still continuing to happen today is extreme and violent racism. It is
quite sad to see that children are singling out their classmates and assaulting them due to the
color of their skin. A race or group of people that are being targeted, now more than ever, are
those who are Islamic. I hadnt heard the term Islamophobia until a few days ago, to my
knowledge and everyone else's, it is the fear of those who are from Islam and Muslims as a
whole. I think rather than a fear, it is a hatred toward this minority. After all, they are people just
like you all and I that are gathered here today. Based off of past events such as the bombing of
Paris, a tragedy that occurred last November. When I hear all the awful things that our brothers
and sisters from the Middle East have endured over these past few months and even years I
weep, for not only them, but this nation as well. We must face the facts, the year is 2016, how
can it be that many individuals such as yourselves consistently verbally and physically abuse
your neighbors, coworkers, and even children? If you say you are not the one causing harm,
how come not stop when you see it being done? We have Islamic mothers, picking up their
children from school who are being verbally assaulted, beaten, and deprived of wearing a
cultural article of clothing, all for something these poor souls had no involvement in1 Think of it in
a simpler sense, how would you feel if you had witnessed the same thing happening to a
Caucasian woman or your own mother? I reckon it would hurt and anger you more than
anything in this whole wretched world possibly ever could. These individuals can not even leave
their homes because theyre terrified of what will happen to them or watch the news because
they know that something that happened over the course of 24 hours that involved a Muslim
person will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Can you imagine what it must be like to fear
that your life will be in danger just because of something you wear or because you speak in your
mother tongue? If this is a nation that is so very proud of being known for freedom of religion
and speech, then it is time to start living up to the name. It concerns me how little people know
about such a serious issue or do not even take a few minutes out of their day to try to help or
spread awareness. For example, were any one of you aware of the three students that were

Elbardouh, Nassim. "The Disturbing Impact of Islamophobia in Our Schools."Alternet. N.p., 8 Aug. 2016.
Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
1

fatally shot near the University of North Carolina?2 Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife, Yusor
Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were killed near the
campus of their school by a man who they feared because he constantly threatened and started
fights with them. The newlywed couple hadnt been together that long and the time they could
have had together was taken away in a matter of seconds. Everything Mr. Barakat and
Mrs.Abu-Salha could have ever dreamed of having is gone, the two had already been
successful graduates, Barakat with a business administration degree and Abu-Salha with a
degree in biological sciences. So many cases like these unfortunately are consistently swept
under the rug and attempted to be left out of your media, November is right around the corner
and that is officially Islamophobia Awareness Month. All of you and others are extremely
encouraged to attend conferences, mention it to your friends and family, and most importantly
be vocal when you see someone attacking an Islamic or Muslim person. As terrible as this will
sound and hurt when you hear it: Islamophobes are more common among White Americans
who are 45 and older and Republicans.3 Would it not be right of me to think that you all would
like to break this stereotype and change how your age and political beliefs make you appear?
Myself, and others regardless of race would like to move past the skin tone and events that
these people had nothing to do with. Just like many Americans point out that slavery was not
their fault or their doing, it was their ancestors, how about you excuse Muslim people and
understand that they all did not personally do the bombing in Paris or any other terrorist act,
certain individuals within their religion and race did. There is no word or set of words to even
begin to describe how unfair it is to blame and hate a whole group of people for something no
more than 30 people did. The person next to you at work or on the subway who is a person of
color would love this country just as much as you do or even more! Just because you happen to
be a few shades lighter doesnt mean he or she wouldnt die for this country in an instant if they
had to. It is your job as adults to show the children of our future what is right and what is wrong.
52 percent of Islamic and Muslim students in california reported to be bullied based on their race
and only 42 percent of students that report the issue to an adult actually made a difference and
solved the issue.4 If teenagers and children of all ages do not see what is wrong with what
Team, The Bridge

Initiative. "Islamophobia in 2015: The Good, the Bad, and the Hopeful." Bridge. N.p., 21
Dec. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
3
How Anti-muslim Are Americans? Data Points to Extent of Islamophobia. By Mona Chalabi. The Guardian.
Mona Chalabi, 8 Dec. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
4
Rizga, Kristina, Shane Bauer, Max J. Rosenthal, William D. Hartung, Jenny Luna, and Tom Philpott. "The
Chilling Rise of Islamophobia in Our Schools." Mother Jones. N.p., 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
2

theyre doing then it is you, the parent or guardian who is at fault for not teaching them to treat
everyone equally. Racism is something that is taught and children pick anything up fast
especially if they are little so it is much better to show them good examples before it is simply
too late. The constant deconstruction and separation of our country must come to an end and
there is no better time than the present. Please, join me and others who are strong advocates
for equality and leave the hate behind. I can not stress enough how important it is for us to
started acting like times have actually changed, the year is now 2016, let us start to act like it.
That being said, I encourage that you do not make the same mistakes your ancestors as well as
mine did, leave the past in the past and learn from our mistakes. We have to do with the past
only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.5

Frederick Douglass quote on the future and how the present and past can affect it