Think Before You Speak

Growing up, I went to a high school where I was the minority. Our school was 65% black and 35% white. I played on the basketball team in which I was the only white girl. I would say maybe more than half of my friends growing up were black. My sisters are six and seven  years older than me so when they went to our high school, the ratio of black to white students were flipped. For some reason, my one sister is very stereotypical when it comes to racial issues. She used to (sometimes still does) say a lot of racist comments that would enrage me. I never once let her get away with this. As soon as she said something I didn't agree with, I was the first one to call her out on it and ask her why she would even think or say that. In the beginning she used to just get very defensive, which led to many arguments between us. After awhile, I think me standing up to her made a difference. I remember one time I was driving her and her friends somewhere and she made a comment and instantly apologized for it. I don't know if my remarks changed her way of thinking but I do know that I made her think more before she speaks. I hope her resistance to these unnecessary comments will lead to a different set of beliefs. I know this isn't a huge step but it's a start...