We Are All the Same

Submitted to: Mr. Costa

Submitted by: Nicholas Biancolin
ENG3U2
March 15th, 2021
 “I have a dream that one day this nation will
rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed — we hold these truths to be
self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

Racism is a peculiar thing. Why someone would treat someone differently based on the

colour of their skin still escapes my mind. In Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have A Dream speech, he

hopes for a world where all people are treated equally. While I have never looked at someone

and judged them based on their skin colour, it terrifies me that there are people in this world who

would do such a thing. Rather than judge someone by their race, I choose to form an opinion on

them based on the things they do, and the way they act and speak towards others. Even though

almost everyone I know is not a racist, racism still exists in our society. Racists get caught up

with the colour of someone’s skin, but ignore the fact that in our hearts, we are all the same.

When all is said and done, we are just like eggs, and while our shells may look different, our

yolks are all the same.

Today I want to tell the city of Selma, (Tell them, Doctor) today I want to say to the state of
Alabama, (Yes, sir) today I want to say to the people of America and the nations of the world,
that we are not about to turn around. (Yes, sir) We are on the move now. (Yes, sir)

Some people think that George Floyd’s murder was the start of the Black Lives Matter

movement. However, not only did it officially start in 2013, the issues leading to its founding

stem from the civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King Jr. In his speech at the end of

the Selma to Montgomery march, King tells us that they are making progress in their fight for

equal rights and that they are not prepared to give up. Fast forward to 2021, we can still see that

their efforts have not stopped. While it is easy to say that times have changed, tragic events like

what happened to George Floyd remind us that there is still a problem with racism. I am sad

about what happened to George Floyd, but glad that his death has brought light to this horrible

issue. Regardless of the colour of our skin, we are all the same and deserve to be treated that

way.
“People say all the time, ‘well, I don’t understand how people could have tolerated slavery?’
‘How could they have made peace with that?’ ‘How could people have gone to a lynching and
participated in that?’ ‘That’s so crazy, if I was living at that time I would never have tolerated
anything like that.’ And the truth is we are living in this time, and we are tolerating it.”

Looking back, most of us agree that slavery was terrible. However, what many of us do

not realize is that slavery is still a part of our society, only now it has a different name. In the

documentary 13th, Bryan Stevenson tells us that while the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made slavery

illegal, it did not fully outlaw it. In the United States, under the third amendment, slavery is

illegal, except as a punishment to crime. This created a loophole where police officers were

arresting criminals (mostly black men) for minor offences, and as prisoners they would be forced

to work through prison labour. In my opinion, prison labour on its own is not a bad concept. It

enables prisoners to learn new skills, and helps them earn some money to spend at the

commissary. But because prisons in America are privatized and prefer to maintain maximum

occupancy, officers need to lock up more criminals. The 13th amendment eliminated slavery in

our everyday life, but it also allowed slavery to continue under a different name; prison labour.
 “It was definitely like being shot
like a[n] animal, it was almost like
putting someone [to] execution. He
was a peaceful person, and he
lived his life peacefully.”

I have been fortunate enough to have never been treated unfairly by a police officer.

However, that is not to say that no one else has. Dorian Johnson tells us the tragic story of him

and Michael Brown walking down an empty street where a police officer confronted them about

not walking on the sidewalk, which tragically led to the officer shooting Brown 6 times. It upsets

me that there are people in this world who would treat someone differently due to the colour of

their skin, especially if that results in someone losing their life. Johnson tells us that Michael

Brown was a peaceful person, and peaceful people should not have to die the way that he did. As

humans, we are all entitled to live life to its fullest, without having to worry about people acting

against us because of arbitrary things like their race. I believe that people should not be judged

by the colour of their skin, but rather by the type of person they are, and the way they act towards

others. My hope is that more people can adopt this mentality, and look past subjective things like

the colour of one’s skin.