Lunch Room Segregation

Segregation was supposed to have ended years ago, yet races still want to separate themselves. Just look to the high school cafeteria to see how much segregation is still part of our lives. 

There’s the black, hispanic, asian, and white tables. The reason is simple; people hang out with the people they feel the most comfortable with. All the blacks understand each other: how difficult it is to manage their hair, their slang, and their street life. The Asians, Korean mostly, talk about fun times in their Korean church and they also have their own little asian community outside of school.

I have none of this. At every lunch I wonder where I fit in.

My hair isn’t beautifully straight like the Asians or chemically-straightened/braided like the blacks. I just have curly frizz and I can’t speak Korean or speak in slang. 

I have very little in common with each group. I usually sit with my friends, who are mostly asian, I try in vain to understand their inside, Korean-spoken jokes. Yes, I could sit with the blacks and I do feel most comfortable with them, but only because I look the most black. 

There I don't stand out to everyone else, but the black kids know the difference. They always remind me how “white” I act and how I’m not truly one of them. 

So really I fit in nowhere. I don’t understand why we place so much emphasis on race. I guess it’s just what we do. We separate ourselves that way and stick together. 

I wonder if there will ever be a mixed kids table. Then maybe I’ll finally fit in somewhere.

By Cherish Hannah