I will lose out on job opportunities. I will be called hurtful names, especially since I am a black, dark-skinned woman. People will suspect I want to steal from them and they will hold onto their purses if I am around with the assumption that I am uneducated and waiting to feed off the “white man.”

I can’t have the hair I was born with because it will be considered unprofessional. Often, people will suggest that I don’t use my ethnic name when applying for job interviews and instead use a “white name.”

I will be called lazy, rude and “ghetto” to the point where it will become numb to such derogatory racial slurs. I will be judged and treated unfairly merely because I am black.

As far as I’m concerned, from my experience being in this country, this is an unfortunate reality. Of course, no one ever wants to talk about it. My heart is racing as I write this because no one ever says it out loud, but instead we pass subliminal messages in an effort to voice out the oppression that black people face in this country.

I refuse to censor the issue for the comfort of ignorant people. Racism is alive and kicking in America. Yes, I said it! For the most part, there is a privileged system for black people in America, but rather a system that continues to privilege that already top of the ladder white men.

The argument is always that “slavery ended years ago” and the “I didn’t ask to be born white” defense. To counter that, black people should stop with the “black lives matter” slogan because all lives matter. I cannot explain the oppression of black people to people who are sitting in a position of privilege.

Sure, some choose to stay neutral and not talk about the oppression of black people in America, but I will tell you this, when you remain neutral in a system of injustice, you have already chosen the side of the oppressor.

To be black in America means you have to be twice as good, twice as smart. Black workers receive extra scrutiny in job interviews.

This is detrimental to our progression as a human race. Society has to be reminded that many generations ago African Americans were banned from buying private property, even when they had saved enough money. We can’t force people into poverty and then blame them for living in those predicaments.

The day that skin color carries no bad stigmas in the world will be a huge day in history. I often tell people how skin color is the most superficial thing on the human body because it does not reflect the kind of person someone is.

I know what it feels like to be black in this country. I can feel my heart beating in my chest as tears flow from my eyes. To say I am sad and angry of how my people are treated in this country is a gross understatement.

I am terrified not only to be black, but also to raise black children. So many children have been killed because “he looked scary” or “he was wearing a hoodie (a common fashion for kids of all kinds).” How am I supposed to send my children into such a world, fearing every single day that they might not come home?

This will not be a place I will call home. I am tired of being afraid that that if I get pulled over by a cop, I will be killed like Sandra Bland. I am tired of “black lives matter” being turned into all lives matter. I am tired of having hope when it seems all hope is gone.

Wadzanai Dzvurumi is a marketing junior.