Racist Little Nine-Year-Olds

          When I was in fourth grade, racism became real. Obviously it had been real before that, but not in my world. In my world, it didn't matter that I was biracial, or my friend was Chinese, or my dad was Hispanic, or my teacher African American. I knew about racism, but race didn't matter to me- people were just people. One year, in just elementary school, I got a rude awakening to how racism could affect everyone, even me. That was when I realized that even kids as young as nine or ten had already learned to be... Well, racist. 
          I remember one day at recess when  I was hanging out with my friend Hannah* when some of the kids started up discussing good pairings for their classmates (fourth graders, am I right?) when someone suggested to Tyler* that he and Hannah* would make a good couple. He just blinked in confusion for a moment before saying, "I wouldn't date someone like her. She's black." He didn't even say it in a mean way, and it definitely wasn't a joke. 
          Once at lunch, I was sitting next to Will*, when he frowned at looked down at his lunch tray. "I don't like beans... Anyone else want them?" 
          "Ask Lily," Dylan* replied. "I bet she likes beans, I mean look at her." That was annoying. Call me a terrible Mexican, but I hate beans. Assuming that I liked them because of my skin color wasn't okay. 
          My point is, misconceptions and prejudice about race start at a young age. No one is born this way, but children learn by imitation. And once they stop imitating their parents, who do they look to for an example of "cool"? Us. Teens. We show the next generation how to behave, and when we behave in a racist manner, we just ensure that this will go on generation after generation. We don't have to, though. If we just treat each other as equals no matter skin color or country of origin, people will take note. The next generations will learn by imitation, and if the people they imitate are diverse and accepting, then they will be too. 

*indicates a name change in order to protect person mentioned