Auliana Poon 
Who can blame the Latinos? Running from dictators, drug lords, rapists, poverty, and lack of opportunity, many Latinos – from Brazilians, Cubans, Haitians and Mexicans, to Argentinians, Bolivians, Chileans and Venezuelans – all flock to America for a better life; to live the American Dream.
Becoming White The real prize for immigrants is the chance to become white.
According to Robert Jones in his book, ‘The Legacy of White Supremacy and American Christianity’, 2020, “The opportunity and the possibility of becoming white, and therefore, being admitted into the privileged class, existed uniquely here (in America); as immigrants (like Trump) landed on this country shores, the real prize in the land of opportunity was not economic success but the possibility, for some, of becoming white.”
Again, who can blame the Latinos and other immigrants to the United States of America for wanting to be good, white and successful? Because Black is bad In fact, who wants to be black when we have been mentally conditioned to associate white with success and black with failure?
White = good, pure, privilege, success, wealth and beauty Black = bad, dirty, negative, devil, ugly, poor, failure It is in our genes Isn’t it amazing how persons go to the ‘ends of the earth’ to prove their noble heritage; to prove that they are somehow related to Einstein or some other important soul; even to intonate that one has knowledge, or intelligence, because one’s uncle is a medical doctor.
Selective amnesia
At the same time, we tend to forget our lineage when it comes to White Privilege. It is clear that we have gotten so used to a system where one group benefits tremendously, while the other suffers; and where systems and rules have been put in place to maintain the ‘status quo’. But the architects of White Supremacy, including past presidents, religious leaders, etc., were not acting alone. They had followers.
And they Opinion were not childless. It means that many of us today are descendants of this system of White Privilege and White Supremacy.
And many of us have directly benefitted, and continue to benefit (access to health, education, nice houses and suburbs, job opportunities), from this unjust system.
We just need to admit it. We need to acknowledge how White Supremacy works and why we are part and parcel of this unjust system. We know this deep down. We need to bring this knowledge to the fore and stop sweeping the truth under the carpet. Are we truly winning?
How can we feel good about ourselves for winning a race when the majority of those who could have beaten us have no shoes? How can we feel good about getting rich, having nice jobs, getting promoted and holding lucrative positions, when talented persons, who could perform better than us, have no opportunities and no chance?
How much richer America will be if Black Americans truly had opportunities? How much richer America will be if Black Americans were not prevented from realising their full potential?
If criminal energy were converted into creativity; if physical strength were converted into mental prowess; if we were truly free; and we did not need a police state or guns to guard or guarantee our freedom; what a wonderful world it would be. We need to start listening to our own hearts and conscience.
Our minds, our bodies and consciences know the truth exactly. But like all traumas and nightmares, we selectively forget. But lets us not forget.
Let us learn to forgive our trespasses; to forgive ourselves and work towards a better world. We need to become our brother’s keeper, for real.
Dr. Poon is an economist, born in the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago, of Chinese, Indian, African and European heritage. She read political science at the University of the West Indies and holds a doctorate in Technology and Tourism from the University of Sussex, England
