Matthew K.

I joined ARCC for a couple of reasons. Over the past four years, I have attended Oklahoma State University as a student athlete on the football team. I have met people of all different races, cultures, and backgrounds and have witnessed first hand what a group of individuals can do when they are united together to achieve a common goal regardless of how they look. This has shown me that it is possible for us as a country to do the same. We can become a united country, it doesn’t matter what someone looks like. I want to be a part of the change that this country needs. I have seen first hand what we can accomplish when we work together and stop treating people negatively because of their skin color. One of the biggest reasons I joined Arcc is because my roommates for the past four years are black and I have seen them deal with things that prove racism is still alive today. I’ve witnessed targeted racist acts at them such as one time when we were getting gas and an individual directed a white power hand signal at them, I’ve also noticed that when we go to the store together they only check their receipts and not the white people leaving the store. Whether we like it or not racism is still here and it continues to affect the lives of millions of people every day. I want to do everything I can to educate people that just because someone looks different than you doesn’t mean they should be treated differently. Our country is divided and it is not going to get better if we sit idly by and let it happen it is our job as members of our community to speak up and make the change we want to see in the world.