I was born and raised in a small, segregated, racist town in East Texas. Growing up in a segregated, racist town in East Texas during the 1950s meant living under the harsh realities of Jim Crow laws, where racial inequality was enforced both legally and socially. Schools, churches, theaters, restaurants, and even water fountains were divided by race. Black residents were forced to use inferior, poorly maintained facilities. Black citizens had to enter stores through back doors and were relegated to balconies in movie theaters.

My hometown was located in an area of the United States called the Bible Belt. Most Black citizens and others regularly attend church. However, Churches were also segregated. I guess some felt that there was a God for Blacks and another God for non-Blacks. In my hometown, Black families lived in neighborhoods literally separated by railroad tracks from white communities. Black neighborhoods had limited services, which included a lack of paved roads, running water, and access to healthcare.

Despite these hardships, Black churches, schools, and social clubs provided support and fostered resilience. Black children attended underfunded schools with outdated textbooks and overcrowded classrooms. Our teachers were our role models; therefore, most Black educators were deeply respected and played a crucial role in nurturing pride and ambition. College and professional opportunities were rare, and just like the colonizers did in Africa, many students were steered toward manual labor or domestic work.

In colonial Africa, Africans were denied political representation and subjected to laws that privileged settlers. In post-slavery America, Jim Crow laws, voter suppression, and legal segregation ensured that Black Americans remained politically marginalized for generations. The Facts are: there’s a striking historical continuity between colonial exploitation of Africa and the systemic oppression of African Americans after slavery.

There is so much similarity in the way colonizers monopolized Africans and how the post enslavement period treated African-American/Blacks. These stories reflect not just the economic terrorism and the pain of denial of access to broad-based opportunities, but also the tremendously dehumanizing. However, nothing can stop the strength and dignity of Africans and the Black communities from enduring, thriving, and resisting.

Moreover, in countries formerly colonized by European powers, whiteness is associated with prestige, intelligence, and safety. Blackness, conversely, is stigmatized due to colonial hierarchies. Moving forward, after graduating from high school, I moved to Los Angeles, CA. I attended college at Compton Jr. College. After one year at Compton, I received an athletic scholarship to New Mexico State University. At NMSU, for the first time in my young adult life, I had direct interaction with white students/people along with foreign students/individuals.

Over time, I observed the difference in how foreign students interacted with Black students/people and how they interacted with white students/people. Foreign students distance themselves from black students and embrace white students. As I got to know a few foreign students, I asked why they reacted to black students as they did. Researchers have given accounts that reveal why some international students arrived in the U.S. with negative perceptions of Black Americans. Some foreign students report being explicitly warned by family or peers to avoid Black Americans, based on racist myths or misinformation. Some foreign students explicitly reported that they were warned by family or peers to avoid Black Americans, based on racist myths or misinformation.

This is why I am again introducing a new reality, which from this point forward will be known as “Anti-Melanated Tropes.” Tropes have been known to be used to spread hatred and violence against certain communities for centuries. The humanitarian thing to do regarding Anti-Melanated tropes is to recognize and challenge these harmful and hateful narratives whenever and wherever we encounter them. Many international students change their views after forming genuine friendships with Black peers. The Melanated/Black community can greatly benefit from studying the success of the Jewish community as it relates to antisemitism. Both antisemitism and antimelanism continue to perpetuate harmful biases.