A racist ghost from the past

The Frito Bandito (racist stereotype)

"You are a good boy, right?" 

"Mr. Woodward, I am not sure what you are asking," I asked.

"Well, I know how your kind is. You all like to steal and I just want to make sure you are not like that."

"No sir, I don't steal." 

“Great, you got the job, can you start this week?”

At the time of this job interview/interrogation, I was a teenager looking for a part-time job. My search for a job took me to Mr. Woodward, a store manager at a local shoe store. He was an older Caucasian man who was raised during the days of segregation. He also had no problem sharing his racist views with anyone who would listen. 

From our initial interview/interrogation, I realized he was a racist. I took the job thinking I could deal with him. Within a week, I realized I had made a mistake.

One afternoon, someone had stolen some shoes from the store; Mr. Woodward told an African-American co-worker asked if some black customers had been in the store. Needless to say, my co-worker was angry by the comments, but not angry enough to quit. My co-worker had also decided to tolerate Mr. Woodward's comments. He said he needed the job so he just dealt with it.

Days after thinking about Mr. Woodward's comments, I decided to quit because no job was worth dealing with a racist. Like a ghost, memories of Mr. Woodard’s racist words have always haunted me. My experience with him occurred more than twenty years ago and I have never forgotten his hurtful words. He was living proof that racism will always exist.

Recently, his words came back to haunt me through the eyes of my youngest son. 

My son's last two school years have been difficult. In addition to learning math and science, he has also learned about racism. Although he didn’t learn racism from an obsolete Caucasian man, he learned it from his peers...kids can be cruel. 

I recently intervened on my son's behalf because a few classmates called him a Jew, Chinese boy, Mexican, and a n****r. He was called everything except his birth name. Being the only non-white child in an all Caucasian school has been tough. 

Fortunately, my son’s principal supported us and said he would not tolerate racism in his school. He handled the problem.

It's been difficult for me to explain to my son that racism still exists. He said he just wants to be treated equally. I had to explain to him that Americans just aren’t ready to get past racism. 

In a fantasy world, I could envision my son growing up in a society where no one cares about his skin color. 

Unfortunately, I know this isn't a reality and the ghost of Mr. Woodard's racism will now haunt my son.