African American community
The community that defines me most is the African American community. The African American community is very close internally, but we are still very disconnected from some outside communities, namely whites. With common occurrences of racial slander, aggression, profiling, and stereotyping, along with police brutality, systemic poverty, and low expectations from higher-ups, we usually are forced to use each other for support and stability, hence why we are so close to each other and skeptical of outsiders. Because of this, even though segregation ended 50+ years ago, many of us still aren’t motivated to break out of our shells and instead, frequently stay in mostly Black communities and have to resort to “trapping,” drugs, murder, and various other dangerous and often illegal activities just to stay alive and provide for our families. That’s the reason a lot of us are on welfare, don’t know our fathers, don’t prioritize education, drop out of school to provide, don’t strive for high-end jobs, and stick mostly with those of our kind. Many of us try to fix it, but being in the minority makes it very hard. While this might all seem very down-putting for me, I use this as fuel to be successful. People such as Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Ben Carson, and others were still able to be great, influential leaders despite the typical African American struggles they faced. My parents are the closest, significant examples of this that I know. My parents are immigrants that came to the U.S only 17 years ago. Even though they came here with a tiny amount of money, and at first had to live with a family friend, they worked very hard through many challenges and in less than five years, moved out. By then, there was only my younger brother and me, but after a few years and two apartments, they bought their first house.
Along with the move in 2007, my parents worked their way into the upper-middle class, had two more children, and are now very comfortable with above-average income, and making more than several natural-born white families and others alike. They inspire me that with hard work and perseverance, I can be as successful, if not more than them. Just like they’ve been an inspiration to me, I want to show other blacks like me that they can break the mold too. I want to inspire my potential Harvard classmates of all kinds, and show my fellow African Americans and minorities all over the world that we are not destined to poverty, lack of higher education, and other belittling stereotypes brought upon us and that with hard work and dedication, we can truly change our nation.