Quameer Riggins "Presumptions"

Gates, Bazos, Winfrey, McMahon. What comes to mind when you hear these names? Is it wealth or prosperity? Ok now let's try this: Moore, Young, Riggins. What comes to mind now?

Generally, people use a family name as the definition of a person. If one is a McMahon, automatically, people consider them to be involved with World Wrestling Entertainment (The WWE). If one is related to Bill Gates, people consider them to be wealthy because Gates is known for creating microsoft.. But what about us? What do people think of when they hear your family name? Crime? Illiteracy? Other negative connotations? My last name is Riggins, but my mother is a Moore/Young. In Newark, most of them are considered crooks or drug dealers. Should that define my mother, sister, or I?

Asking that question is like asking: should skin color affect how society views a person? The morally correct answer is no, it shouldn’t define them; but it doesn’t stop society from seeing BLACK citizens as criminals, gangsters, or less than human in some instances. A person could be BLACK and have a Ph.D, but the moment a white person sees them in street clothes walking to the corner bodega, assumptions are often made in micro and macro ways. A stereotypical assumption is that we are all the same. They assume we all are crooks. They assume we are all broke. But what if we aren’t?

When a person asks me, “What are your life goals?” and I give them a ten year rundown of where I want to be, they almost all say the same thing: “Wow, you have it all figured out. I’m very impressed.” I’m 14, and I’m a freshman, that’s how it should be. I should have goals for myself. I should have a 10-year plan, so I know what I want to do with my high school years and beyond. I want to make history.

However, as a minority, I should be like the rest. I shouldn’t have goals. I should want to finish high school and be average. Would they look at the child of Donald Trump and ask why they are successful? Would society ask the child of Bill Gates why they have life goals set? If the answer to the aforementioned questions are no, then why would they be allowed to question me, because I am different? I am an American citizen, and a teenage high schooler, just like the rest. When people ask, “have you ever experienced discrimination before,” I always answer no, but why?

I have accepted the social norm that it is shocking for me to have goals and don’t consciously consider it discriminatory when it truly is. Also, it’s because white people aren’t the only ones who have done this; people of color have as well. I’m different, my own person, and the only competition I will EVER have is who I was yesterday.

I’m black, and I’m 14. Many kids that are 13-15 are still doing silly or immature things and figuring out who they are. Is it so bad that I am thinking of what I want for my life, years from now? Society wants kids like myself to follow the status quo and be another statistic. As long as we follow society’s rules, we are still playing by the rules and norms of white supremacy. It’s time to break the rules because only we define who we are: Kujichagulia.

“Quameer, I want you to be different, I want you to be better than who I was.” My mother constantly drilled this into my head. This WOMAN raised me to have aspirations. She raised me to have the constant mindset that I am destined for limitless possibilities; that all I have to do is chase and catch the dream. “Sky's the limit,” is what she always tells me. My mother is the reason that I am becoming the confident and well mannered man that I am today.

A family name doesn’t define who you are. Neither does race, nor does religion. The only thing about a person that defines them is their identity, joy, pride, and aspirations. My definition of my name is different from others. Many consider me a decent of a family with a criminal history and a minority. But for me, when I hear the name Quameer Riggins, I consider that name to mean power because of all of my hard work, aspirations, and the identity I’ve created. MY actions define me NOT the actions of my family members nor a last name; and I’ll NEVER apologize for who I am.

-Quameer Riggins