Communication is Key

When I was eight years old, my family hired a live in housekeep to watch over me and my 2 younger siblings. Sandra was black and had not yet become a citizen of the United States yet. When I was in high school, around age 14, Sandra no longer lived with my family, but would come and clean the house around 3 to 5 times a week. After living with my family for twelve years, Sandra became one of us. I would one hundred percent call her part of my family. She watched as me, my brother and sister all grew up. She watched as I had my bar-mitzvah celebration and coming of age in the Jewish community, as well as watch me graduate from high school and encounter future college endeavors. Although black, never once did any member of my family ever judge her or treat her differently because of her skin family. She was one of us, she would even come and sit down at our family dinners sometimes too. However, this past week, my mom became weary as she noticed money missing from her wallet gradually each day. This seemed rather odd to her, as she questioned if maybe she was spending it, or gave some money to my siblings, or any possibility that she may have mishandled her money. Thinking, that this was all just some strange coincidence, my mom continued with her daily routines, until one day, after taking a shower, she watched as Sandra removed a 20 dollar bill from her wallet. My mom, as well as the rest of my family was appalled. She couldn't believe that anyone would take her money under her own roof, better yet someone who has become part of my family for the past twelve years.

All my life I have never once heard my mom utter a racist comment or though, but after this incident, my mom now has become extremely critical of people of color. She completely lost all trust, and constantly refers to Sandra, and worse, sometimes the entire black community as thieves and criminals. Now, we don't know the true motives behind why Sandra would ever take my parents money, and I do still truly believe there was a background story my family is unaware about, but this brought up a question for me now. Do we only give minorities one shot to make it right? Are they not allowed mistakes? Once one messes up, do we then resort back to racist or discriminatory beliefs? I think overall good communication is needed. Communication is always key within any relationship, and this is true of the black/white relationship or any minority relationship. If maybe we knew why Sandra needed extra money, or if she felt comfortable enough to explain her predicament, things could have ended better for all. Therefore, i think once communication can be established, we can hope for more equality as well.