Racial Discrimination Speech

A good morning to all parents, teachers and students. Recently I’ve noticed an increase in our peers skipping class and sitting alone at lunch time, which is why, as a student leader, I am here today to address the issue of racial discrimination in not only our school, but also our daily lives. I believe that racial discrimination is a wrongful act which contradicts our values and beliefs as a multicultural nation and as Christians attending a Christian school. Imagine being discriminated because of your skin colour, your race, or your ethnicity. Imagine having to avoid bullies by hiding in the toilets during class time. Imagine sitting alone at lunch time just because you’re different.

Racial discrimination is the act of treating an individual unfairly because of their race, colour, descent, nationality or religion. It usually occurs when a particular race or ethnicity is considered superior or inferior to another group of people. Racial discrimination is everywhere, because we are such a multicultural college with unique individuals, there are bound to be differences in individuals which results in racism. We are all created equally in the eyes of God, so why are judging others and mocking others because of their race. I believe that we should rid the prejudice and stereotypes of all the different racial groups in our school and accept those individuals for who they are. This is why I am here to help you understand that racial discrimination shouldn’t be tolerated in our school or in our society.

Alarmingly, surveys have shown that 1 in 5 school students experience racism every day in school, whether it be by excluding the student from a group or by delivering racist jokes based on the person’s ethnicity and appearance. It is a very serious issue when the situation is acted based on the hate for this racial group or set of beliefs this individual stands for. This discrimination can occur either physically or verbally or even both, which has already occurred in our school.

Let me tell you a story of a student in our school who has been victim to this racism, to keep the identity of this student private, let’s call him Kai. Kai had just moved to Australia for 3 months before attending school here, with his limited English proficiency, he was often teased for not understanding the concepts in class. He was constantly teased and made fun of due to his skin colour and ethnicity, all which he ignored because he didn’t want to get involved with those bullies. But one day after school they took it too far and began pushing him around in the boys change rooms. Having a thin frame, Kai was easily thrown from bench to bench, they took turns pushing him around like a toy while calling him inappropriate names. Not knowing that Kai suffered from haemophilia, they left him with bruised arms