Unapologetically Unbothered — Anti Racism Through Vulnerable Conversations.
A podcast created by me to make sense and heal the trauma caused by racial disparities through real and raw conversations.
I can confirm that BIPOC are unfairly and unproportionatly held back when it comes to building generational wealth. For the past few years, I’ve juggled the idea that BIPOC can not coexist together and that’s really sad coming for a person of color who lives in a country as diverse as America but a town as white as Belmont.
This is fascinating because Arabs all look different and we come in all shades and colors. Coming from Saudi Arabia I did not experience any racism and I did not comprehend the idea of racism what’s over. The reality is that racism exists everywhere, yet as a child and being in an environment with so much diversity it never occurred to me that people can be discriminatory towards one another based souly on the color of our skin.
Fast forward to now having lived in America for the majority of my 18 years on earth. It was rare I felt like an equal or normal compared to my white peers at school, everywhere in Belmont and other towns as white as Belmont. I was faced with much racial tension, judgment, and overall unwelcomeness. It was to the point where whenever I met a new white person and had a pleasant experience with them, I myself feel surprised by that. Like it’s wild that a white person can actually be nonjudgmental and anti-racist. To me, it’s never surprising when a white person is raciest but it is however when they are not, and that is really sad.
To this day as a senior in Belmont Highschool, I only have two white friends, and one of them I’ve been friends with since 4th grade while the other one just this year. This is crazy and problematic considering Belmont High School is a predominantly white school. This past year I started an extracurricular activity outside of BHS and there I met genuine white people who opened my eyes again and proved that I can be really good friends with white people. I am forever grateful for that program because to cut off a whole race out of my life based on past negative experiences with that race is just not fair to me, to white people and to the rest of the world.
I created a podcast called Unapologetically Unbothered to heal past traumas and have open discussions on what we as BIPOC go through. Talking out loud about the issues is healing and it has opened my eyes. I’ve also received an overwhelming amount of support from everyone who’s listened to the first episode. My guest Bernadine Truth spoke on how BIPOC need to constantly be in rooms where important conversations happen however when we face racism we always need to speak up no matter what. To make changes and positive reinforcement actually happen. “It’s not always easy for them to hear but it’s necessary…’’(Bernadine Truth). I believe that all people should not only be educated on racial issues but also, they should also be a part of the conversation and it’s up to us BIPOC to speak up and let them in on what’s happening.
It’s important for white people and our counterparts to be educated so they can be better allies to BIPOC and so the concept of white guilt can slowly but surely becomes extinct. We as human beings share planet earth together and it’s most beneficial for all of us to do more than just coexist together.
This project seems like a really fitting to off my high school journey because let me be honest — it was rough. However I came out stronger, smarter and more self aware. Sometimes we have to go through really ugly experiences to see the beauty in what’s left over. Although I’ve gone through many racist experiences in my little 18 year old life, I know that sadly more are yet to come. However through all of it all I realized I love people and just because I’ve had experiences with some bad people it does not mean everybody is like that.
Hey, I’m Maryam, a young entrepreneur whose based in Boston. I’m the owner of MarAmour.Co, a cosmetics brand, and I’m a huge nerd who’s constantly learning about emerging tech.
Connect with me on LinkedIn say hey; let me know what future content I should post & feedback is always appreciated.
