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Racism and Poverty Existed
Excellence and Achievement Were Still Possible
First of all, let’s be clear — racism is real. Only someone who is totally blind would deny that racism exists.
Poverty is also real, and hard to overcome.
I speak from personal experience.
My parents came to this country from India. We lived in New York City. Until I was in the 2nd grade, we lived in a one-bedroom apartment.
In addition to the one bedroom, we had a tiny bathroom with no tub, just a small shower, and one larger room that had the kitchen at one end. There was barely enough room for a card table for us to dine on.
My brother got a crib after he was born. My parents and I slept on mattresses on the floor.
By the time I was in the third grade, however, things got better for us as we moved to a three-bedroom apartment. It was still small, but I had my own room.
I went on to graduate from MIT at the age of 20.
Cancer, my ex’s alcoholism and divorce have put me in a bad place financially but even so I am better off materially than I was as a five-year old.
This is not some miracle. It’s part of the immigrant experience, or at least it used to be.
