Hello, my name is Graciele and I am 16 years old.

Nobody would opt to be among a minority and suffer prejudice.

What keeps me worried at this moment is racism, which is still present in my daily life.

Racism: is a prejudice held by people who consider themselves superior to others and that their point of view and their ideologies are characterised by pointing out defects, preferences and different traditions and behaviours.

It is hard to believe that racism still exists in such a modern world as ours. I do not understand the people who consider themselves better than others. Being of African descent should not impede anyone from having hopes for the future nor impose on them an education of inferior quality and be condemned to live in impoverished conditions.

There is no such thing as a `white person´ or a `black person´ in Brazil. All of us have mixed blood.

There is no such thing as a `white person´ or a `black person´ in Brazil. All of us have mixed blood. But even being aware of this, there is still a lot of racial prejudice. The law forbids racial discrimination, i.e. the segregation of different races. But with only the law we will not be able to resolve the problem of racism. We need our society to be united in denouncing these injustices.

Of all those in Brazil whose deaths are caused by violence, 68% are black. Among the incarcerated, 61% have a coloured skin. The majority are imprisoned for petty crimes and often without being charged. The data shows a reality that we insist in hiding, namely racism in Brazil. For the first time in its history, the population of Brazil is no longer predominantly white. Statistics for 2010 show that 47.73% of the population declared themselves white; while in 2000 this figure was 53.74%. Up to now, whites had always been more than 50%. “Of every three youth assassinated in the country, two are black” We could avoid more people getting into a “life of crime”.

If we would improve the standard of teaching in public schools, the conditions of housing and raise the minimum wage, which often does not cover the monthly family expenses. Often, many families simply cannot afford to buy new clothes or even sufficient food. That is why I think that young people end up getting into the “life of crime”, to improve their living conditions. Many of them do not live beyond 22 years of age.

I believe that the best cure for racism and prejudice is still education in the school and at home.