Granite Bay High senior, 18, shares valuable insights

Hi, my name is Josiah and I am a student (senior) at Granite Bay High School. I am writing you in hopes to show just how a teenage boy living in our community can feel because of the lack of diversity in our area. To give you a bit of my background, I have not only been to Granite Bay High School but have also attended a school and lived in the greater Sacramento area with a large amount of diversity, so I have a perspective like few others my age. Data USA states that blacks only represent 1.04 percent of the Granite Bay population with only 238 black residents. Imagine being the only person of your ethnicity to walk into a store or other place of business and that is the only encounter other ethnicities will have with someone of color for the whole day or even the week! Walk in my shoes for a moment. Being looked at when I walk into a store to get some candy and automatically followed by security or walking to a friend's house and being stopped because of the way you look, having only one or two kids in your class that look like you and your teacher singles you out for discussion just because she thinks you will have a "interesting perspective." These are things I deal with every day. Being in such an affluent area and not seeing many successful adult black men can be difficult and it can affect how one sees themselves. How can I be successful or look up to someone that doesn't have at least some of the same life experiences as me? I feel we as a community should seek out others of the black community to be a part of our community and make them feel welcome at our community events and make this an inviting place where all can feel a part of something bigger. Then maybe, my little brothers and sisters will want to stay a part of this area and end the cycle of no diversity in this community. Thank you for your time. Josiah Rollings, Granite Bay High School student