"Heart to Heart"

October 5, 2018; Peer Profile

Gabrielle Morgan is a senior at Bob Jones. She has been involved in the Bob Jones High School band since her freshman year, but admitted that she wished she could quit. She says they’re too divided, like everything else. She explains that everyone is always at each other’s throats. She explains the racist things people there have called her. “So, I’m [from] a military family, and we’ve been to every state except Kansas. And, with that, we’ve met different people. Different adults. Different environments. I’ve been called a black n****, a worthless piece of s***. We’re interracial, I have a white mom and a black dad. And so, we’re always told, like,  “You’re going to hell”, “Y’all belong in hell.” Even in this school I’ve had people call me, like, a bunch of racist crap, and that affects me by making me angry. There are people I know, here, that would abuse me, verbally. They would always tell me “You’re not pretty, you’re ugly”, “You’re fat”, “You’re disgusting”, “you’re all of these things”. And, I finally told myself I don’t want to be friends with them.” She shrugs, says she doesn’t talk to them anymore. She explains that it took her a long time to realize she didn’t deserve to be treated like that.