Essay | Do you Hear the People Sing?

by Helen P. Lauron, West Visayas State University Lambunao Campus

Sing. But how could you when you are stuck in a crowd with no one listening? How can you when anyone is ready to steal the concept your mind would be able to bring? At worst your message is sung by another, at best you are heard by a few who will easily forget. What then is the point of singing.

Discrimination is the origin of every social issue. It is a hard-wired belief in a mind refusing to accept the existence of diversity and change. Yet time is relative to change, the only thing ever constant is change.

Not only in the Philippines but in almost every part, there is an existing ideology that the fairer the complexion, the more acceptable the person is. A plethora of whitening products dominate the Filipino media, encouraging people to change their natural colors to what society prefers. This mentality is rooted in the colonization of the country and romanticism of the “heroism” of our colonizers, only proving that racism is a cunning snake that has slithered into the grounds of our forests unnoticed and accepted as nature rather than bigotry.

It should not take a murder to recognize the horrors of colorism and racism. A knee on the neck should not be the eye opener nor the reason to spark a change. It shouldn’t be the first verse to a song of arguments concerning diversity. A knee on the neck should be the end of the chain that has caused black people generational slavery, passing down the padlocks to padlocks as a family heirloom. It should be the end to constant exploitation and discrimination towards people of color.

The barriers built by prejudice and discrimination must be broken to conquer adversity. Whether by chaos or by ruin, by fire or by stonewall rioting, but most preferably by your voice. Whether stuttering or shaking, aching or breaking – sing. You don’t have to sing it nice, but sing it strong. At worst, your message is sung by another. At best, the world will sing along.

This also appeared in The Teacher's Guide Literary Supplement (May 2023).