A fellow Hibbing High School classmate of mine, Melanie Hooper, read my book Finding My Voice when it was released—10 years after we graduated from high school. Melanie shared with the Sahan Journal in partnership with the MPRNews about how she felt after reading it and these lessons learned.

Although the book is fiction, the main character Ellen experiences what I felt growing up in a non-ethnic community.  Melanie shared that she wished she had known at the time that there was so much hate and prejudice in our community.

“I think people need to know what has transpired and what has happened, and maybe they’d have a different understanding and appreciation for other ethnic backgrounds,” she said. “Hate is not something you’re born with. Hate is something that’s taught.”

Hooper moved back to Hibbings, MN in the 1990s and noticed not much has changed. She is now part of a group called Voices for Ethnic and Multicultural Awareness of Northern Minnesota, which has been advocating for racial equity in places within the Iron Range.  

The article continues, “We have got to stop this teaching of not loving one another, no matter who you are,” Hooper said. “I really think that people need to understand that it happened here, too. This book will show you how it affected this young woman.”

With a new generation of writers like Joanna Ho who wrote Eyes That Kiss the Corners and Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko, hopefully more young readers will find comfort in these stories and understand they are not alone. These books celebrate physical appearances of Asians and tell a story generational story from past to present. 

Whether you’re from a small town like Hibbings or a large city, I hope more people will understand the challenges that multicultural people face. While America has come a long way in the fight against racism we still have a long road ahead.