美国国家公共电台 NPR Teenager Opens Up To Her Dad About Her Experiences With Racism

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It is Friday, which is when we share conversations from StoryCorps. Today we hear from a father who sat down with his teenage¹ daughter for a difficult conversation about race. Calvin Burns has trouble getting 15-year-old Stepheni Bellamy to talk, something parents of teenagers everywhere can relate to. He hoped that doing a StoryCorps interview and sharing stories from his own teenage years might help. And you should know that their conversation includes a racial² slur³.

CALVIN BURNS: Growing up in school, I was usually the only black kid. And a lot of times, I did feel left out. It was really tough, but I think it made me stronger, being the outsider.

STEPHENI BELLAMY: I can relate because, going to high school, there's not people just like me. There's mostly white people.

BURNS: How does that make you feel, being the only person there like that?

BELLAMY: Sometimes it's kind of hard because, like, in history, when we're talking about slavery⁴ or something, a whole bunch⁵ of people will just turn and look at me. And it makes me, like, say, yeah, I know. I'm black.

Have you ever been called the N-word?

BURNS: I've definitely⁶ been called that. And I think back to the time when me and my friends - that's when we were like 12 years old - and some guys in a truck drove⁷ close to us. And I can remember the guy saying, whoop⁸, there it is, niggers. And the guys almost ran us over, and we were pretty upset.

Have you ever been called that word before?

BELLAMY: Yeah. Just recently, somebody called me that word. And some people, like, say go back to Africa or something like that.

BURNS: This is not stuff⁹ I was aware of. I didn't know that kids like that existed at your school. Pheni, I want you to know that you're not what they've been told you're like. It just - it's kind of heart-aching (ph) to think about the stuff that I went through and you're still going through those same things. I want you to know that if you ever feel scared or if these sort of things happen in the future, I mean, I'm always there for you to talk to me about them.

BELLAMY: I don't know. I just never really like to talk about myself or things that, like, I go through.

BURNS: So do you think by not talking about it that it's going to get better?

BELLAMY: No, probably not.

BURNS: I think you've done more talking today than you have (laughter) in the last 12 months.

BELLAMY: Yeah.

BURNS: I really thank you for coming here with me and for getting outside your comfort zone. And I hope that we can have more conversations like this in the future. I love you.

BELLAMY: Love you, too.

(SOUNDBITE OF ALEX FITCH'S "MILE POST 1")

INSKEEP: That's Calvin Burns with his daughter Stepheni Bellamy in Denver, Colo. Their interview will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress¹⁰.

1 teenage   

adj.青少年的；十几岁的

参考例句：

• His voice is very high for a teenage boy.对一个十几岁的男孩来说，他的嗓音很尖。
• He is too old now for teenage parties.他年龄太大了，不适于参加少年聚会。

2 racial   

adj.种族的；种族间的；由种族引起的

参考例句：

• We should have racial pride.我们应该有种族优越感。
• He spoke out against racial discrimination.他声言反对种族歧视。

3 slur   

v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音

参考例句：

• He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
• The drug made her speak with a slur.药物使她口齿不清。

4 slavery   

n.奴隶的身分，奴隶状态，奴隶制度

参考例句：

• The Americans abolished slavery in 1863.美国于1863年废除奴隶制度。
• He is in a state of virtual slavery.他实际上处于一种被奴役的状态。

5 bunch   

n.串，束；群，帮

参考例句：

• A bunch of girls was[were] sitting on the grass.一群女孩坐在草地上。
• I received a bunch of flowers yesterday.昨天我收到了一束鲜花。

6 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

7 drove   

vbl.驾驶，drive的过去式；n.畜群

参考例句：

• He drove at a speed of sixty miles per hour.他以每小时60英里的速度开车。
• They drove foreign goods out of the market.他们把外国货驱逐出市场。

8 whoop   

n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息

参考例句：

• He gave a whoop of joy when he saw his new bicycle.他看到自己的新自行车时，高兴得叫了起来。
• Everybody is planning to whoop it up this weekend.大家都打算在这个周末好好欢闹一番。

9 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

10 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。