The death of Mr George Floyd in the United States and the protests that have followed are a timely reminder of what will happen should we be ignorant of issues of race and racism.

Although we do not witness overt displays of racial hatred in Singapore, these issues are closer to home than we think.

When we unknowingly make discriminatory remarks in our daily conversations, we become perpetrators of casual racism.

We need to start having discussions about race instead of avoiding the topic. This avoidance is the reason behind our ambivalence towards the topic.

Parents should actively discuss race-related issues with their children so that they can be race-conscious and cultivate good habits from a young age when interacting with people from different backgrounds.

Having racial discourse in the public sphere will better cultivate cross-cultural understanding and racial sensitivity.

We will learn to be more mindful of the way we interact with others, which is paramount

to maintain racial harmony.

While the protests in the US seem distant, we need to understand that racism is not a country-specific issue.

Teo Kai Ting