Imagine being told that your Vineyard Vines shirt smells like Starbucks and Dave Matthews Band. Or that you’re lucky to be a straight white male because employers just love that. Or that you don’t talk like other people from a nice suburban middle class town, you actually have manners.

The same thing occurred last week after “E! News” and “Fashion Police” host Giuliana Rancic made a statement about actress Zendaya’s hair at the Oscars. Rancic said that Zendaya looked like she smelled of patchouli oil or weed in reaction to the actress donning faux locs at the red carpet.

Millennials need to establish a fine line between observations and stereotypes. Our generation, although more open-minded than the last, still contributes to racism. People often say things like, “You’re lucky you have Affirmative Action,” or “You must be good at soccer, it’s in your blood,” and they do so casually. Statements like these may come off with good intention, but it tells people of color that their efforts are only as good as their race allows them to be.

Rancic’s comment and the examples above are micro-aggressions. Micro-aggressions are forms of prejudice that people often believe are just innocent remarks about another’s faith, clothing, culture, accent, sexuality or skin. What our generation needs to take away from this incident is recognition that these small remarks made on a daily basis contribute to the negative portrayal of marginalized groups. And they can have physical, mental and emotional effects on people’s livelihood.

For the most part, it is not OK to be an open racist in America. But if you’re subtle enough about it, you can get away with saying things like, “You’re so pretty for a black girl, are you mixed?” That should not be the case.

Zendaya made an Instagram post explaining the problematic aspects of the comment, stating, “There is already harsh criticism of African American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair. My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, and remind people of color that our hair is good enough.”

Rancic has since apologized for her ignorance. Whether she was saving face or not is hard to tell. Yet an important aspect of Rancic’s apology pointed out that it is not about the intent of one’s words, but the impact.

Many people in the African American community, especially women, have embraced their natural hair. Solange Knowles, Lupita Nyong’o, Viola Davis and Uzo Aduba are only a few of the prominent figures taking a stand to showcase their natural hair. Most recently, wearing natural hair challenges the beauty standards many people of color have been conditioned to partake in.

While some people would argue that making fun of Starbucks culture can be racist or a form of micro-aggression, I have yet to see anyone shot at, denied a job or go to jail for liking their venti soy latte.

Marginalized groups experience forms of micro-aggression everyday. Students of color reported experiencing an average of 291 micro-aggressions in the past 90 days, according to research conducted by the group Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. And these can be more hurtful than flat out racism because they are daily subtle realities that have become so normalized people don’t realize how harmful they can be.

Although it will take years to undo centuries of institutionalized racism, Millennials can begin to erase modern forms of prejudice with their language. The power of words can redefine an entire generation, and it’s time we put ours to the test.

Laritza Salazar is a sophomore newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at lcsalaza@syr.edu.

Published on March 3, 2015 at 1:02 am