"Personne ne naît en haïssant une autre personne à cause de la couleur de sa peau, de ses origines ou de sa religion."

The idea here is simple and powerful: hatred isn’t something we’re born with. It’s learned. Babies don’t come into the world with any preconceived biases. They don’t care about the color of skin, where someone’s from, or what religion they follow. These kinds of prejudices are taught, often by society or the people closest to us.

Nelson Mandela said this, and if you think about it, it’s no wonder. He spent a big chunk of his life fighting against apartheid in South Africa, a brutal system of racial segregation. He saw firsthand how deeply ingrained these racist beliefs could become in society, but he also knew they weren’t innate. We pick them up along the way. Mandela’s words remind us that if hatred can be learned, it can be unlearned too.

Imagine a classroom with kids from all sorts of backgrounds. There’s little Raj, whose parents moved from India, and Javier, whose family speaks Spanish at home. Sarah celebrates Hanukkah, while Ahmed fasts during Ramadan. They don’t see each other as different. To them, they’re just friends who play tag at recess and trade sandwiches at lunch. They haven’t learned to see these differences as reasons to hate or fear.

So how can we take this wisdom and use it in our lives? Start small. Think about the biases you might hold. It could be something as simple as assuming someone isn’t friendly because they’re not smiling, or something deeper, like harboring mistrust toward a certain group of people. Confront these thoughts head-on. Ask yourself why you think this way. Is it based on personal experience or someone else’s influence? The next step is to educate yourself. Read books, watch documentaries, talk to people who are different from you. Open your mind.

Here’s a little story to drive it home. Picture a neighborhood potluck. Everyone’s invited, and the whole street turns up. There’s Mrs. Chang with her dumplings, the Garcias with their tamales, and the O’Briens with their famous soda bread. At first, people stick to what they know. But as the night wears on, they start to mingle. Conversations spark up. Mrs. Chang is explaining the significance of the Lunar New Year. Mr. Garcia talks about the Day of the Dead. The O’Briens share stories about St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. By the end of the night, these neighbors aren’t just tolerating each other—they’re celebrating their differences. They’ve taken that first step toward unlearning any prejudices they might have had.

In our own lives, we can do the same. Go to events that celebrate different cultures, or simply start up a conversation with someone you normally wouldn’t. Be curious. Be open. Don’t underestimate the power of small actions.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “We fear what we don’t understand.” So, let’s flip that. Let’s understand, so we don’t fear. And it won’t always be comfortable. Changing deeply held beliefs rarely is. But remember that scene from the potluck. It’s worth it. You end up with a richer, more vibrant community—and life.