Racism is about education. Racism is ignorance.

The great champion and daughter of Australia, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, once declared with quiet strength: “Racism is about education. Racism is ignorance.” These words, simple yet thunderous in truth, strike at the very heart of human blindness. For in them, Goolagong Cawley, born of the Wiradjuri people and raised amid prejudice, gives voice to an ancient truth—that hatred is not born of nature, but of unlearning; not of evil, but of the emptiness of understanding. Her message is not one of vengeance, but of wisdom. She reminds us that the walls of racism are built not by monsters, but by those who have never been taught to see the soul beyond the skin.

To understand her words, we must remember her story. Evonne Goolagong Cawley rose from the humble red clay of a small Australian town to become one of the greatest tennis players in history. In her youth, she was barred from certain clubs and excluded from tournaments because of her Aboriginal heritage. Yet she did not answer hate with hate. Instead, she answered it with grace, discipline, and excellence. On the courts of Wimbledon and beyond, she proved that the worth of a person lies not in the color of their skin, but in the content of their spirit. Her life itself became her argument—her victory, her defiance, her education to the world. Thus, when she says that racism is ignorance, she speaks as one who has defeated it not by anger, but by enlightenment.

In her wisdom, Goolagong Cawley reveals that racism is not an inborn flaw of humanity, but a learned blindness—a sickness of the uneducated mind. Those who fear the unfamiliar do so because they have never been taught to see beauty in difference. Education, then, is not merely the reading of books, but the opening of eyes. It is the cure to ignorance, the bridge across centuries of misunderstanding. Where ignorance divides, education unites; where hatred burns, knowledge heals. In this way, she calls us to the noblest of all learning—to know one another not as strangers, but as fellow travelers under the same sun.

History, too, confirms her truth. Consider the story of Nelson Mandela, who spent twenty-seven years behind prison walls for daring to dream of equality. In his youth, he saw racism in its most brutal form—laws that shackled his people, policies that divided a nation. Yet even from his cell on Robben Island, Mandela understood that his enemies were not born with hatred in their hearts—they were taught it. And just as hatred can be taught, so too can compassion. When he emerged from captivity, he chose not revenge, but education, reconciliation, and forgiveness. His vision rebuilt South Africa not through force, but through understanding. Mandela’s life, like Goolagong’s, is proof that ignorance, not race, is the true enemy of humanity.

Education, in this sacred sense, is not confined to classrooms. It is a discipline of the heart—a lifelong training in empathy, humility, and truth. The uneducated mind sees only surfaces; the educated heart sees the divine spark in all beings. Thus, when Goolagong Cawley speaks of education, she does not mean the mere memorization of facts, but the cultivation of wisdom—the kind that teaches respect for the earth, for ancestry, and for each other. She reminds us that every generation must be taught anew to see beyond difference, lest ignorance return in new disguises. For as long as there is misunderstanding, racism will linger like a shadow, and only light—the light of knowledge—can drive it away.

The lesson, then, is clear: Racism cannot be fought with hatred—it can only be conquered with understanding. To end it, we must begin not by condemning, but by teaching; not by shaming, but by awakening. Every child must be taught to see the sacred in others, to question the lies of prejudice, and to celebrate the beauty of diversity. This is the work of parents, of teachers, of communities—of every citizen who seeks a just and peaceful world. For ignorance thrives where silence reigns, but it withers in the face of truth spoken with love.

So let the words of Evonne Goolagong Cawley echo through every heart that listens: “Racism is about education. Racism is ignorance.” Let them remind us that hate is not destiny—it is a failure to learn. The remedy lies not in bitterness, but in enlightenment; not in division, but in dialogue. Each of us, through our choices, can become both student and teacher in the great classroom of humanity. Let us teach through kindness, learn through curiosity, and lead through example. For when we replace ignorance with education, we do more than end racism—we fulfill the highest purpose of humanity: to see ourselves in one another, and to love what we see.