OMG...my jaw just dropped!
Posted by Black Women Killing It on Thursday, March 27, 2014
And this was my response.... "Elisa Esc Sterling-Cowan Not surprised...I may have been surrounded by it when I was younger...having it thrown in my face, but coming from a family that was of many races (out of many one people indeed!), I was taught to look and recognize my "family" in everybody. I must say though, I was envious of my mom's hair that reached down past her bum naturally! I brushed and combed it almost everyday. I tanned in the sun...I wanted to be beautiful like my mom heart emoticon Let me tell you, I still have my "Black" preemie cabbage patch doll LOL...and her friend Karen, who happens to be a knock off CP doll and "peach-skinned". My sons didn't learn about "Black"/"White" until a few years ago when it came crashing through our door from school and camp. They learned about the differences in cultures in our household. And we celebrate it all the time. And THAT is why I tell my boys they are gorgeous everyday. Someone tried to tell me the other day it was too much, but I know the message they get for the bulk of the day....and its not one of praise on the playground."
Not to say that "mommy being brown" and "daddy being pink" wasn't in the conversation, but we didn't make it about who we are. It was our character and attitude that matters most. Now that the "race" card had been played, it has expanded our conversation. I was able to expand on my family heritage of being Native American, Carib, East Indian, Scottish, English, etc, etc...I could explain about my cousin whose father is Chinese, and the beautiful spirit of the Maroons that also runs in our bloodline. I could share about the shame that even "white" people feel when they find out of their "minority" heritage and how if we were to travel the world, how we would be embraced in a different way than what we sometimes experience here in North America. Many travellers through our town are in awe and ask to take pictures of our boys. They are wonderful with great smiles and soft hair. What more is there than enjoying it fully!
I could also explain things such as genetic types in humans and about food "allergies" and "intolerances" as brought up in a conversation that tried to explain my dietary choices based on me being "Black", which failed miserably. The veils are falling away, but we must not reinforce such practices as shaming diversity. We are as we are. Even the questions in this video poses a problem as it forces the children to make a choice...a hard choice and it probably will weigh heavily on their minds if it is not used as an opportunity to build up the positive view of themselves instead of leaving it ingrained in them.
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