Violet is 8 1/2.
During the last presidential race, she knew that a black man or a white woman would be in the White House. Honestly, I didn't care who won because the thought that she was growing up in a world where we could have a black man as president or a white woman as vice president thrilled me.
Obama won. I was thrilled - politics aside. My children will grow up knowing that anything is possible. And isn't that what we want?
Today she is watching a movie on Disney called "The Color of Friendship." In it, a wealthy, white South African girl travels to the United States as an exchange student. Her host family is a black family, who's father is a congressman - who speaks openly about apartheid. It's also set in 1977
They thought they were getting a black South African family. She thought she would be living with a white family.
They do not get along.
Violet is so very confused by this -- Praise the Lord.
She asked me why the girl wasn't getting along with the family, why they seemed so angry. So I had to explain. She looked at me and said, so innocently, "But what does the color of your skin matter? It's just . . . your skin."
Yes baby, it is.
Mission: Accomplished.
Bravo Mama!!! And bravo Violet for just getting it and not even knowing it. Isn't it amazing how different our children's world is from ours? Race and color were so omnipresent in our world as children. I'm glad there is a marked change. And proud to know such an awesome mom!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THIS!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
ReplyDeleteI worked in Detroit. Surprisingly this stuff still goes on. I've witnessed it. I had a lot of African American friends and some who've said "Kim, some white people won't even acknowledge us"...so so so sad.
I'm glad that your wee one doesn't see colour...she sees what's inside.
It's rare for me to ever want to use South Park as an example, but in one of the early episodes, there's a big "to do" about the South Park flag. The flag, you see, shows a black man being hanged.
ReplyDeleteThe kids, however, fight to keep the flag the way it is . . . they didn't see it as "a black man being hanged," it was "just a guy." Color never entered the equation for them, until it was forced in.
Love this!!!
ReplyDeleteI do see a change in the world regarding race. When I was Violet's age is was a huge scandal for a man and woman of different races to be together. A child of a mixed relationship was a "half-breed" and was an outcast. Now I see mixed race couples and my only thought is, wow, it's ok now. When I was a child and you gave a store clerk money, if they gave you change you did not want to touch their skin (really, and why??? we weren't germaphobic then); now I don't even think about it. We are making progress with this, it is happening.
ReplyDeleteI get kinda teary eyed when I realize that my daughters (almost 5) won't ever think twice that their uncle (my sister's new hubby) is a different color than we are or that some kids have two daddies or two mommies.
ReplyDelete