My daughter wishes she was WHITE... smh

[Raliegh Jones Jr.]

Yesterday I was excessively delayed on the way to take my son and daughter to their football and cheer practices.

My daughter just haaaaaaaad to take her time performing an extreme makeover "Adolescent Edition". She had been at the waterpark all day and the nanny (sound's like wer'e rich doesn't it) washed and braided her hair. Apparently she felt that the braids looked too ethnic because while locked up in her room, she spent 20 minutes undoing and reorganizing them into a ponytail.

I inquired and she replied that the braids were like the way "African people" wear their hair and she was going to be around "too much white people" (did I mention that she is seven?)

"So you don't like looking like a black girl?", I pressed.

"Yes, I do but I sometimes I just wish I was white."

"Why?"

"Because I look different from everybody else... well almost everybody", she whimpered.

Needless to say, my heart broke when I heard my baby's lamentation over her version of racism.

I had a couple of things to say to try to reassure her of her beauty, but part of me just felt empty and disgusted that I have to raise my children in a world where she will often be treated as a lesser citizen.

No matter how far we come, there is no escaping the myriad of "-isms" that tear people and cultures apart.

<shrug>

Thank God for His unconditional love and being "no respecter of persons".

[cyndiaholman]

REMIND HER THAT GOD SHOWS NO PARTIALTY-HE LOVES ALL HIS CHIDREN AND HE GAVE TO EACH ONE OF US A GIFT EN COURAGE HER TO FOCUS ON HER SPECIAL TALENT IT MAY BE A SELF ESTEEM ISSUE AS MOST KIDS HAVE TO DEAL WITH AT HER AGE--FINDING OUT WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT THEMSELVES: POINT THOSE THINGS OUT TO HER AND HOW UNIQUE SHE IS AND TELL HER TO STAY IN A POSTIVE ENVIRONMENT AND NOT ONE THAT COMPARES .. I WAS JUST READING ABOUT THE 15 YR OLD BLACK GIRL THAT IS GOING TO PENN STATE UNIV. BLACK PEOPLE HAVE TALENT AND THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL AND THE CHILDREN ARE SO SMART..I THINK IT'S AN IMAGE SHE MAYBE TRYING TO PROTRAY- HER BEAUTY WITHIN WILL BRING OUT THE BEAUTY WITHOUT HELP HER AND IT MA TAKE MORE TIME TALKING OR RATHER LETTING HER TALK ABOUT ISSUES THEN U MAY PINPOINT WHERE TO START. STAY IN GODS' WORD BECAUSE EVERYDAY IS A GOOD IN HIM.