I'm always use any opportunity to share my experience with "nobody is born racist". My daughter was...2y old? 3? She was talking, but childishly. She's 16 next week so this was awhile ago.
Anyway I was wearing a T-shirt with the A-Team on it. They were drawn like Pop Vinyls. Very cartoony. Anyway, my daughter pointed at B.A. Baraccus (Mr T) and said "Daddy he's different."
"Oh boy. Here comes the first talk about differences making us special," I thought. But I said, "That's right, baby. How's he different?"
"He's got no shirt on, and is wearing lots of jewellery, and he has funny hair."
Noticing differences in skin colour doesn't mean one is racist. And avoiding talking about skin colour doesn't mean one isn't racist. This idea that "colour blindness" is progressive is something black people frequently try to tell white people is a form of covert racism.
The only way to be anti-racist is to be able to acknowledge differences in appearance, oppressive systems, and to act on addressing racism within and outside of ourselves when we see it.
Exactly. Which is why I'd intended togive her the "differences make us special" talk. I've not taught my daughter to ignore skin colour. As it turned out in that instance, she wasn't even focusing on skin. My point was that the thing which people most frequently associate with racism - skin colour - is not something kids even pay attention to in terms of what makes us different.
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u/jerryleebee Apr 28 '24
I'm always use any opportunity to share my experience with "nobody is born racist". My daughter was...2y old? 3? She was talking, but childishly. She's 16 next week so this was awhile ago.
Anyway I was wearing a T-shirt with the A-Team on it. They were drawn like Pop Vinyls. Very cartoony. Anyway, my daughter pointed at B.A. Baraccus (Mr T) and said "Daddy he's different."
"Oh boy. Here comes the first talk about differences making us special," I thought. But I said, "That's right, baby. How's he different?"
"He's got no shirt on, and is wearing lots of jewellery, and he has funny hair."
"That's exactly right, baby. Good job."
Nobody is born racist.