the power of visual indicators of identity
For the past few days, SP has been wearing the front part of her hair in cornrows, gratis one of her very talented afterschool teachers. This shows off SP' very appealing heart-shaped forehead.
For all intents and purposes, SP appears completely Caucasian. I expect my heritage is 5-10% Black (your guess is as good as mine as to what this really means, since race is biologically meaningless). However, since she has had her hair in cornrows, SP has been the recipient of friendship gestures by additional Black peers who aren't already part of SP's closer circle of Black friends. One little girl gave her homemade toffee yesterday (and SP liked it so much she saved a bit for me). Two other little girls delighted in petting SP's cornrows and giving her hairstyling advice. I find this fascinating; particularly since I have read news accounts of ostensibly Caucasian students being reprimanded/sent home for wearing cornrows. In one school, cornrows on a Caucasian female teen were deemed an "extreme hairstyle" that, while completely appropriate for a visibly Black/African American student were "inappropriate" for a White student b/c they are not "part of her personal cultural heritage". Damn.
On a side note, SP also is now the proud owner of an eyedropper (useful for home science projects involving the chemical composition of rocks). Like many scientists who become excessively enamoured of their tools, SP brandished the dropper in the air and exclaimed "At last--now I am a real scientist".
For all intents and purposes, SP appears completely Caucasian. I expect my heritage is 5-10% Black (your guess is as good as mine as to what this really means, since race is biologically meaningless). However, since she has had her hair in cornrows, SP has been the recipient of friendship gestures by additional Black peers who aren't already part of SP's closer circle of Black friends. One little girl gave her homemade toffee yesterday (and SP liked it so much she saved a bit for me). Two other little girls delighted in petting SP's cornrows and giving her hairstyling advice. I find this fascinating; particularly since I have read news accounts of ostensibly Caucasian students being reprimanded/sent home for wearing cornrows. In one school, cornrows on a Caucasian female teen were deemed an "extreme hairstyle" that, while completely appropriate for a visibly Black/African American student were "inappropriate" for a White student b/c they are not "part of her personal cultural heritage". Damn.
On a side note, SP also is now the proud owner of an eyedropper (useful for home science projects involving the chemical composition of rocks). Like many scientists who become excessively enamoured of their tools, SP brandished the dropper in the air and exclaimed "At last--now I am a real scientist".