Race Matters

[dyvinesweetness]

I remember when I was about 7 years old I was coloring in a coloring book. I wanted to color one of the pictures to look like me. Seeing as how I knew I was a Black little girl, I picked up a black crayon and began coloring. Instantly it felt weird, but I kept doing it. When it was done it looked SO odd to me. I couldn't reconcile why I was Black

Comments

Does this seem odd?

[i_dreamed_i_was]

I think I was just about always conscious of race and racism

And now I'm going to have to think on this some more...

[i_dreamed_i_was]

and maybe chat with my mom. I can't believe that there wasn't a time I was unaware of race. That just doesn't make sense...

Gah.

[i_dreamed_i_was]

I thought about it for a while, and... nothing.

I'm sure I asked/was told at a young age, and it might have been like sex, for me. I do remember asking my mom about sex when I was about 4 1/2, and she just told me, real matter-of-fact and kinda clinical, LOL. (She's a doctor.) And I remember thinking, "Yeah. That's about what I figured." So I'm guessing when they told me about race/racism, it wasn't any big lightbulb moment...

It was probably more pro-active, too. Like... I didn't have to point at some woman in a grocery store, all "Mommy! Why is that lady so black?" for them to tell me. I'll have to ask my mom...

Re: Gah.

[dyvinesweetness]

lol I'm sorry that you seem so frazzled by this, but glad that it provoked thought! =)

Hahaha...

[i_dreamed_i_was]

White people, you know?