Blog Against Racism Day
I was, and still am, very shy of talking about race. I don't want to hurt people, and race is such a sensitive topic; it goes to the core of what people are, how they see themselves, what they hope and fear others see them as.
I grew up in New York City; my grammar school was racially mixed, my high school a bit less so. Until I moved to Smaller City, I was more likely to refer to, "the woman in the red coat," than to, "the black woman."
I felt that I was rude to notice the color of someone's skin, that I didn't want to be describing people as if their color was the most important feature about them.
I can remember, after I moved here, pointing out someone for some reason, and not describing her by the color of her skin, and my friend said, "Oh, you mean the black woman." And I realized that it might be weird to not want to state what seems a simple fact, "The black woman suggested that I might like this music."
Up until I started this post, I was sort of happy that I could say, "that black woman," but after writing it, I think the younger me was right. She is a woman, she happens to be 5' tall, she happens to wear glasses, she happens to be in a red coat today, she happens to be black. Why pick her skin color as the only thing to describe her?
I grew up in New York City; my grammar school was racially mixed, my high school a bit less so. Until I moved to Smaller City, I was more likely to refer to, "the woman in the red coat," than to, "the black woman."
I felt that I was rude to notice the color of someone's skin, that I didn't want to be describing people as if their color was the most important feature about them.
I can remember, after I moved here, pointing out someone for some reason, and not describing her by the color of her skin, and my friend said, "Oh, you mean the black woman." And I realized that it might be weird to not want to state what seems a simple fact, "The black woman suggested that I might like this music."
Up until I started this post, I was sort of happy that I could say, "that black woman," but after writing it, I think the younger me was right. She is a woman, she happens to be 5' tall, she happens to wear glasses, she happens to be in a red coat today, she happens to be black. Why pick her skin color as the only thing to describe her?