My Little Brown Girl
I took this post from my wife’s blog. It was too good not to share…
I had a life moment today. My bean (Seanna) came to the gut wrenching, horrific knowledge that there was a time and place where people like her were not accepted. A time where color mattered.
A place where ignorance was exalted.
She realized, that she is different.My step mom is here and we did the tourist thing and went to Stone Mountain, then to MLK Historical Center. Sohaila has learned about Martin Luther King in School and has brought home a passion for his work. That passion has been passed down to Seanna and they LOVE everything about him. So they always love to go show people where he grew up, where he preached and now where he is buried. Today we went into the museum, which shares his life story and how we can help change even today.We were almost done when Seanna came up to me and said ” Mommy I am scared” “why baby?”“Because I am afraid these people are going to be mean to me” My little brown girl realized the pain that people have gone through for years. She hurt because she is human and realized there was no reason for someone not to love her… To treat her different. Regardless of the fact that she has freedoms today, in that moment she felt the weight of her skin color. She felt the pain for all those who have been treated unfairly because they simply look different.Today I felt LIFE.H
So as the 2 brown pieces of our beautiful crayola family, I took her aside last night and had a beautiful talk.
Thank God for heroes like Martin Luther King.
Los
RAIN IT DOWN
brown is beautiful, even though i am very white this time of year..
That is DEEP bro. Holy cow. Intense doesn't describe the chills I just got. Something is moving in the air. You think your little girl is gonna be an activist one day? That would be Suh-Weet
Its amazing how a 5 year old gets it and there are many adults who don't.
Thanks for sharing your daughters story.
That is lovely.
man, Carlos.
Really powerful. Thanks for sharing.
My four year old had her first school MLK day this year. After learning about King they were supposed to draw pictures of what their "dream" was. Her dream was to help everybody learn to love everybody else.
I had to hold back tears. My kid is cool.
that's cool. i was actually just down in atlanta for the past 2 1/2 weeks for a class. just got back. we did a lot of studying about MLK. went to the church, the museum, etc. it was quite a transforming experience.
Make sure that you tell her EVERYTHING about MLK – don't be selective.
Why don't you give us a history lesson?
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what is the EVERYTHING about MLK?
My kids and I had a similar conversation the other day. One of my kids is darker, like me, and the other two are more blonde/blue eyed like their dad.
On mlk day we talked about what he did and my 4 year old realized that she and I are different. Thankfully she wasn't scared, but it did bring up an interesting conversation.
Thanks for the great post!
Part of I-85 down here in Montgomery is officially named the Martin Luther King, Jr. Expressway though nobody ever calls it that. When my oldest was 6, we drove past the sign. She read it and asked me about it. We talked about Dr. King, his dream, the civil rights movement, the Montgomery bus boycott, etc.
I realized I wasn't explaining things very well when she asked me in horror, "Daddy, WHEN was I mean? WHEN would I not let people sit next to me? Can I tell 'em I'm sorry?"
In my attempts to continue avoiding racial identifiers, I had said "people like us" wouldn't let "people with darker skin" do certain things, and she had misunderstood….
I love the fact that she was willing to take personal responsibility even though she had no memory…
Wow. Amazing.
Brother,
I am sitting at work, and my heart is in my throat. Keeping with the authenticity that this site ascribes to, I will simply say I am speechless. I will be praying for your family as our Lord reminds your beautiful little girl that she was created in His image and is completly lvoed by Him. I am so grateful for you guys!
Thank you Jesus for your wonderful creativity.
Rick
What a beautiful post; I was really touched by it. Thanks for sharing it.
Andrea
Thank God we've come a long way. My son (7) starting "getting" Dr. King's struggle and message this year. We spent the week leading up to the inauguration talking about equality and how things used to be. He has such a passion for justice.
I'm pumped that a generation is being raised that sees beyond color/social status/locality and sees people as loved and valued by the Creator wherever they are. I can't wait to see what Judah, Mercy (my kids) and their generation do to change the planet.
Very touching. Thank you for sharing this.
wow. touched my heart.