Color

Source: mztang.wordpress.com via Chanelle on Pinterest

"Not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

This seems to be a topic brought up quite often. Why do people judge by outward appearances? Growing up in Chicago, I was very naive to race and segregation. My mother always loves to tell this embarrassing story about 4 year-old me at Christmas time...
We were in line waiting to see Santa and I, a very curious and outspoken 4-year-old, am "people watching" as usual. Finally, we got close enough to Santa and my mom said, "Chanelle, look, there he is!" I get on my tip-toes and still can't see him, so I say, "Mommy, can you ask the chocolate man in front of me to scoot over a little so I can see Santa?"

Growing up I just did not "see" color. Sure I noticed that there were differences amongst people, but to me it was no different than milk chocolate and white chocolate. It just didn't make a difference to me. I also could not understand why people treated others differently because of skin color (many of my relatives included). I still, to this day, refuse to stand around and listen to people, even family, talk with racial slurs. Teachers need to possess this quality and advocate for their students. NO child should feel like an outcast or like they are inferior! Skin is just skin. Color is just color. People are just people. It is their character that makes them who they are, not anything else!

**On a side-note, this picture made me laugh so hard, because as anyone who has seen me knows, I am extremely white. Not just pale, but white! Whenever we had a coloring project, I hated to have to color myself. I could never find a color close enough to my skin tone and I thought it was very wrong for them to say that a certain crayon was "flesh" colored, when really only one person, maybe, matches that color!

So teachers, be aware, do not discriminate, and advocate!