In answer to the Day 1 Question “When Did You First Realize You Were Black (or X)?”
A 7 year olds idea of being black
I am white, though I think I am more of egg shell white. My daughter Julia, is seven years old and when she was 2 my cousin married a black man. We are fortunate to see them often and Julia never asked or seemed to notice any differences in skin color. This week in first grade is her week to be proud to be me. Where she gets to share things about her life. She shared a picture of herself and Dominique (cousins husband) flying a kite and told the class he was her cousin. JuliA came home and asked me if Dominique was black. I asked her what she meant and she said her classmates kept calling him black, and that they couldn’t believe she knew a black person. I asked her what she thought being black meant. She said I really don’t know, his skin is different color, but so is everybody’s if you really look at it. She finished with, “I am sorta like famous in my class cause I know a black person.”