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African American kids at schools being taunted about racial features.
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Anonymous
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I have encountered this problem at every school that we have been to. Either my daughter being told that her hair is not right, or that her skin is the color of "poop", and other more interesting comments.
Here is a plea: Parents (of all races), sit down and have a chat with your child about respecting others especially WRT race. It does not seem to be discussed at home. The mothers that I have told that their kids were dishing it out are always surprised. But if you never discuss these things, then why be surprised? Also, does anyone feel that there would be any benefit to the schools having a little chat with kids at the start of the school year about this issue. |
Anonymous
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I think I'm going to throw up. I'm so sorry this is happening to your child.
And I am going to have a talk with my 5 yr old Caucasian son specifically about making comments like that. |
Anonymous
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Yes, these are the kind of things that liberal white parents may be surprised by. Certainly we were shocked when dd engaged in a game of keeping the dark-skinned kids out of the pretend tent in daycare. We had a serious talk with her about this.
On the whole, I think this is reflective of the impact of racism on our society. Certainly things have gotten much better than when I was young but we still have a ways to go. For many whites, African-Americans are still the "other" in our society and white kids pick up on this. Looking back, I should have discussed these things with dd before the kids started playing this exclusionary game. |
Anonymous
| pp, that seems to be the point, it has to be brought up before anything happens. |
Anonymous
| We don't have a lot of AA friends in the area and DCs preschool was pretty white so I only bought dolls of color. I hoped it would foster positive feelings towards people of color (as their love objects looked similar.) I also bought books geared towards kids of color and made a point of commenting positively on attributes particular to other races. ("Look at that long beautiful shiny black hair." or "what a beautiful skin tone.") I think (hope) it's made a difference. Their school now is 60/40 white/non-white and DC are pretty used to and comfortable with differences btwn. people. |
Anonymous
| PP here - forgot to add that we do also talk about racial differences and history and scientific reasons for differences is skin/hair, etc at home. Their school has "multi-cultural assemblies" and addresses/celebrates differences in culture and race and I think that most schools should. It does make a difference in the tone and "culture" of the school. The kids in that school are familiar with and (as far as I can see) comfortable with differences. |
Anonymous
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My DD is FASCINATED by the differences in others and is especially obsessed with AA. I do not know why...we are quite a few AA friends, as well as have some family members who are AA. We are always trying to talk about difference AND similarities! I just hope she never says anything like that to ANYONE about features that are new or different to her.
OP, I am sorry for this thread! |
Anonymous
| That's just completely messed up. I'm all for natural curiosity, but those types of remarks are nuts. |
Anonymous
Yes, and I hope that your daughter's classroom includes media (books, poster, computer games, etc.) that includes a diverse range of people of many cultures and of many races. Also, toys (little people) and dolls that reflect the diversity of society. I'm so sorry that this happened to your daughter and thank you for posting this so we can be more aware. |
Anonymous
It might have to be a little more direct than that though, i.e. "don't say xyz about abc". |
Anonymous
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Racism is so ingrained in us that we say and think terrible things w/o even blinking.
I can think of a few examples - using "black sheep," for example. A friend used this in the presence of her supervisor, who is African American, and was told that it was offensive. I get it NOW, as a white person, but who thinks of analyzing every phrase learned as a child? Remember growing up with cartoons that included characters in black face? And what about "flesh" colored crayons! Oh my God! Flesh!? Whose? I also told one of my friends to visit a hair salon that I frequented at the time. When my friend (African American) visited, they directed her to the braiding salon across the street! I never heard the end of it. What about Barbie Dolls that were "of color?" Early on, they took the same old Malibu Barbie and gave her a tan. What was THAT? And how many whites actually buy African American or Hispanic or Asian dolls for their little girls? I know of one friend whose mother did that - back in the 70s, but that was so rare. Until adults are made aware of their own hidden racial issues, the kids will never learn how to respect differences. And that is so very sad! |
Anonymous
| I was unaware that "black sheep" was considered a racially offensive term. |
Anonymous
Believe me - so was I! But it is! After hearing about that incident from my friend, I asked two other pals who are both African American, and they agreed that it is indeed offensive. However, neither one ever felt the need to boldly address it before b/c it's such a widely used phrase. |
Anonymous
| I'm not getting the sheep thing either. Isn't it a little more analogous to hair color than skin tone, anyway? |
Anonymous
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the phrase "black sheep" comes from the Middle Ages, in England. It has to do with agriculture, namely sheep, and the rarity and market value of having a dark-wooled sheep in the flock.
Race, or skin tone if you will, has absolutely nothing to do with the history or evolution of the phrase. |