My nephew Nicklas came home from first grade this week and told my sister there's a cool new kid in his class, but when Nicklas tried to talk to him, the kid said, "My mommy said I'm not supposed to talk to white people." Nicklas was very nonchalant about this statement; my sister's reaction was a lot less nonchalant.
We're not in the Deep South in 1960 or something. This is a racially integrated area of the Chicago suburbs, where Caucasians, Hispanics, and blacks seemingly live in harmony. But this kid was told not to talk to white people! You can bet that if this kid were white and said, "I'm not allowed to talk to black people," there would be a lot more uproar.
My sister and I were raised to be color-blind. I have friends from all cultures, all colors -- the thing that matters is that we get along and have fun together, not color or background. So I was aghast at this. Why is this okay? I've had long talks about racial integration with my friends. Debated at length the effectiveness and fairness of Affirmative Action. I know that I am a relatively positive person -- some would even say naive -- but my sense of outrage at this is amazing. I thought the world was better than this now? To have a black child sent to school with this message of discrimination and avoidance just staggers me.
I'm not trying to provoke a discussion about my ignorance. I understand my naivete when it comes to racial issues. I'm a woman, but I'm also white, and I was raised with all of the advantages that entails. I accept how unbelievably ignorant I am. But I still don't really understand why giving this message to a six-year old child would protect him from life, or advance racial understanding, or anything positive. What is the point?
Anyway, that's me. Learning that the world is still a far ways off from where I wish it were.
