Kids Say the Darndest Things About Race
A friend of mine told me about a recent challenge he faced in raising his daughter. His daughter was playing with several young children. The daughter pulled someone to the side and said that she didn't like playing with children who are white. The other little girl overheard and said that she was racist and in fact she was actually biracial. Again, how 7 year olds are able to conceptualize race truthfully makes you wonder is it from their parents or the influence of television and media. My friend has been chastising his daughter in telling her how inappropriate words can be very hurtful. He can only hope that she won't continue to repeat racial slurs but he is unable to monitor her every move outside of his sight. Racial taboos and stereotypes can shatter the innocence of a young child when directed to choose which race is superior.
Racism is alive and well. Currently, the issue of race is spread throughout several forms of entertainment and media. It is no longer something to be ignored because its implications continue to divide people along social, economical and in some cases educational lines. The issue is no longer just black and white. People of different backgrounds and ethnicities are also experiencing profiling by jaded and misguided perceptions of their race. Children are the future leaders of tomorrow what is taught in the earlier stages of their lives is long lasting and in some causes brutally offensive to others.
Published by A.M. Morgan
A.M. Morgan is a New Orleans native who enjoys creative writing and the performing arts. View profile
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18 Comments
Post a CommentI thought Hitler was dead along with Racism. ;-)
I came across a lot of what could be mistaken as racism in the school I taught at. It's mostly ignorance on the part of the kids, and sometimes it's the repetition of things they hear from their parents. My goal was to teach the kids not to judge based on race, but to consider each person as an individual. (And then you can still decide you don't want to play with someone - just let it be because that kid hogs the ball or plays too rough.)
i liked it. kids are pretty racist, but they have to get it from somewhere!
Racism is such a sticky issue. I think that we should talk openly with our children about others that they see as different, whether the difference is race, ethnicity, religion, dwarfism, people with disablities, whatever. I think, kids and adults alike should recognize existing preconceptions, analyze them, and work to change what shouldn't be there. Thanks for the article!
Very good job. I hope to instill in my son that people are people and that's that. You decide what you think about a person based on his insides not his outsides. Sounds trite, but it's true.
I'm glad I'm not racist, I'm pretty much equally accepting of anybody (but white, black, Mexican, Asian or anything, if you act like a jerk, and are rude to everybody, and it's not just from being new and not understanding, I wont have respect for them if they're just plain rude jerks, and I hope I didn't sound bad there ._.;; eep) I was raised to accept everybody, all religions, all races. Only a few years back I found my normally pretty accepting grandparents were a bit racist against Mexicans, my grandpa more than grandma. It floored me because I never knew.
CONTINUED: ...the confusion kids experience and discuss with each other.
Great article! Kids need to be taught to love everyone, inside and out. Thankfully we live in such a diverse area, so my kids are exposed to not only both black and white, but people from many other countries as well. I think people who don't live in such diverse areas should frequently take their children to places where there are mixed races of people, like museums, zoos, etc to expose them to other cultures. Also, joining YMCA or Boys & Girls Club activities in other areas of the city can be a great way to expose them to other races and cultures. I think it starts with parents, but it doesn't end there. The schools, mainly the other kids, will have the most impact (for children who aren't homeschooled) because that is where they are a great majority of the time. That's why parents must be sure to educate their children about how some people might look different on the outside, but we're all the same on the inside. This simple statement can avoid some of the confusion kids experience
Thanks everyone for your comments and sharing your personal experience in dealing with this topic.
Excellent article! I find this to be a bit scary, personally.