Oh the innocence

February 17, 2010

In the car after picking up one of my daughter’s best friends for a play date. She recently moved from our neighborhood to another one nearby. The move required her to switch schools. She’s African American.

Me: So, how’s your new house [friend]?

Friend: It’s good.

Daughter: How’s your new school?

Friend: It’s good. But the kids are so bad! They don’t listen to the teacher at all! And then there’s this girl named Kennedy in my class…I don’t like her.

Someone: Why don’t you like her?

Friend: Because she’s races.

Someone: She’s what?

Friend: She’s races.

Someone: What is races?

Friend: It means she doesn’t like black people.

Almost 4yo: Are you black?

Related posts:

  1. How we talk to our kids about gay marriage & other tough questions, Part 2
  2. Figure out where you’re headed by looking back
  3. A Very Bad Habit

Category: Kinda Comical, My Family, My Life

Comments

12 Responses to “Oh the innocence”

  1. Sturgmom
    February 17th, 2010 @ 4:43 pm

    Too cute! My middle child always refers to his Af. Am. friend as “the one with the brown face.” I love it!
    .-= Sturgmom´s last blog ..The best salad you will ever eat in your life. And I’m not even kidding. =-.

  2. Sarah
    February 17th, 2010 @ 11:19 pm

    Beautiful!!!! Oh, if we could all respond like a 4 year old. That made me smile!!
    .-= Sarah´s last blog ..How does the pastor’s wife have friends? (Part 2) =-.

  3. erika kar
    February 17th, 2010 @ 11:30 pm

    I love it!
    .-= erika kar´s last blog ..Adoption Story, Part 12- Bellamy =-.

  4. Amy
    February 18th, 2010 @ 4:48 pm

    So cute!
    .-= Amy´s last blog ..Culture Shock =-.

  5. Melody
    February 18th, 2010 @ 8:55 pm

    Truly color blind. I wish we could all be that way.
    .-= Melody´s last blog ..The cost of adoption =-.

  6. Elizabeth @ Confessions From A Working Mom
    February 20th, 2010 @ 8:32 am

    Wow, I wish we could all be that way too. I read an article in a magazine on how to talk to our children about race. It was really interesting, and I think your daughter’s reaction is probably the “goal”!

    ~Elizabeth
    Confessions From A Working Mom
    .-= Elizabeth @ Confessions From A Working Mom´s last blog ..Just For You February: Make Your Child The Star! =-.

  7. Tania @ Larger Family Life
    February 24th, 2010 @ 6:17 am

    Oh that’s so wonderful! Love it!

  8. Kelli @ 3 Boys and a Dog
    February 25th, 2010 @ 9:24 am

    My Zack has 2 kids in his class with the same name. One is black and one is white. So, he was telling me something about his friend and I was trying to picture him in my mind. So, I asked, “The white or black one?” Zack gave me the blankest stare ever! Finally he said, “the one who plays outside, not the other one!” Yeah, my turn to stare until it dawned on me! Zack gets VERY dark in the summer… so, he decided that one plays outside a bunch to get dark skin and the other doesn’t which is why his skin is light. ROTFL! Makes perfect sense to me. :-)
    .-= Kelli @ 3 Boys and a Dog´s last blog ..WINNER: Rubbermaid Interlocking Drawer Organizers =-.

  9. Amy
    February 25th, 2010 @ 10:06 am

    Love it. :)

  10. Kimberly @ Raising Olives
    February 25th, 2010 @ 9:08 pm

    So sweet.

    We have friends that have adopted 3 children from Liberia in addition to their biological children. When my friend announced to their kids that she was pregnant, one of the little children asked, “Will this baby have black skin or white skin?” :)
    .-= Kimberly @ Raising Olives´s last blog ..Hide and Seek: Wordless =-.

  11. Kathryn
    March 5th, 2010 @ 3:26 pm

    This is such a delightful and timely posting. February is Black History Month, and is a perfect time to teach children about the legacy of black heritage and heroes like Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and so many others who gave their lives in so many ways to stand up against, sometimes brutal, injustices. I was reminded of this upon seeing yet again a wonderful old movie on TV this week called To Kill A Mockingbird. It is an absolutely truthful depiction of the degrading way African Americans were treated in the Southern region of the United States in the Depression era of the 1930′s. It also is a depiction of the perseverance of the human spirit, the determination to see justice done even though the outcome may be a foregone conclusion. Racism is really about power, not color, and can manifest in many ways other than color.

  12. Amy
    March 10th, 2010 @ 7:08 am

    I wish I got very dark in the summer!