This is Samuel
This is Aram
Samuel and Aram are brothers
They love each other
They act the same
They play the same
They find the same things funny
They are being raised in the same environment
They have the same family, who love them both dearly
But one of the boys will get treated differently by society
Judgements will be passed
People may ignore him
People may harass him
People may be afraid of him
People may want to hurt him
All because he has a little more melanin in his skin than his brother.
Something so silly as a biological function, to protect our skin from the sun, has been the focus of pure evil in our cultural history.
Biologically speaking, race is non-existent. Culturally, race is very real…
Racism is very real.
My dilemma is explaining this to my children. It is so important to address it, even at this young age.
Clearly, there should be age-appropriate language and examples used, but truth is truth no matter how sugar coated it is, and the truth is ugly.
What is vital for our children’s future is that they feel our justice system is color blind (but is it?); it will be served regardless of what skin color they have (will it?).
Time to call out injustice when we see it.
We need to press for change now.
The comfort of being raised up and protected in a community is vitally important, and will affect the entire country (whatever your epidermal hue) in a positive way.
