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I wrote this hours ago and didn't post it right away as I needed time to really think about it and what I wanted to say. Ok, girls I'm gonna get a little deep....Here is my disclaimer right up front. This IS NOT intended to insult or offend anyone, anywhere. Having said that let me also add that I believe with my whole heart that every person has a purpose. Everyone has God given gifts (they just don't always know it.) I know your wondering where I am going with all this, so bear with me. I was blog hopping today and found this beautiful blog that is a support & encouragement for women of color. It's called Mybrownbaby ,I began reading things they shared about life, motherhood, hopes, dreams and even fears. We are all the same! I've always believed that. I have lived in southern California 43 years and there is every ethnicity here. I don't see a person by what color they are wrapped in. Do you? You have to read this piece by Jennifer Johnson about interracial relationships. It is amazing how some of us have been raised to "pick" black or white. Can you imagine? I dream of a day when we don't see lines of color drawn in the sand.
I was so moved that I felt compelled to share this with you. I think most of my readers & I are like minded. I couldn't be wrong? A few years ago one of my husband's friends traveled back to the south for a funeral. He told us that there were still water fountains marked for black use or white use. We were shocked. I think those should be taken down and never should have been put up to begin with.
Remember when the "What would Jesus do?" books first came out? I remember how my kids would quote that all the time. Well faith aside, what would common decency do? We can change our world girls. Women are powerful. Afterall, we give birth we can do anything! We can conquer racism. We are raising our children instilling in them our values and traditions, we can teach them to accept others. I was thinking about how we are all Americans and I saw in my mind our men, our husbands, brothers, fathers and sons standing side by side fighting for our country. I dont think they fall into ranks based on the color of their skin. I learned a lot today by looking through someone else's eyes. We have the power to change things simply by changing our visual perspective.
Maybe it was best said by Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder....Ebony and ivory, side by side on my piano keyboard Oh Lord why cant we?
I love all of you, thank you for listening.
4 comments:
Oh, sweet, sweet lady,
Thank you SO very much for shouting out MyBrownBaby and especially for really getting what I'm trying to do over there. I started MBB in September 08 because I felt like moms of color have long been ignored in the national motherhood debate—that the only time anyone cares about what we have to say is when they're looking for some kind of answer for the pathologies that plague us (poverty, teen pregnancy, poor health, etc.). I and a whole lot of other moms of color know that this isn't our entire story—that there's so much more to us. So MBB is designed to give voice to the exactly what you saw—the joys, fears, frustrations, and beauty we experience every day as moms.
You're right: We ARE just the same. Of course, we have our differences—who doesn't? But it's important to me that when moms visit MyBrownBaby, they learn about us and also commiserate with us, no matter the color, background, financial status, environment, or corner of the world we live in. At the end of the day, we are ALL moms who absolutely adore our children and want the best for them and are doing our best to create a life for them that is just a little better than ours.
That's what it's all about.
Thank you for your kind words and for telling your readers about MyBrownBaby. I do hope that you all come over and make yourselves at home!
(BTW: I adore this blog--anyone who can think to turn a birdbath into a beautiful M&M holder is all right with me!!!)
what a wonderful dialog that is happening here. i feel the same way.
i also hope that differences in religious affiliations becomes more accepted, too.
i really strive to teach my boys to look at the person inside and not to think in terms of labels, even if it's something as seemingly simple as "red head."
i hope this made sense. it's been a long day!
xo
Your heartfelt post really spoke to me today. Being of Asian descent I've experienced a little bit of what MBB is talking about, and it really is sad to think that decades later, when we've seemingly progressed socially, there are still injustices and bigotry alive and thriving. I myself do celebrate my ethnicity and totally embrace my cultural background. But first and foremost, I am a human being and want to be seen as such. Like you said, we are ALL the same, and it's time to get racism, sexism, and religious intolerance out of everyone's hearts and minds. Thanks for sharing this with us all, it was really great to read.
AMEN a million times over! I never look at the color of the skin , but the person inside. Thanks for posting this!!
Blessings~
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