Personal Narrative: The Color Of Black Children

Too black for the White kids, yet somehow too white for the Black kids, oh the perils of a cappuccino mixed race kid. But it’s true. My life since I was young, at least younger than my eighteen year old self, has been about which group do I most fit in with. Between the four school changes over the course of twelve years, all in white suburban towns I’ve molded myself into an array of characters.

Education is key to a good life. Unfortunately for them, black mothers are less likely to reach the same level of economic status than whites. A reason why might be because African-American youths tend to have lower academic standards and become more educationally handicapped than their white counterparts. In today’s society we are more aware than ever that knowledge and education is power and a key to success, without them it is very difficult to become successful in life. It has been documented time and time again that teen pregnancy and drop out rates are in fact related. Reason being that a child is an awesome responsibility and extremely time consuming. Teen

While completing my handout I realized things about myself that I never really thought about. First, I can say that it was very easy to determine the first question. As I know that I am Caucasian. However, I realized that it may not be so easy for my daughter. This is due to the fact her father is multiracial to begin with so I don’t know what racial group she would like to place herself in. Furthermore, one could see that for many Americans that are of a multiracial decent could be confused having to select one particular race or being subjected to writing in their own response.

My hair is a kinky, knotted, mess. When I was 2 years old I moved to Canada from Jamaica. Being so young I did not experience much of a culture shock. I considered myself simply Canadian, rejecting any hints of the culture of my ancestors. I was so desperate to fit in, I was willing to change myself in anyway, I did not want to be considered Jamaican, Jamaican-Canadian, even the word “black” rubbed me the wrong way. Identified me as something different. I begged my mom to straighten my hair, as to not look different than the other girls, disregarding the beauty, meaning, and power wrapped in the kinks.

I am black but I’m also american, a girl and gay. All those things shouldn’t matter but in this country that matters alot. Everyone has their perspective of what I am but honestly I just want to be identified simply as me. But in this day and age I have to have a bit of background information on the side so I won’t get those awkward question such as. “Are you mixed you look a bit chinese with those almond eyes?” “Oh I love your hair what are you mixed with?” To be quite honest I have no idea but I do know that I’m black no doubt about that and I have a few perks to being black but also a few set backs as well. I think that I’m at the point of internalization-commitment because I see no one for their color but more of their character and how

I am thankful to say that I hopefully will have the opportunity to birth and rear you into a mature young man who will then flourish into a powerful, strong willed, black male. Your mother and I will chaperone you through your days of being an adolescent. Even so, the time will come when you will be forced to learn to accept yourself as a guide and move forward from that point into making your own decisions. Then from this point on, you will be in the pursuit of harnessing your manhood into what you find to believe it is meant to be. Challenges will seem to become your reality and they will have to be accepted, battled, and mastered.

All people recognize race due the distinctive differences of their skin colors. Africans, Europeans, and Asians can be distinguished at a glance since the races differ is obviously from each other. If a person stated they cannot recognize race, that would not be true. Personally, is how a person’s treat the race that matters. Anyhow, I was born in a war-torn country, thus, my family and I moved from one refugee camp to the next one in search for a safe and a better place to resettle. To make a long story short, I first recognized racial differences in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Africa. I had rocks thrown at me and was called names such as coffee pot, monkey etc., due to the color of my skin. In addition, when my family arrived in the U.S in 1994,

Learning that race played a significant role in the life of many people allowed me to eventually grasp the fact that not everyone would accept me just for the simple fact of the color of my skin.

"Stand down, raise your hands above your head and nothing will happen!" A man in a blue military uniform yells, his gun aimed at my knee cap.

AC/DC’s “Back in Black” blared over the weight room’s speakers as I first sized up a dull iron bar. Staring straight ahead at the blank white wall, time slowed down. I racked my brain trying to recall what I had seen the lifters around me do. Phil, our weight room coach, commanded me, “Get over the bar.” I inched closer to the weight, toes beneath the bar, and attempted to lift it first off the ground, and then up on top of my shoulders.

I looked out the window because Chad was shoutin’ ‘bout some person as black as coal outside, so I looked for myself. My oh my, for I saw Debbie Arnolds with her red wagon full of books and newspapers. I was happy to see her, definitely, but I couldn’t talk to her. All because she was black. Except that wouldn’t stop us from seeing each other. Debbie would sneak behind our house and climb up the tree near my room, open the window, and welcome herself. All we would talk ‘bout is how the people would make peaceful marches, how they wouldn’t resort to violence because that was the right thing to do.

Attending schools with my primarily white friends has made me realize how different our upbringings are. For example, privacy from family is something most of them take for granted, whereas in my culture, it is unheard of. Others may be able to acknowledge the restrictions

Growing up, I saw the world through rose-tinted glasses; I never thought that morality had different shades of grey, until I saw it with my own eyes. When I was a little brown skinned girl, I knew that my mother was Mexican and that my father was Scottish. To me, my Scottish and Mexican origins were just that. It did not change my views of what I really was: human. However, I soon found out that my heritage and the color of my skin would matter to the rest of the world.

Growing up, my family never really talked about race. I assume they did not because they wanted to wait till I got older so I can filly understand what was going on. As I got older, I started to overhear table conversation that my parents would have about race/rasicm, and I actually saw it for myself as well. My parents would always tell me to never let anyone or anybody try to maniplate me or try to fool me especially other races. Still till this day, that has stuck with me and now I am fully aware and awaken with people and things around me. We all have to be smart, and do our research.

Education in the 21st century is evolving, children need to know more and learn faster, and for “Americans of all backgrounds” opportunities given by society are becoming more “dependent on knowledge and education” (Darling-Hammond). The reliance on education worries many, because with unequal access to education for many minority families based on where they live or how much money they have, opportunities seem only to be given out to those with the best education and many with the best education are white (Badger). Opportunity isn’t given based on race, but more so based on knowledge, and with a lower level of education, most African American teenagers and young adults are held to lower jobs and lower standards than white counterparts. This does not mean that opportunity doesn’t exist. With equal schooling, support from parents, and access to the training and skills they need, African American children and teens can achieve just what white children and teens can (Cannon).