"Can a brother get a good Amen?" (CNN Article)

[XT]

I was reading this article on CNN and just wanted to share it. It’s not a debate, I don’t have anything really to add…just thought it was interesting and thought provoking.

My son, whose skin tone was lighter, began to cry profusely. I was befuddled by his reaction, but when your 7-year-old is crying without a reason and you love him, you investigate it immediately! So I asked him why he was crying. He blurted out, “I don’t want to get blacker, Daddy!” He looked at me in total anguish and said something that left me astounded. He said, “Because if you are black they hate you more.” He cried so hard that I took him in my arms so that he couldn’t see that I too was shedding a tear or two, myself. I was hurt for both of my sons, and I was hurt with them.

I sat on the floor holding two weeping children as my wife and I began to explain what a gift it is to be yourself, and to love who you are and how you are made. I told them how wonderfully God has created them in the skin they were in! It led to one of the richest, most rewarding discussions of my children’s lives and they still refer to it to this day!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words still ring soundly today, “Judge me on the content of my character and not the color of my skin.” Can a brother get a good Amen?

-XT

[levdrakon]

When I was young my mom told me about the pain of child birth and I could see the huge C-section scar running up her (rather large) belly. I cried because I didn’t want to grow up and go through that. She didn’t tell me boys don’t have to.

I cried when I had to go to yet another new school where all the other kids had moms and dads and good incomes and could afford things and I had to let the nuns ridicule me and my family and let the other kids tease me. I grew up, and they couldn’t hurt me anymore.

I cried when mom told me my dad went bald at a young age and I was certainly going to go bald too.

I cried when I realized my poor eyesight would prevent me from becoming a pilot and astronaut. I grew up and got RK.

Life’s rough for kids. But, they grow up, and hopefully realize things are getting better.

I’m 43, and I still have all my hair! Take that!

The world’s changing and being black doesn’t mean they’ll “hate you more.” Sad fact is though, someone will hate you. The good news is, you can pick your friends.