tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4918753831776979949.post6137697400240150614..comments2023-04-01T18:20:51.314-05:00Comments on Nobody Asked You: The "crime" of living while blackJuliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09306553493879018542noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4918753831776979949.post-16167594411517449652010-04-19T10:40:29.708-05:002010-04-19T10:40:29.708-05:00Thanks, Moi, for the Fashion Tips. :)
I had never...Thanks, Moi, for the Fashion Tips. :)<br /><br />I had never thought about it from this point of view: "As a white mother you have insight into the white world and its less friendly faces; you can tell them what to look for, whom to avoid, and whom to keep at arm's length and how." Very smart. Very helpful. Thanks.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09306553493879018542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4918753831776979949.post-12650577448103076562010-04-15T19:13:41.543-05:002010-04-15T19:13:41.543-05:00I work with a lot of white mothers raising childre...I work with a lot of white mothers raising children of color and I've noticed that they've got fairly good support systems because they raise their kids in communities of color, for one.<br /><br />Fashion tip #1 for raising children of color in America: teach them to survive. Their safety is and will be a major issue for decades to come. It has to be your main priority and concern at all times. You have to be hyper-aware, you can never let your guard down, and you can never take anything for granted. A mother rarely gets to go on "vacation"; a mother with a child of color <i>never</i> gets to go on vacation.<br /><br />This isn't paranoia; this is cold hard reality for POC.<br /><br />Fashion tip #2: Knowledge really is power. As a white mother you have insight into the white world and its less friendly faces; you can tell them what to look for, whom to avoid, and whom to keep at arm's length and how. Use what you know to your fullest advantage.<br /><br />My parents talked with me often and honestly about race in America. There was no sugarcoating. All in all, I think they did a pretty good job, my dad in particular.Alliyah Gallowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11043902720307040762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4918753831776979949.post-35167468775569247442010-03-31T12:22:34.288-05:002010-03-31T12:22:34.288-05:00Hey Julia. I don't really have anything to ad...Hey Julia. I don't really have anything to add but wanted to thank you for asking because I was recently presented with this situation with my eldest son. He's half Cuban but appearance-wise he looks like he didn't get a single gene from me. He looks Hispanic and identifies as such. He and a (white) friend went into this little store near his school one afternoon and were followed around the store until they left. My everyday-white side said, "They're middle schoolers and the store probably has a problem with the middle schoolers." But the white side that knows differently after being followed around when I shopped with black friends (among many other horror stories) could not shake the feeling that they saw him for his race and not his age. I mean, if they had a problem with middle schoolers, kick them out right away.<br /><br />And I started to tell him but I realized I had no clue what I was going to say. I just found myself asking questions down to the most minute detail. We discuss race but we haven't discussed it in terms of him and his race yet. He's just now branching out into the world alone and I'm realizing now that my white skin may have protected HIM too when he was little.<br /><br />I look forward to seeing the responses you get.Victoriahttp://vintagelux.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com