As I begin my first post, I must admit it's nice to know nobody is actually paying attention yet. (except for mom of course, but luckily, as my mom, she'll tell me it's wonderful)
WARNING: I'm about to moonwalk across that line. I will be discussing race and how it affects our everyday life - and not in the pc Martin Luther King, JR versus Adolf Hitler in a history textbook
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ind of way. (PHOTOS left to right Martin Luther King, Jr. and Adolf Hitler)Here's how race became an inevitable part of my life:
Twenty years ago, on a warm August day my black father and my white mother got together and made a child. (no further details necessary here... please... i don't want to know anymore) Nine months later, I entered this world and almost immediately my race became a part of my life. At the time, I of course didn't know anything more than screaming and breastfeeding, but apparently, the color of my skin caused many discussions.
My mom often tells me this story, which I consider the beginning of my racial identity formation:
Several weeks after I was born, my mom brought me to her friend's house. Two of her female friends, one black and the other white, were waiting in anticipation for my arrival! (I doubt an exclamation point is really needed here, but my mom would put one so I did) We arrived to the house and my mom did the big reveal to the women. The white woman did the normal cooing and ooing at me (she had met me already the night I was born when my mother requested she bring a large tunafish sandwich, a hershey's bar, and a diet coke) The black woman stood there for a moment in silence and then said to my mom, "Hey, you know that baby isn't white." The friend obviously thought she had an incredible revelation. My mom responded to her friend, "Yes, I know that."
And, that's how it was confirmed that I am not white. Interestingly, my mom's friend now gives a more detailed explanation for how she knew. Apparently, it wasn't my dark features or darker skin color. It was my ears! I had black ears!!! When I look in the mirror, they look tan to me. My "black ears" have been confirmed by several other experts on "black ears," but I am yet to learn the characteristics of "black ears." I'm still dying to know what makes my ears "black," so I can one day know if my children have "black ears." Can someone explain to me what "black ears" are?
(PHOTO My ear that apparently demonstrates my race. Clarification: The line on the inner lobe is from a pulled earring and is not genetic.)
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