White skin and black skin: a new norm for conversation in our house?

A couple weeks back as Ryan was putting Samarah to bed, she said to him,

Everyone else has white skin. Why can’t I have white skin, too?

The next morning, I asked her about it. She confirmed,

It makes me sad that the kids don’t want to be my best friend because I don’t have white skin.

I told her,

That’s not true, Samarah. Arabella is your best friend. She has white skin.

She smiled.

I know, but…..

Sometimes Samarah is super dramatic. It’s hard to tell whether the white skin factor is truly a big deal to her or not.

Does it matter? No. Because it totally matters to me. The fact that she brought it up in the first place means she notices already at just five-years-old.

White Skin

In 2016, I stated that “I don’t see color.”

In 2017, I acknowledged that, “We all see color and acknowledging it is so important.”

Today, in 2019, not only do I see and acknowledge it, but in our house we celebrate it.

I remind Samarah every single chance I get that she has beautiful skin. Last night before bed she reminded me that her skin is light brown, Isaiah’s skin is light brown, and Amiya’s skin is black.

I die inside laughing each time, but this proves that color is visible, and if we don’t celebrate it, she (and they) might think it’s less than.

I love reading the I Am Trulybook to her. Truly has dark skin and the book is all about being enough.

Princess Truly is strong and confident, beautiful and brave, bright and brilliant. She can do anything she sets her mind to…

I can fly to the moon
And dance on the stars.
I can tame wild lions…
And race fast cars.

Brimming with warmth and color, Princess Truly’s rhythmic rhyming adventures are a celebration of individuality, girl power, and diversity.

I know I might be a biased mother, but maybe thank God for that. Because I believe, from the very bottom of my heart and soul, that my children are incredibly beautiful.

Their skin is not white or dark (I mean, it’s dark and stunning as can be); metaphorically, it’s golden, just like their little hearts. My wish is that all children would be celebrated in this same way so that the day comes when one child isn’t thinking, “I wish I had xyz color skin.”

Join the magic and chaos, right where you need to be, HERE.

Xox,

SKH