It was a sunny October afternoon at Sunnyslope Elementary School. Loose gravel painted the sidewalks and toys were strewn across the playground. Pigeons cooed as they landed in the dead grass and dirt that was the landscaping. I had just stepped out of my classroom to go make some copies when I witnessed this racial encounter. Lisa and Johnny were walking to the daycare, while Tara and her father, both Black like myself, were on their way home. I am Mrs. Jones. I have twenty years experience teaching children and am a dedicated and proud mother of three grown children. I have cocoa brown skin and wise, black eyes. My students tell me I have a powerful voice. I like hearing that.

Although I’m sure there have been many instances in my life when I realized my own difference from others or other people’s difference from me, none of them stand out as clearly as the one I’m about to tell you. It only happened about a year ago. I was working at Sunnyslope’s after-school daycare program for preschool through sixth graders. I was going to college full-time and working there part-time. I am Lisa. I have limited experience working with children and have none of my own, yet. I have light beige skin and almond-shaped brown eyes. I am a soft-spoken, mild-mannered White woman who loves children.

One afternoon, I had walked an innocent Hispanic kindergartner boy, named Johnny, from the daycare to the restroom. On our stroll back to the daycare, we passed by Tara, a sweet and quiet preschooler, and her father, who were on their way home. Tara had a wiry frame with deep, dark brown skin and jet-black curly hair pulled tightly

into a little bun on top of her head. Her father was built much the same. He was a tall, soft-spoken man with smiling, black eyes. Tara’s father and I smiled at each other and said goodbye as we passed. Just a few steps later was when it happened. Little Johnny looked up at me with his curious, brown eyes and said, "It’s a good thing she’s gone." I thought to myself, oh no, tell me he’s not going to say something about her being Black. I couldn’t just ignore his comment, so I said, "Why would you say that?", in a calm and pleasant voice. Sure enough, he said, "Because she’s so dark". I could not believe it. It was one of those moments when you say to yourself, I can’t believe that just happened and your stomach starts to turn.

Lisa didn’t respond right away. How could she do that! She is in a position of authority with children. She should not let this little boy’s ignorance continue. I could not believe she seemed to consider brushing off his racist comment. She reluctantly asked, "Why would you say that?" Just as I suspected, Johnny had a problem with Tara because of the color of her skin. They continued walking. I don’t believe Lisa saw me, but she may have reacted just the same if she had. I could tell that Lisa was not sure how to handle this situation.

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that I was pleased with what happened after that. This was a very unpleasant situation and I am the kind of person who has to think awhile about what I’m going to say. In other words, I’m slow with comebacks. This was a situation I had never come across and was not even sure how to handle best. My reaction was weak, but I will tell you about it anyway.

Finally, Lisa replied, "Well that doesn’t matter." What kind of response was that? What does that mean to say it doesn’t matter? It’s people like her who unknowingly perpetuate ignorance. If you don’t stop someone in their tracks when they make a racist comment, then you are telling them that it’s okay to be a racist. Especially considering the fact that she is looked up to by all the children at the daycare. Why didn’t she know what to say? Maybe she knew what to say, but didn’t feel like taking the time to explain that it’s wrong to judge someone by the color of their skin.

See, I told you it was weak. "Well that doesn’t matter." Who knows what Johnny got out of that. He might have just thought I was brushing him off. I believe that this incident occurred for a number of reasons. As far as Johnny’s racist comments, I believe that racism was directly or indirectly taught to him by his peers and/or parents. He is a reflection of his environment. Unless the attitudes of those in his environment change, the ignorance is only going to continue from generation to generation. Like George Martinez pointed out in his article about Mexican-Americans, Hispanics used to be placed in the same category as Whites. I’m sure many people interpreted that as ‘your skin is almost as light as ours, so we’ll put you in our group, the Whites’. This would lead people to believe that the lighter your skin, the better, and vice versa. That would explain Johnny’s belief of the darker your skin, the worse.

What was so significant about this scene was that I was in a position of authority and was ill prepared for the reality of racism. I was aware that it existed, but had never really come so face-to-face with it. I was never forced to intervene. In this situation, however, I could not just pretend I didn’t hear this little boy’s comments. I couldn’t

ignore the fact that Tara and her father’s skin was much darker than this little boy was used to seeing.

This incident put racism right in front of me, when I would have preferred to continue thinking that ‘it wouldn’t happen to me’. It showed me that I still needed to learn what to do in a situation like this. Today, it is still meaningful because it is a reminder that racism exists and that opportunities to educate others will arise.

As for my feeble attempt to make Johnny aware of his ignorant belief, that is a matter of a White girl living in a White world. I haven’t had many Black people in my life on a daily basis. I also have not been exposed to situations like this one. I never was forced to think ‘how will I fight racism?’ or ‘what can I do to change people’s racist beliefs?’. Ultimately, I think it is an issue for society at large. We need to start educating children in school about cultural diversity. We should consider educating the parents as well, since they are whom the children turn to for answers.

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