Tag Archives: racism

American Idol Accused of Racism

The newest season of “American Idol” kicked off with last year’s judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez being replaced with the feuding Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. While some may be talking about the rotating judges, a new controversy has arisen.  Nine former “American Idol” contestants – all African American males – are suing the show, claiming that they were kicked off the show as a part of a racist plot. The former contestants are Corey Clark (Season 2), Jaered Andrews (Season 2), Donnie Williams (Season 3), Terrell Brittenum (Season 5), Derrell Brittenum (Season 5), Thomas Daniels (Season 6), Akron Watson … Continue reading →

Where Do Kids Learn Stereotypes?

I was driving with my daughter Rebecca and one of her friends the other day and they were singing to the radio and a rap song came on and I changed the station. I just don’t like rap and I don’t think eight year olds need to listen to it. When I changed the station Rebecca’s friend asked why I changed the station and I explained that I just did not think they needed to listen to it and besides I don’t like rap so I did not want to listen to it. The reason I am mentioning this is … Continue reading →

Racial Trends

OK let me start by saying that I by no means mean the following in any racial context. There are some trends that seem to follow racial lines. When I drive down the street I usually don’t see Caucasians with their pants so darn low that almost all of their underwear is showing. I do however see a lot of African American boys and adults even with their pants so low they can barely walk. I really do not understand the reasoning of this; don’t these people understand where that trend came from? It started in jail need I say … Continue reading →

We Thought We Covered All Bases

We are not the traditional looking family and that is great with us. When we adopted our kids we could have said we want kids who have the same color hair, skin tone, and eyes so they would have matched us but instead we said we don’t care about any of that only that they were healthy and needing a family. That is truthfully what I think is all that matters. When we started the adoption process we had asked friends who are African American if they thought our child, if we adopted an African American child, would get ostracized … Continue reading →

Holiday Program

Sometimes when you have a child of a different race there are definite advantages. Here is what I mean my son had a school program and he was walking in front of me, because he is too cool to be seen with his old mom. Another student yelled “Hey George your fat”. I turned around and asked the rude child what his name was and when he asked why I told him that his teacher was going to be made aware that he called my son fat. The boy said that George was not my son because I am white … Continue reading →

What Would you Have Done?

As a Caucasian person I had never really had to face racism directly. So when we chose to adopt a child or children of color, racism never really entered my thoughts. I never would have expected to encounter it. Maybe it was me just being naive but I never thought that we would have to deal with it. Unfortunately we have been confronted with racism, hatred and bigots. I am not sure why a person can have such strong views about something that has nothing to do with them. I must say, I do know one of my sons is … Continue reading →

Should Race Matter?

When my husband and I made the choice to adopt we were not picky. The questionnaires that you have to complete for the adoption process were very detailed. You have to decide if you want a boy or a girl, Caucasian, Asian, African American, Indian or any of the other ethnicities or races in the world or a child who is mix raced. You also have to consider if you will accept children with disabilities and what ages you would accept. Out of all the questions the race and ethnicity questions were the easiest we just checked YES all the … Continue reading →

When a Child Makes a Racist Taunt To Another Child

No matter how much we read about adoption, there is a tremendous tendency to believe that your own kids are not getting questions or comments about race or adoption. The last few blogs have talked about helping to avoid stereotypes in children by having diverse books, dolls, and posters in their environment, and by specific actions and discussions to help kids develop empathy and learn about the contributions people of various races have made and are making to our society. Now I will mention some suggestions for a time when a child actually says or hears a racist comment or … Continue reading →

Activities Fostering an Appreciation of Other Cultures in Elementary and Middle-school Students

My last blog discussed activity ideas for helping young children become comfortable with racial diversity. Here are some ideas for teachers of elementary and middle school students: –Make sure they know the science of skin color. A good book is All the Colors We Are: The story of How We Get Our Skin Color. This is a bilingual (English/Spanish) book with photographs and simple explanations. –I like to follow or precede a discussion of the science of skin color with an artistic or aesthetic look at the beauty of different skin colors. I like All the Colors of the Earth, … Continue reading →

Will Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Affect Adopted Children?

School conferences were a revelation to a mother of a middle-school daughter who had been adopted from Guatemala, but even more of a revelation to her teachers. The girl had reported that the teachers never called on her class. The mother sent a note to the homeroom teacher which was never answered. The mother said that the teachers were surprised to have anyone show up at the girl’s scheduled conference time at all—let alone a white professional woman. The teachers had apparently assumed that the girl was an illegal immigrant who didn’t speak English. (For another blog on racism in … Continue reading →