They Don't See Color

Happy MLK Day!  Well, yesterday...for most of you it is already tomorrow (Tuesday).

I have been thinking about this day for awhile.  Most people don't give much thought to MLK day, there are memorials in most every city to honor such a great man in civil rights.  But to a lot of people, it is just a day off work...school...whatever.  To tell you the truth, I never gave much thought to it.

I didn't grow up during the civil rights movement, so I can't really identify with the struggles of that day. But I did grow up in the south...Mississippi and the Memphis area.  I saw a lot of hatred towards blacks, while they may have the same rights as whites, they certainly were not treated the same.

In Memphis, there is still a lot of race tensions on both sides.  It is sad really.  There should be no reason for it.  We were all created equal and in the image of God.  We should love one another regardless of color.

That is how I hope to raise my children.

I knew this year Ella would ask about Martin Luther King Jr., and I wanted to be ready with an answer.  Why so worried about it?  Well, my children do not see color and I want to keep it that way.  Yes, they obviously can tell that someone is darker than they are.  But the kids don't describe them as black/white.  They don't know color the way we adults know color.

So, when she did ask, I told her he was a great man that fought to make sure that everyone was treated equally and loved.

Of course, in time, I will tell them about the details of the civil rights.  But for now, I am enjoying the fact that they aren't corrupted by the world....they still have an innocence about them.

Ella and Olivia both think it would be really neat if I had a baby with "really dark skin".  (I had to explain why that couldn't happen...then I prayed we would get into the "birds and the bees" talk...I am not ready for that one. ) 

They don't see color, and I pray they never do.