How do you talk to kids about racism?

for me racism is an issue my children will have to deal with all of their lives and also its cousin prejudice. I am the mother of three beautiful tri-racial girls, lovingly nicknamed the neopolitan sisters by my late grandma Katie. one is a beautiful cinnamon color, another more on the strawberry side and then there is my vanilla girl. they are1/2 mexican, 1/4 native american and 1/4 african american. i used to get the "are you sure they are all from the same dad?' type stares from people, women especially. i have been explaining racism to them since they were very young and we still discuss it occassionally, my first experience with racism was actually one that happened in a grocery store my middle daughter who was about 3 at the time kept looking at an african american woman in line in front of us, i know she was admiring her long braids in her hair. this person had the nerve to say "she acts like she has  never seen a black person!" very rudely, to which i leapt at the opportunity to tell her "yes she has, her grandma is black, so that would make her black  too!" to which i got a yeah right look. my daughter asked me why that pretty lady was mad and i explained to her that she just wasn't a very smart person. at about the same time my oldest who was 5 was being bullied by this little girl because her skin was dark, funny thing is the bully was just as dark complected. at the time i took the opportunity to go to her teacher Mrs.Gerringer and ask to read a story "grandma blue" i think it was, and after the story i did a little presentation with neopolitan ice cream i showed the kids in a visual thy could understand how each person in a family could look so different as my girls did. i was the vanilla(mexican) her dad was the strawberry and chocolate(native and african american)i emphasized that all flavors were equally good by themselves but when i mixed them together we got this beautiful girl Destinee. the kids loved it, the teacher loved it and my daughter was never bullied again.

which brings me to ignorance and fear the, two seeds that grow racism. i have been guiltyof these feelings when it has come to people, am i a racist? no, but i will say that i am prejudiced against ignorant people of any race. the fear of the unnkown, is really not knowing peoples cultures or attitudes about life. i fnd it amazing that Tyler Perrys Madea can make all races laugh in the theatre or on Oprah but if they ran into her on the street would they like her? no, they would be afraid of her, her brazen bold outlook or attitude would turn most people off until they really got to know her that is. why are we suddenly uncomfortable when a middle easterner is in the same room as us. why do we tell mexicans to go back to mexico when no one here will do their jobs? not every bald white man is an aryan. why do we categorize native americans as lazy or alcoholics. the list is infinite....... but you get my point all of these came from some person or group that was ignorant or fearful. ultimately kids live what they learn and with that said change will only come from parents who are willing to expose their children to a variety of experiences, places, and people.

because life is really not like a movie and ice cream will not solve all the worlds problems, i tell my girls that if a person does not want to take the time to get to know you based on your looks than they are probably not worth the effort, and it is their loss.