Not the White Christmas I am Dreaming of....

In light of the totally and complete idiocy surrounding the new debate about whether a FICTIONAL character is black or white, (and the subsequent white washing of Jesus as well) I though it a good time to re-run this post from last year

Just What Color is Santa and other Racial Challenges at Christmas?

Or Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, the shepherds or the wise men, for that matter?

Santa visits my school every year (a school that is about 90-97% African American depending on what school year it is) and every year I love that Santa is African American- just like the vast majority of the kids.  But every year we have a discussion about whether or not Santa is Black.  (and these are 3, 4 &  5 year old kids so don't tell me "kids don't notice color"- but I digress)

Why should the people who feature prominently in both our secular and religious Christmas traditions be white.  Let's be honest- There is NO. WAY. that Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus were white (and especially not fair, blonde and white)  Bethlehem is in the Middle East and people 5000 years ago and 2000 years ago and last week who are genetically tied to that area of the world are not white.  So the real live Jesus was not a white man, his parents were not white and he certainly wasn't a blonde fair haired baby in the manager.

And Santa- well he is magic so he should be able to be any old way he wants. (although the original Saint Nicholas was historically from a part of Greece- which is now Turkey- so the fact he would have been white is pretty much fiction too)

But you wouldn't know it to look at Christmas books.  As my children are getting older it is becoming increasingly frustrating to find diverse HOLIDAY books (regular children's literature is improving steadily) but holiday books haven't caught up with the rest of the world.   Not to mention that the books you can find with Black characters tend to be about Kwanzaa, rather than Christmas as if those two holidays are reserved only for the people who "match" the media assumptions about who celebrates.   And after reading book after book of white characters talking to white Santas or worshiping white Baby Jesus- it really began to bother me.  So I went on a quest to find some GOOD holiday books that more accurately represented the Holy Birth and books that showed families and children and Santas of color engaged in holiday celebrations.

Here are some I found

The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats     

The characters are all have dark hair and darker complexions with some variety- they are not all the same.  Baby Jesus appears darker than Mary.  The big drawback is you have to say "rum pa pa pum" about a million times.

  Grace at Christmas by Mary Hoffman

Already well known for her books about Grace that deal with racism and sexism directly, Mary Hoffman weaves another tale of Grace's adventures as she and a house guest cope with being away from some of their families during Christmas.  In true Grace fashion, the girls put on a production of Jesus' birth in which all the participants are Black

 

Snowflake Kisses and Gingerbread Smiles by Toni Trent Parker

There is not much "story" to this book, making a great choice for young kids.  The pictures are each feature a different child (representing a wide variety of African Americans) with a 1-2 sentence description of what they like about the holiday

 

This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten 

A simple retelling of the Christmas story.  With the exception of the angels, who appear to be white, all of the other characters are darker, ranger from an olive to a deep brown.  The Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph are all a medium brown tone with black hair and in a few of the pictures Mary almost appears to be Black.  One of the wise men appears to be Asian as well.

Christmas for 10 by Cathryn Falwell

A simple counting story following a family as they get ready for Christmas, including setting up a manager with Black figurines. 

12 Days of Christmas by Rachel Isadora

 The traditional words that kids are familiar with, but set throughout Africa.  One of the highlights is the 7 swans a'swimming are black swans.  The book is also a rebus so that early readers will be able to read independently as well.  The one caution would be that the people are depicted very traditionally- feathers and masks and body jewelry- so that for younger kids (who don't have the cognitive skills to recognize the "traditional" aspect) it could potentially create/reinforce stereotypes

The Night Before Christmas by Rachel Isadora

The classic story, set in Africa, but without the traditional dress that could presented an issue in 12 Days of Christmas.  Santa is Black, including white locs with a few Christmas beads in his long hair.  This is one of my favorites.

Other holiday books featuring characters of color

Calvin's Christmas Wish by Calvin Miles. 

A story set in past about a boy who wants a bike for Christmas.  Touches on issues of poverty 

Do you have any favorite holiday stories that represent all families?

What the ----?? American Girl

One of a kind, just like me

as long as you are white

Ritual Sacrifice- With Pie

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!

As God As My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly

As many of us are frantically prepping for Thanksgiving tomorrow- take a moment to laugh

If We Wanted You to Write Checks We Would've Gotten You a Checking Account

This is book fair week at school.  For those of you who don't know what that means, Scholastic Publishing brings tons of books to the school and the kids get to window shop with their class and then come home with their "wish list" to nag , beg , whine , ask their parents for money to purchase said wish list.   (and there is lots of little "junk" like erasers, pencils, posters, etc also for sale at low prices to eliminate any chance at all the child will bring home change)

Last night D asked for money for a book or a few books, I don't really know since I wasn't really listening because my plan was to bring them to the book fair myself during parent hours so I could see what they were buying (in part because of the aforementioned junk and in part because of this incident)  I thought the issue was resolved since I gave her no money to take to the book fair.  

Then I got to parent teacher conferences and the teacher asked if I had heard about the check.  

Ummm, no, what check?

Apparently unhappy with my answer of I will take you to the book fair, D decided to take matters into her own hands and brought a check to school.  She had filled in the school name and had put 62 in the amount box.  She took it to the book fair where she attempted to use it to purchase the book she wanted (for $11, so I think she was planning to pocket the rest)  

Unfortunately for her, her plan was foiled when she handed the check to the PTO president who noted some "irregularities" with it and told her that she would put it in an envelope for me.

I can see the Christmas letter now. 

 "D is 7 years old and is really into reading, art, gymnastics and check fraud."

Weekend Wisdom

"After World War II, it seemed that humanity understood something, and nothing like that would happen again.

"Humanity has understood nothing. Religious, tribal, national wars continue. The world continues to be in a sea of blood...

The world can be better if there's love, tolerance and humility." 

-Irena Sendler

Don't know who she is? 

 Read her amazing story of heroism, saving 2500 Jewish children during WWII

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1021048/Female-Schindler-Irena-Sendler-saved-2-500-Jewish-children-died-aged-98.html#ixzz2Zh7eMgYG

Why Not Just Buy Them a Shirt That Says "ORPHAN"

"I AM ONEless: now that’s something to celebrate. Now, your child can shout it out loud! Celebrate being one less vulnerable child in one more forever family. 
 By purchasing merchandise from ONEless Ministries, you become a part of making ONE less orphan and  ONE less victim of human trafficking through raising awareness & funding the work of this ministry."

Cause nothing says my parents have no boundaries better than a shirt that reminds people how you were an orphan* or potentially a sex slave

But let's all marvel at the irony of the fact that many children who are "one less" orphan are ACTUALLY "one more" victim of human trafficking.  The fact that many kids are manufactured orphans and trafficked to the adoption system seems to be lost on these folks

*children who are not likely to have been orphans at all

Halloween Hijinks

Finally

It was pointed out to me that it has been a while since I updated the blog.  I have been beyond swamped with kids, work and well, basically, life.  I am hoping to be able to return to regular blogging after this weekend (you know, after I somehow find an additional 14 hours to unbraid, wash, detangle and re-braid K's hair)  We got some good stuff coming up soon, but until then I leave you with these photos from our vacation this summer.

(yeah I know, but I have a migraine and have to finish a presentation on the Human Brain and the Impact of Trauma on Learning that I found out a week ago I am presenting on Friday morning....)

White Violence

Because sometimes satire proves the point best.....

Wow-

Just a quick note to say thanks for clicking and sharing my last post.  Over 3200 views (which, while nothing in internet world, is a lot for me) plus a direct quote in Indian Country News online and a link in an LA Times story as well.  

But despite all that- I still wish I had not had to write it and that a little girl was home with her dad- 

where she belongs.

An Open Letter to Matt and Melanie Capobianco

Dear Matt and Melanie,

As I write this rumors are circulating that you have received physical custody of Baby Veronica.  I say rumors because in all honesty, I am afraid to look to confirm it since even the thought that this is true makes me want to throw up.  

I get that in a way you too are a victim- the victim of an unscrupulous agent who might have never given you a clue that Baby Veronica's father was going to contest the adoption.  

(and although while I personally believe that you had to know there was something hinky going on- for the purposes of this, I will pretend you knew nothing of the drama and game playing that were going on between Baby V's birth parents)

But truthfully it doesn't matter one itty bitty bit whether or not you knew there was an issue before her birth.  Within 4 months the adoption had been contested.  4 months- 120 days- 120 days that I am sure you fell in love with her, but clearly you didn't fall in love with her enough.  You didn't fall in love with her enough to give her back to her father.  

I don't know if you were required to take any per-adoptive classes but if you had, you would see that the loss of the birth family through adoption deeply wounds most, if not all, adoptees.  Now how those wounds play out is different in form and depth and severity for each adoptee, but the wounds are there.  And no matter if the birth family was the dregs of the earth and the adoptive family the salt of the earth, the loss of that first family is significant.  Talk to adult adoptees and hear their voices about their birth families.

  And then think about what you are doing to the child you claim to love.  

Adoption should be about finding families for children who need them.  It should never be about taking children from families who want them. It is about one set of parents loving the child enough to do what is in their best interest, and unfortunately, that is not you.  It is in Baby V's best interest to remain with her father and it has always been in her best interest since he contested the adoption at 4 months old.  And there are thousands of legitimately available children in this world who need a family and don't already have one able to care for them.

Someday Baby V will begin to question her adoption.  The need for it, what happened to both her parents (and it may be far sooner than you think- I have one who has talked about her birth family pretty much since she could talk)  She will have memories of living with her father and extended family.  She is going find out (as soon as she is old enough to Google) that you fought a battle to take her from her father and that he fought a battle to keep her.  Who do think is going to play the villain in this script?  

Many adoptive parents (especially in international adoption) come to learn after years of searching that their children were wanted desperately by their first families and only through the actions of unscrupulous agencies taking advantage of those families during a time of crisis or distress were they "available" for adoption.  They can tell you how hard it is to share those truths with their children and see their pain.  How hard it is to know that they played a role in that separation, even though they had no way of knowing at that time.  

But how much harder to explain that not only were you complicit in the severing of their first family but that you fought for years to make that happen.  

I don't know what word you use to explain that you orchestrated their loss.

It seems to most adult adoptees and a great many adoptive parents that you are so concerned with winning that you have lost all sight of what this is going to do to Baby V.  

Not now of course, for now, children are resilient, even in the face of such loss.  

But eventually, Baby V will be Child V, then Teenager V and finally Adult V.  

You may have won her for now, but I suspect in doing so, you have actually lost her forever.

Signed,

An adoptive parent

What the ----??, Seattle School Board (subtiled- This is Why We Need Teacher Unions)

Seattle Teacher Forced Out for Teaching Kids about Racism 

"Students study speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and invite local community leaders to speak in the class. They are prompted to talk honestly about racism, class disparity, and privilege in their day-to-day lives at the start of every session. Assignments include analyzing “the way media and society fetishize both women and people of color.”

But the provocative discussions that Meyer found so revelatory abruptly ended a few months ago when a female white student accused the teacher of creating an “intimidating educational environment.”

The Seattle School Board agreed and have decided to transfer Greenberg to another school next year. The board also banned future use of the Courageous Conversations teaching method employed by Greenberg to address issues of race and gender.

The structure of the curriculum has been an integral part of Greenberg’s class for the last decade."

Can you say "white privilege" boys and girls, cause one little white girl just used hers to get this whole class one social justice cancelled.

Right on Schedule- Racism (sigh)

A new Miss America was crowned and she is of Indian descent.

Cue the obligatory racist tweets

Stay Classy, America

Melkam Addis Amet!!!!

Happy New Year!!

Enjoy 2006!