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Stephanie Ward drives her two biracial children to a black school an hour away to give them a break from their predominantly white neighborhood in suburban Dallas. Yet, it's hardly enough to eliminate racism from their lives.
Some of her neighbors in Plano won't allow their children to speak to her 4- and 6-year-olds. "They act as if we're from Mars," she said.
While the rebuff can be stressful -- on both the children and mom -- Ms. Ward was outraged when she learned that a private swim club in suburban Philadelphia revoked a summer membership for 65 mostly black and Hispanic campers. Several campers reported hearing racial comments the first time they showed up at the club, and some members pulled their children out of the pool. The camp's $1,950 was refunded a few days later.
"The Philly situation angers me and reminds me that I'm still black in America," Ms. Ward said. "I won't tell my children about this. I refuse to pass on the legacy of paranoia and the sense that they're not good enough."
In the Detroit suburb of Canton, Kim Crouch also was angered about the treatment of the camp group June 29 at the Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, even though the club's president said overcrowding, not racism, was the reason the kids of color were turned away. The club has since invited the campers back.
The explanation sounds like business as usual to Mrs. Crouch, who has been educating her 7- and 10-year-olds about handling racism since they were in preschool. In third grade, her oldest son was told by a classmate "she wasn't allowed to talk to him because he was a brown kid."
With the election of President Obama energizing a new generation, racial conflict can be even more confusing for minority kids. Some tips for parents:
Talk with children before it happens
Mrs. Crouch, who wrote a book called "Mother to Son: Words of Wisdom, Inspiration and Hope for Today's Young African-American Men," said jumbled signals from peers and the world at large can be hard for children to interpret, but she and her husband feel facing racism head-on at a young age makes sense.
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Some of her neighbors in Plano won't allow their children to speak to her 4- and 6-year-olds. "They act as if we're from Mars," she said.
While the rebuff can be stressful -- on both the children and mom -- Ms. Ward was outraged when she learned that a private swim club in suburban Philadelphia revoked a summer membership for 65 mostly black and Hispanic campers. Several campers reported hearing racial comments the first time they showed up at the club, and some members pulled their children out of the pool. The camp's $1,950 was refunded a few days later.
"The Philly situation angers me and reminds me that I'm still black in America," Ms. Ward said. "I won't tell my children about this. I refuse to pass on the legacy of paranoia and the sense that they're not good enough."
In the Detroit suburb of Canton, Kim Crouch also was angered about the treatment of the camp group June 29 at the Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, even though the club's president said overcrowding, not racism, was the reason the kids of color were turned away. The club has since invited the campers back.
The explanation sounds like business as usual to Mrs. Crouch, who has been educating her 7- and 10-year-olds about handling racism since they were in preschool. In third grade, her oldest son was told by a classmate "she wasn't allowed to talk to him because he was a brown kid."
With the election of President Obama energizing a new generation, racial conflict can be even more confusing for minority kids. Some tips for parents:
Talk with children before it happens
Mrs. Crouch, who wrote a book called "Mother to Son: Words of Wisdom, Inspiration and Hope for Today's Young African-American Men," said jumbled signals from peers and the world at large can be hard for children to interpret, but she and her husband feel facing racism head-on at a young age makes sense.
Story continues....
nuh might as well she move guh deh ?
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