Hello Meltingpot Readers,
The summer after my book Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America’s Diverse Families was released, I decided to create an accompanying video series to further explore what life was like in nuclear families where skin color variations and colorism were part of the family dynamic. Because conversations around color are inherently visual, I wanted to create a visual product for people to be able to witness first hand, what people were going through when they shared their stories.
I wasn’t exactly sure where or when I was going to roll out these videos and then I realized that I have the perfect venue, The Meltingpot! (I know, kind of a Captain Obvious moment.) So, stay tuned as I will continue to release a video each week. This first episode, “Mommy’s White,” is about a young white mother named Layney who is married to a Brazilian man. Their twin boys are brown. You’ll hear how Layney’s experiences as a mother are uniquely impacted by the fact that she, “doesn’t look like her children.”
I hope you enjoy the video. And I’m sure Layney’s experiences will feel familiar to some of you. Feel free to share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below.
Peace!
Comments
2 responses to “The Colorism Chronicles: When Mommy is White But Her Kids are Brown”
Rebecca,
Thank you for your comment. And you’ve really nailed the issue, is that lack of acceptance by a judgmental public. Everybody really just wants to be seen as part of a family, or part of a known tribe.
Powerful video of Layney and her family’s experiences. Makes real the hurt that families feel when they are rejected for their varied hues; not accepted as a unit.