#4: Mom, one of my main goals for my life is to have a best friend who's black.
Me: That's cool. It's too bad there aren't more black kids in our school.
#4: Yeah. I just think black guys are so cool. And mom, I know I can't have one...but if I could have a black baby I'd love to name it Jamal. I love that name. It's such a cool name.
Me: Well, there ARE ways you could have a black baby, you know? And even if you didn't, you could name any baby Jamal if you like that name.
#4: I couldn't name a white baby Jamal!!
Me: Well, yeah...you could.
(he sits there thinking about that)
Me: Think about it....the kid grows up, the white kid named Jamal....and every time he goes for a job interview they're going to be expecting a black guy...and then your son walks in. It would be great. It would make him really special and stand out.
#4: (smiling this mischevious little smile) Yeah...that would be kinda cool.
Now...we are not racist. Not in the least. The plain fact of the matter is there are very few blacks in this community. We happen to be friends with most of the ones who live here. And I can't WAIT to tell them about this conversation...they will LOVE it. Later on, I'll talk to him about the fact that he COULD end up marrying a black girl and then get a black baby. Or adopt one. Or not. Just whatever. I gotta run. Just had to get that down before I left this morning.
grace
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1 comment:
We named our little brown boy Steele after the Pitsburg Steelers. I wanted Rohan, after Lord of the Rings of Course but I got to nameour daughter so he got to name our son.
Of course being the parent of an adopted child as well as a biological child, I think it would be great if all families looked like the united nations-imagine what that would do to racism in ten, maybe twenty years, there would be all colors of Jamals ;-0
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