My daughter, Megan is beautiful. She’s gorgeous. But when she was 4 yrs old, she was at the back of my car.
There was a white pantyhose, she took them out of the package and put them in her arms, and went, “Mommy, I’m beautiful now just like you.”
That broke my heart.
I married a black man and people around me were like, “ What about the children?”
I came up against prejudice. I came up against the people judging my babies for the color of their skin.
Schools are places where prejudice is rife.
I just wanted to be the best mom that I could be.
I wanted to send my daughters to a great school. I wanted them to have an education,
not realizing that I was exposing them to prejudice.
I looked around the school and there was nothing but white faculty.
I wanted them to have a strong foundation but when I look at where I put them, all they saw were “pretty, blonde, fair, white” people.
I have done my children a disservice.
Prejudice did not only come from the adults but also from little kids, people that are in a Christian school. Our society has become so messed up.
As a mother raising two African-Americans, I am offended about how they are treated because of the color of their skin, because of the wave of their hair, because of the fullness of their lips.
I’m offended.
I have to take responsibility for my “white” culture.
My culture is too afraid to say something.
But I’m standing with my sisters and brothers of any other nationality, skin color, to say that we love you, we adore you, and that if we could do it all over again, we’ll do it all over again and make it right.
I will be responsible for my community who never had the courage, who never let their ego or “shego” be humble enough to ask for forgiveness.
I know that when we learn to ask for forgiveness, when our community does that, miracles happen.
If I can be the voice for everyone who’s afraid to speak up, it gives them courage and power to do the same.
On behalf of every white people who discounted our brothers and sisters of color, I apologize.
On behalf of every company that discriminates against people of color because of their own ignorance, I apologize.
For every time we, white people spoke ignorance out of our mouth because we didn’t even know what we didn’t know, I apologize.
Be unapologetically beautiful!
I started looking for women of color that would embrace and accept me on my journey and would love me anyway.
That was the time I met Lisa Nichols. She was standing on stage, with her big hair and full lips, and round hips. I instantly fell in love with her.
At that moment, that’s what my children needed to see because beauty is in all of us. It doesn’t matter what color we are or what shade we are, or what texture of hair we have.
You’re beautiful. You’re handsome. I wanted my babies to feel that, know that, own that!
I don’t want them to put the white stockings on.
I want them to celebrate all colors so that when they walk into a room, they won’t care what people think of them because they know they’re beautiful.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
