Quote From: cillysueI am 61 years ol, grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles and never experienced racisim. I wasn't taught it, I just never knew about it. I learned about it when I married a militarty man and lived all over the place. When I learned that a friend of mine from Florida would not get on a bus if the driver was black, it made me laugh. I have never heard of anything so ridiculous. Then my black neighbors told me what they had gone thorough when growing up, couldn't try on clothes they wanted to buy, etc. I was mad. I know my mind, and If I had been born black and lived in their area I would be dead. Now I am a very proud and happy gramma of a black grandson and he considers himswelf black. I try to teach him all I can about his history, try to keep him from going into the gangs (white or black or hispanic, asian). I want him to carry himself with pride, be smart, make the right choices and tell him how it is. He has a great sense of humor, manners, and he does not even think about "what" his friends are. I see lots of people looking at him then looking at me and I know it is because he is so handsome, how could it possibly be anything else?
Children live what they learn.
my mother is 80. I have 5 bio-racial children. well they are mostly grown now. at first she disowned me.
i tried to keep the lines of communication open. but, what can i say. sometimes i get really bitter about the way she treated me and my children. my oldest daughter had a baby that was premature. it held on to life for 2 months and died. I was devasted. my family never came to the service. we had a bad snow that year.
i am not close to my side of the family at all. i keep in contact sometimes but i still have that resentment that will follow me to my grave. i was born in the late 50's and i grew up watching the violence towards blacks. i was appalled. hurt, angry ...i had found that i was more easily accepted in the black community that the blacks were accepted in the whites. however, i have heard the race card played when it is convieniant. i don't feel i am responsible for what someones ancestors do. i just do my part. if you treat me right. i will treat you right. i want the same respect that you want. your grandchild is lucky to have you for a grandparent. not all children are so lucky to have someone love them because they are who they are.
good luck in the world. i wish you the best.
