Blackalogy

To be black is always feeling like you have to be on your best behavior, then cringe when someone of color acts a fool [insert Kanye West incident here]. But, at what point in time are we going to stop letting one define us all?

Skin color isn’t just an issue in America. It’s a worldwide social problem. People in many countries have issues with darker skin tones. Some people want to change it. I know many African-American women who use skin lighteners on areas of their skin. But why?

Reading this article was really upsetting. In a country with mostly brown skin does it really matter what your skin color is?? My goodness!!! Everyone is the similar shade as you. But, to be successful your skin must be lighter. It’s a real shame that the skin color you’re born with still isn’t good enough. You have to be fair skinned and straight hair to be accepted.

What bothers me even more is that while people are trying to be fair skinned and straight hair, those other who are born that way are working on getting a darker shade and curlier hair. Sure sure, I understand that a tan among white people can be seen as wealthy. But, explain the lip injections and butt implants?

So, why is the skin color and features of people of an ethnic (read: non-white) background not accepted? Is it better to manufacture these features than be born with them?

Many people don't appreciate what they have. This is why it's important for American children to travel and see how other children live. It is also important to teach your children to give to others.

This is my aunt on my mother side, Lidia Schaefer. Actually, she is my mother's best friend from Ethiopia. But, we grew up knowing her as Aunt. She now lives in Washington D.C. and has given up everything to help her community and family in Ethiopia. She was able to raise $250,000.00 to build a school in Feres Mai, Ethiopia after a young girl was eaten by hyenas trying to walk to school. She has sold her home, car and lives very modestly. Any extra money she is able to save, she saves for her hometown. I am so proud of her.

She is not a millionaire. She is a manicurist. That's right, she does nails and has been able to make an extreme difference. She has also been nominated as CNN Hero.

In a country that has so little, the children understand that education is important. Something that we need to pass down to our children.

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Do you think the lawsuit is justified?

Lets be honest...there are alot of men out there not taking care of their responsibilities. I'm not talking about paying child support. Single mothers having to raise children on their owns because fathers aren't stepping up and caring for their children like a mother does.

Sure you can give me that line of 'If the dad isn't in the home, he can't do this or that'. That's BS. He can be an active part of his childs life regardless of where he lives. He has to be active in contacting his child. Too many times I hear grown ass men say they don't talk to their kids because the kids never calls them. YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS?!??!

That mother is not thinking of calling you, so why in th world would she remember to have her child call you. You are a PARENT. YOU pick up the phone and call YOUR child! It is not your child's responsibility. If their used to not hearing from you, it's part of their routine. You have to make yourself a part of their daily life. You have to call your child PERIOD!

So, Deadbeat Dad, how would you feel when mom takes on a new relationship and finds someone that cares for her and her child/ren like a man should? How would you feel if that child feels more connected to this new man than to your?? This happens all the time. Is this when you realize you're son or daughter needs their father?

Why do men, who are absent in their childs life, get all pissy when another man steps in and is that father figure? You're not taking care of your responsibility so what's the issue?

Where there is a will, there is a way. This statement is true for Dr. Roxanne Shante who remembered a forgotten clause in your record contract that the company would fund her education for life. I’m sure the record company didn’t think that a single mother from a rough neighborhood would do it. But, she proved them wrong.

For those who doubt that this is even true. See Cornell’s own website. Her name is listed.

Twenty-five years after the first queen of hip-hop was stiffed on her royalty checks, Dr. Roxanne Shante boasts an Ivy League Ph.D. - financed by a forgotten clause in her first record deal.

"This is a story that needs to be told," Shante said. "I'm an example that you can be a teenage mom, come from the projects, and be raised by a single parent, and you can still come out of it a doctor." Continue reading here..

I swear, I will never for the life of me understand 'Education Budget Cuts'.

My child recently started middle school and thru the programs my county offers, I was able to get her into one of the top rated middle schools in my area. She has to catch the bus to and from this middle school. In the morning it takes 2 buses and the afternoon, it takes 1.

However, while the morning stop picks up right at the end of our street, the afternoon one drops off 1.5 miles away, at a elementary school in an unfavorable side of town. While, I thought I had some comfort in knowing that there would be other children getting off the bus, as well as elementary kids also walking, that was shattered. She let me know today that there was no one there. She was the only one that got off on that stop and by the time they got there all the elementary kids were gone. Good thing, my mother was there waiting on her anyways.

So, needless to say, I'm upset. This is where my child gets dropped off. A neighborhood that has at least 8 sex offenders. Then has to cross a major highway in order to get to our house.

Because of budget cuts, there are no more neighborhood afternoon stops. Because of budget cuts school programs are no longer funded. Because of budget cuts, teachers are let go. But, they still expect our children to preform at a higher level than ever before. Class room sizes are larger and teachers are too busy.

I am grateful for the opportunity she has in going to the new middle school. But, I have to figure out another plan for my child to get home from school SAFELY. There are too many crazy people in the world that will see a lone child walking down the street in a neighborhood they know she doesn't belong and see it as an opportunity. Too many children go missing daily from doing simple things as WALKING HOME FROM SCHOOL. The last thing I want is her to be dropped off right in the middle of it!

I'm grateful for my village. My support system. My family. Although, I will be calling the school board tomorrow to try and get the bus stop changed, I know that my family will be there to see her home safely.