Color is Beautiful!

Children…

Recently, I had to call some kindergarteners to the back table to catch up on artwork, because they were absent. I started to explain what to do so I took turns looking at them. I just had to stop myself and say out loud that they had no idea what I saw.

God’s Grace

To my right was a little girl with big brown eyes and freckles. To my left was this super cute round-headed African American boy, who carries himself like a little gentleman. Next to him was a mixed-race girl with fun curls around her face. Next to her was a white girl with defined cheekbones and expressive eyebrows. Simply put we were all working together for each other’s success. No one was there to tear another down. If only the world could see it. How different things would be. It would be as wonderful as all the colors unified in a masterpiece.

Color is a wonderful part of our visual world.

Yes, I can honestly say, I … I so want to say that I love color. But love is such a strong word. I heard once that one should hold on to the word love for God and people. In addition, I have heard that one should not say hate. Hate is such a strong word. Therefore, I guess I must say color is such a wonderful part of our visual world. I adore color and delight in its arrangements.

Personal Experiences

Now that I have expressed my abundant joy of color, let me explain why I bring this particular post topic to you the audience. As a child who attended public school, I never gave it a thought about other children’s skin color. We just played and went to school doing school stuff. I remember playing hopscotch with an African American girl in kindergarten. Unfortunately, I do not remember her name. I do remember she had a longer name than mine and I am sure it started with an A like mine. Isn’t it funny the little things we remember?

Childhood Friends

Then my sister and I befriended some Cambodian children who moved into our neighborhood. One girl was my best friend, but then they moved away. The father admired my blonde hair and light eyes. I did not understand, because I admired my friend’s dark smooth hair. And the mother would sing in her native language. She sounded beautiful. My mother worked with the mother at the sewing factory at the end of the street. She made my friend some very pretty dresses from fabric scraps. I would admire the lace and combination of colors. They were Christians. Yet I was not. However I did not understand those differences as a child.

As time moved forward, I had a Chinese friend and my sisters had some Hispanic and African American friends. We never saw the skin color as a barrier. It has only been in recent years that a wedge has occurred. My sisters and I have faced some difficult moments where we were labeled or we dealt with individuals or groups that project their fears, incorrect views, or misdirected teachings on us.

It is sad…

It is sad because I use to not have such concerns. People were people. I did not see skin color. Because of other people’s misrepresentations of things, I am more sensitive to this worldly view. Ever since I started to teach, I simply saw children as children. I did not see black, white, tan, beige, olive, peach, etc..

Paint Labels

The list I just typed align with the labels on some paint in the art room that is deemed multicultural. When I introduced the use of the paint, I stated what the bottles say peach, yet people call me white, but I am not paper white. Nor is a peach the color that is inside this bottle. People just like to categorize and label things to bring some sense of control to what they understand in the world. I look out at these students and see the rainbow of skin color and how they are all sharing the same weekly educational experience, it is amazing. The outside world wants to tear this wondrous landscape of color in the art room apart.

Right or Wrong?

I do not know. What is the best way to approach the discussion of skin color in the art room? It can be a touchy subject. Especially in the current temperature of the world we live in. How about you? How do you handle the topic?