Why do we see people as white and Black? Black and white are formal opposites like true and false, right and wrong, rich and poor, fat and thin, and nobody’s skin is either color.
We take after our medium-brown ancestors and our skins go from very dark brown to very pale brown. If you don’t believe this, put your bare arm next to what you’re reading. Those two colors are black and white. You don’t match either of them.
I’ve just seen one of the best films ever made on this subject. It’s called “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” and It gives the story of so-called “Black” people mixed with so-called “white” people in full detail, leaving the reader shocked and amazed but much better educated. As for me, I thought I knew about the Black-white relationship. I’d lived in Africa; my family had Black friends, and I worked about two years for a Black woman in North Carolina who ran a school for disabled Black children. A white man who knew this once tried to run over me. So I learned particles about racism from life experiences. but I learned more from this film than from anything else ever, and I’ve been learning for almost 91 years. You can get “Who We Are” on Netflix.
Elizabeth M. Thomas
Peterborough