Self Story #2: Recognition

As I grow older my appreciation for my family has only grown stronger. I hope to pass on the family values I was blessed to experience for generations to come. Equality. It was never a lesson we were taught but something we knew simply by the demonstration of our parents and elders. We were to treat everyone equally. Why wouldn’t we? Some may say I was naïve or sheltered as a child but I appreciate the indirect lessons I learnt through the way my parents treated others and how others treated them. I was never made aware of things like racism or prejudice until I was made aware in an educational setting. Being unaware prior to school does not mean I had never interacted with people of color, it just meant that I was not aware that some people behave differently towards people of color or act a certain way when they are around. People of color have always been a part of my family. As my late grand father was a park warden my mom and their family moved all around the USA and eventually Canada. After receiving a relocation assignment my mom and her family moved across Lake Erie, Canada to Sandusky, Ohio. This is where my mom’s two sisters met their now husbands who are of color, African American. My uncles whom originate from the states have always been present in my life as well as my cousins and other relatives who are located across the border. They aren’t my black relatives or my African American family, they have always just been my family, no mention of color. As time goes on and people grow and their wealth of knowledge increases so do the unfortunate realizations of reality. I first became aware of the color of my skin versus the color of my African American family’s skin when we went on a family vacation which required travel by airplane. It was when we were in the airport I was quick to notice the drastic difference in the attitudes of the border security agents when talking to my white family members versus my black family members. I felt the security agents treated my uncle with blatant disrespect. They rifled through his suitcase as if he was most definitely hiding something. Then he was escorted into a private room for further inspection and questioning, all the while the rest of our family waited for several hours until his release. This similar situation would happen again and again while travelling as a mixed race family. Accusations of harboring a fugitive, fleeing the country, and possession of drugs and or illegal material all amongst the cruel comments made towards my family of color while travelling. As unfortunate as the obvious inequality may be I am lucky to say that these events have never damaged the spirit of the family involved. Our strong family values have kept us together and transparent through times of prejudice and assumptions based upon race. We are all family!