I'm Not Brown, I'm Peach

"I'm not brown, I'm peach!" Those are the words said to me, a "peach" mother, by my chocolate brown, 4-year-old daughter. The words came as a surprise, because I have spent the last 4 years telling her all about her tummy mom and how she has brown skin, too. I've praised the beauty of her skin, taken her to African-American cultural events, read her books about children of color, just to name a few. How could she not realize or forget that she is chocolate brown?

Not only did she seem to think she was peach, but she also acted completely surprised and astonished by the revelation that she was chocolate. She actually examined her hand very carefully just to make sure I was telling her the truth. It broke my heart. 

I was heartbroken because I want her to embrace her race. I want to her to be comfortable in her skin and be proud of who she is. I want her to know she is as good as, if not better, than everyone else no matter the color of her skin. The part that is actually the saddest to me is that as a white mother raising a black child in a home full of white people, I feel that I've failed her in some way. 

That leads me to this blog. This blog will be documenting my quest to help my daughter find her inner black girl. I'm not sure where this journey will take me and it could be years before I know if I have reached my quest. Let the journey begin!