Racial Identification

My wife and I brought our daughter to register for kindergarten. It is a big step. I'm sure all of you with children know how a parent can fret on a child's behalf. I was concerned that she would be able to meet the right friends, that the new class would be accepting of her as a new student, being that she comes from the north and will talk differently from the other children. We still have these concerns because school hasn't started yet.

The school exceeded all of our expectations for a kindergarten as far as the physical aspects are concerned. It is a beautiful, well funded, well cared for facility, and the staff obviously care deeply for the school. That is, I think, why we needed to get notarized affidavits proving that we truly are taxpaying residents in good standing in the community. There are people trying to get their children into our school system even though they don't live here because the schools are so good. I'm well pleased about that.

What I find a little weird is that at the end of the registration process the woman assisting us asked what race our daughter is. My wife was standing on the right and I on the left with our daughter in between us. I pointed at her and said that she could see her clearly right between us. It made a cozy tableau, Mom, Kid, and Dad; black, brown, white. The woman became a bit flustered, clearly not wanting to offend, but not wanting to make a decision on how our daughter should be categorized. She started talking very quickly and gesticulating in fluttering movements with her hands, explaining at an un-Southern speed that the categories were used for certain census and commonwealth reports, blah blah blah.

She eventually wrote our daughter down as Black. In the car on the way home I mentioned to her that she had been turned black. She thought it was odd, because she didn't feel any different, and kept holding her arm closer to the window to see if she were indeed any darker. It was a cute thing for her to do- my daughter is a cute kid.

This was funny, too because we were watching the BET award show the night before. My wife is a sucker for awards shows, I don't know why. They started the show by saying that it was time for a black award show that was on par with any "white" award ceremony. Then they brought out Halle Berry and Alicia Keys and other mixed race talents and identified them as solely black. I pointed out to my wife and daughter that these people were mixed race, and my wife said something to the effect that the dancing was beginning, so I should stay quiet and enjoy the dance.

My wife was clearly focused on the talents of the entertainers, and the fact that they deserved awards for their talents and hard work, not their racial identification. It is no wonder that she, my wife, found the kindergarten assistant's discomfort amusing. In the car after I had told my daughter that she had been turned black, my wife said that the kindergarten people need to stay quiet and enjoy the dance too, and I knew exactly what she meant. My wife is a cute kid too.