Crayons beside child coloring. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash.
As a child, drawings are very abstract. Do you recall the time you drew a house, clouds, trees, and rainbows when going to school? When going to primary school, a wide range of creativity and imagination bursts from the tip of your fingers onto the blank canvas.
With the conversation of rainbows, racial injustice has risen. From protesting to social media movements, there are still questions of whether or not the minority community are truly "free." The bias in the communities impact and influence the way children see specific racial groups. That's why it's important for parents and guardians to recognize that their thoughts will highly influence the way their kids see the world.
Children are highly observant on appearances. Stereotyping other cultures is present, but it can some ways be hurtful. For children to grow well in the land of diversity, there needs to be commitment where the child is willing to not only share about their heritage, but also listen and learn about the cultures from others. Being racially colorblind is what many may perceive as the most tolerant route to racial equality, but being colorblind will prevent us from seeing the different colors of the rainbow.
Ethnicity is apparent. We will clearly see that a person has curly hair, straight hair, short hair, and long hair. By being more open and aware to the different appearances that surround us, we would be able to learn more about the person rather than the fear that is instilled from stereotypes. Racial justice demands for awareness. The idea of color is taught at home and at school. That can all change when teaching children to love their skin and give them space to ask questions about those who look different from them.
So the next time you see a child draw a rainbow, they are often positive messages in their mind. There's a saying I remember from my teacher that goes "You can't have a rainbow without a little rain." After the rain experienced from the protest, do become a part of the diverse array of colors of that rainbow. The path of understanding and justice begins with you.
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Thank you and stay safe everyone!
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