White Boy in a Black Land

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    there are white Kenyans, but I literallynever saw one during my entire visit. Atthe Nairobi airport on the way home, I did

    notice a number of inter-racial coupleswith beautiful babies with light brown skineverywhere. I stopped counting when Igot into the double digits.

    Everywhere I went, very-dark-skinned menand women kept welcoming me home, like

    I was a Jew returning to Israel. I amneither black nor Jewish, so at first, thekindness confused me. I kept trying toimagine walking north on the East Side ofManhattan, past 110th Street, and theresidents of Harlem taking a look at myblond hair and blue eyes, welcoming mehome.

    Jambo!

    Everyone we met cheerfully greeted uswith the Swahili hello. Our drivers,

    waiters, and our guide Protus took aparticular shining to Cole. Theyd bear-hughim whenever they saw him.

    This made me think ofa recent column by

    http://daddy-dialectic.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-at-park.htmlhttp://daddy-dialectic.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-at-park.html
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    Shawn Taylor, a black man with a light-skinned daughter, about how, at theplayground, hes treated like a leper

    instead of the proud father he is. In onerecent incident, Taylor was playing withhis daughter and another little blonde girl.The blonde girl fell to the ground byaccident, and her mother assumed theworst about Taylor. She calling him anigger in front of his daughter. Taylorskept his cool, but he had to comfort hisdaughter, who was in tears.

    Recently, a man drove a white van intoour community back home. He tried toconvince a young boy to get in the van,but the boy ran away, screaming. It leftthe community in a state of paranoia. Allof the parents gave their kids the dont-talk-to-strangers talks.

    So after Protus, a large black man, tookour son in his arms the moment he methim, Cole asked, I thought I wasnt

    suppose to talk to strangers. Is he okay?

    Yes, I said, he is a very sweet man whois just being nice. But inside I wonderedwhat I would say if a black man on the

    http://daddy-dialectic.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-at-park.htmlhttp://daddy-dialectic.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-at-park.html
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    playground back home did the same thing.

    Read the rest of the story HERE

    http://bit.ly/w-blackhttp://bit.ly/w-black