In an effort to bring people together and end racism, some efforts seem to further deepen the divide between black and white rather than eliminate it to the point where we all just see each other as human.
Apparently, this day in age, having a hairstyle can make you unintentionally racist.
You can be wearing this style out of love and admiration, but some will tell you that you’re being racist. One mother struggled with the concept when her daughter Concetta asked her to braid her hair just like her best friend.and found that it’s far better to love and see each other as equals than to blame each other for negative intentions that don’t actually exist.
However, Brigette Diez Kerr found that it’s far better to love and see each other as equals than to accuse each other of negativity that doesn’t actually exist.
“This is my daughter and her best friend,” Kerr wrote on Facebook. “They’ve been BFFs since kindergarten. They are in 2nd grade now. My daughter got up the other morning for school and asked that I fix her hair like her best friend wears her hair. She wanted tiny braids just like her.”
Kerr froze and quickly came up with an excuse to buy her some time.
“I didn’t give my daughter braids that morning,” she wrote. “Instead, I told her we didn’t have time. That was a lie. It was MY fear of my daughter getting teased due to the stereotypes that we place on each other and how others perceive them that kept me from giving her braids that morning.”
Even though her daughter just wanted to be like her best friend, Kerr was afraid her daughter would be persecuted for it.
“My pastor just spoke this past Sunday morning of intentional and unintentional racism,” Kerr explains. “I am by no means intentionally racist. I have dear friends and coworkers I love that are of many ethnicities. But was MY fear of my daughter being stereotyped a form of UNintentional racism?! I WAS CONVICTED!”
She ran these thoughts back and forth through her head and realized that she was being silly.
“How dare I push MY fear, my UNintentional racism, onto my daughter who sees no color, no stereotype, no hate, no ‘white girl hairstyle’ or ‘black girl hairstyle’? She only sees pretty hair on her best friend,” Kerr said. “She shows love to ALL people without hesitation.”
So, she decided that she would grant her daughter’s wish.
“My daughter got her braids this morning,” Kerr wrote. “They weren’t perfect…I tried my very best. And she was SO PROUD! Her smile was from ear to ear this morning and she couldn’t wait to get to school to show her best friend. She wanted to take a picture with her best friend this morning because they were twins.”
Kerr decided that the girls’ friendship and love for each other were far more important, and more effective, in creating a unified and peaceful world than finger pointing and false accusations. She wasn’t about to let adult society ruin a beautiful thing.
“I know so many people who claim to not be racist. Maybe you aren’t intentionally being racist but are there some decisions you are making or thoughts that you are having that may be considered UNintentional racism? We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves! Let’s do a better job of showing this love. #loveoverhate #colorblind #besties#checkyourself #unintentionalracism.”
She quoted a passage from the Bible that perfectly sums up how we should be going about uniting our country.
“John 13:34-35 (NIV) 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”
You can check out her full post below:
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