Tag Archives: mixed race children

Why is Black Barbie Less Important? Talking To Kids About Race

Howey MacAuleyGuest BloggerGuest blogger Howey McAuley graduated with a BFA in Surface Design from East Carolina University. The best job she ever had was managing school book fairs for an independent bookstore. These days most of her artwork centers around crafts with her children. You can find her on Twitter at @23catsinaroom.

Several weeks ago my daughter Boogie (who just turned 5) had a Barbie doll eaten by one of our dogs. Normally this would lead to a meltdown of epic proportions. This time, however, she shrugged nonchalantly and said, “She’s just the Black one.” Keeping my voice calm (while internally freaking out) I asked her if that made the Barbie less important. She said yes. YES. What?Black children, especially girls, need to be told that they are important. It isn't something they just assume. The racial bias is simply out in the ether.

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Diversity in the news, February 2012

We hope everyone had a great President’s Day! The month of February has been filled with some fascinating diversity-related stories. Here are just a few that we’ve Jeremy Linbeen following; if you’ve got more February news stories, feel free to share them in the comments below!

In a matter of weeks, Knicks player Jeremy Lin has gone from bench-warmer to star athlete. His incredible success on the court has prompted questions about whether his ethnicity had anything to do with his slow rise to the top as well as some interesting race-related memes. Ultimately, though, the most important aspect of this story may be that tons of people now have a great new role model.

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