I own the Hair Depot in Boulder. I’ve lived here about 30 years now.
I have three half-black grandchildren: Reagan, Amaya and Kendal Junior — who I just call Junior. They actually came to Montana for a while; they went to school in Lincoln. I remember one day, Reagan, the oldest, told me: “You know, Grandma, we are the only brown kids in this school.” I was kind of taken aback, and I said, “Well, you’re the prettiest” or something like that. I tried not to make a big deal out of it, but I’m thinking that somebody pointed that out to her. I don’t know, I hope not.
I think my daughter and son-in-law decided it would be better to raise the kids elsewhere, not in Montana. It’s probably hard to be the only African-American kids in your school. In Georgia, where they live now, it is pretty much a mix. I guess they thought it would be easier for the kids there.
One of my other grandkids, Talon, the first time that he saw Junior, they were both little. When Talon was little his hair almost glowed, it was so orange and he had super white skin. Well, Junior looked at the redhead like, I don’t even know what you are; he had never seen a kid like that. And Talon didn’t know what to think of Junior, because he had never seen anybody like that. And he kept touching Junior’s face. And at first he was like, “oh, ow, ow,” like he thought Junior had a bruise, you know? Then he goes, “Oh, you’re chocolate.” And Junior was like just looking at him like, “You’re just scary. I’ve never seen anybody like you.”
Now that they’re all in school, they don’t really pay attention to any of that. It’s like nothing at all. I notice that about kids. They don’t even notice that kind of stuff. And maybe that is a good way to be. That’s where we all need to be, where you don’t notice; they’re just people, no matter what color they are.
I think racism is taught at home. I’m pretty sure that’s where it comes from. Because you don’t know to be a racist when you’re born, so it has to be something that you’re exposed to along the way. And then maybe you make up your own mind about it or maybe you just agree with your parents or grandparents or whoever introduced you to it.
Sometimes I think that we take like a couple steps forward and three steps back when it comes to race. I thought that we would be farther along in this country than we are right now. I actually hoped when Obama was President that that would have been a really big turning point. Apparently, I was wrong.
I guess I’m hopeful. This could be the movement that changes things. I’m fine with the protesting as long as it’s not violent and people don’t get hurt.
Here’s what I want for my grandchildren, and for their children, too, when I’m gone: To grow up in a world or country where people don’t look at you differently because you’re a different color. None of that makes any sense to me. That’s what I hope for them.
