Throughout history, the issue of race and racism has caused turmoil especially within a child’s first experience of it. Here in America, cultures were dehumanized, enslaved, persecuted, or even killed, from different races such as Native Americans to Africans, and it has been going on since the inception of the colonies. This comparative analysis will take a look at two different children who experienced racial conflict for the first time as the veil of their innocence was ripped from their eyes. In Alaina Wong’s (2008) essay “China Doll” she came to terms with her Asian features comparing herself to a Princess Barbie doll, and in Kaela Hobby-Reichstein’s (2008) “Learning Race” she discovered the truth of human interaction when race is involved and how mean and violent children can be.
American girls of all ages have been known to enjoy playing with Barbie dolls as a favorite past-time. But what happens when the color of skin starts to become an issue? Wong (2008) talks about a time during her childhood when she received a doll that was different from her best friend’s and how sad she felt. Wong states that, “Disappointment passed over my eyes as I examined the doll more closely” (p. 252). What she really wanted was the Princess Barbie, “with long blond hair that you could brush and a beautiful shiny gown” (p. 251). She even speculated on what the doll looked liked on the inside and why her parents bought it over others, stating things like it was the only doll in the store (p. 251). Sarah, a white girl, was a true friend to Wong even with this disappointment she tried to cheer up Wong by telling about the pretty flowers. It didn’t seem to work for Wong. Something to her felt strange and was still different.
Each time she was with her best friend, Sarah, the difference of class, family and culture started to become a reality in Wong’s life. When she went to Sarah’s house she felt a peace of mind and was accepted just as she was. Wong (2008) felt that Sarah was better looking than her because, “everyone always said that Sarah would grow up to look like Goldie Hawn” (p. 252). Wong (2008) also dreamed that her home was like Sarah’s family: “Her mom didn’t care if we ate raspberries from the backyard without washing them” (p. 252) and Wong’s (2008) mom was different from Sarah’s as well, “My mother never baked cookies anyway” (p. 252). It was this mentality of comparing Sarah’s lifestyle to her’s that caused conflicts while growing up during adolescence.
Wong and Hobby-Reichstein’s childhood is very similar. When someone befriends another race, the end result may bring confusion and persecution. Hobby-Reichstein’s (2008) earliest memory of the significance in the color of her race was during kindergarten when, “Ms. Oakleaf came around when we had finished our paintings and informed me my painting was wrong” (p. 103). While the teacher had no problem with the blue hair she painted on herself, it was her family being made brown and not peach that ended up causing the conflict. Just like Wong, Hobby-Reichstein had dreams of life with another family. Her best friend Ryan was black, ate spicy foods, listened to loud music and even used slang words. She wished that her home was like Ryan’s (p. 104).
Wong and Hobby-Reichstein were innocent about age, gender, race and even cultural issues. Their minds were still in a pure state of being and had not been tainted by the world’s views and ideology. The color of skin means nothing; and the feelings directed towards each other were as equal. As they continued to view the world and each other in this manner, it wasn’t until a racist came along and tried to inflict their views and beliefs upon the children that changed their world views of themselves and others. While Hobby-Reichstein (2008) was with Ryan, they took a trip to visit her grandmother who lived in Fort Richmond (p. 104). The kids wanted to play outside and they were confronted by a group of racists who called them names and even threw rocks at them (p. 104). It was in this moment that Hobby-Reichstein and her friend met frightening persecution involving race head on.
As heartbreaking and tragic as these events were to both women, they stood the test of time and rose to the occasion proving that friendship, family and life have more meaning than bigotry and demeaning comments. As Wong and Hobby-Reichstein continued to grow up they still remembered these life-changing events. This collision of incidents became turning points in their lives where gender and race clouded their current views. Their first experiences of hatred toward racial differences ended up making them better women in the end. Now, as advocating adults against racial intolerance, they make a difference in children who are just like them by writing stories of their personal experiences to show others that there is hope from the pain.
In conclusion, I have personally experienced and learned about racial issues as a child. But, this never stopped me from being friends with others. In 1999 while I lived in Texas, an African-American male in Jasper, Texas was chained to a truck and dragged down a road until his arm and head were detached after hitting the curb just for being black. This was just thirty miles from my own home! The Black Panthers and KKK showed up arguing about what happened. The court later on found out that the accused were actually connected to the KKK. All men were found guilty of murder and this also brought into law the “Matthew and James Byrd, Jr. hate crimes prevention act.” Only by exposing the truth will humankind ever be set free from these chains of differences that hold them back from peace and unity in the world. If the future children of America don’t start to learn from history we will continue this cycle of hate and malice. William Hazlitt said it best, “Prejudice is the child of ignorance.”
References
Aaron, J. E. (2008). The compact reader: Short essays by method and themes (8th ed.) (pp. 102- 105; 251-255). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Hobby-Reichstein, K. (2008) “Learning race.” In Aaron, J. E. (Ed.), The compact reader: Short essays by method and themes (8th ed.) (pp. 102-105). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Wong, A. (2008). “China doll.”In Aaron, J. E. (Ed.), The compact reader: Short essays by method and themes (8th ed.) (pp. 251-255). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
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