I was raised in a staunchly conservative environment. Rules and humidity were ever-present. Cornbread was a staple, the radio was forbidden, and everyone I knew was afraid of libruhls [sic].
Some might call my upbringing strict and religious. I call it paranoid and shame-based. Potatoes, potahtoes.
As you might imagine, growing up in a John Grisham novel gave me access to the good, the bad and the ugly of the American South. (Cue banjo music.)
The good? Short winters and sweet tea.
The bad? I know all the words to the Hee Haw theme song.
The ugly? Racism.
You see, when I was growing up, people important to me still indulged in bigotry. It was rarely displayed but never hidden. Like the vodka bottle your dad keeps in his cabinet or the “romance novel” your mom stashes under her bed, it was the thing we could all see but never acknowledge.
People older and wiser than I whispered the n-word, mocked political correctness and screamed about reverse discrimination. I remember being told that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a “troublemaker” and that people from different races shouldn’t marry because “it makes things difficult.”
To this day, I still regret rejecting the advances of the most beautiful girl in my ninth grade class. She was biracial. I didn’t want to make things difficult.
I told you racism was ugly.
Recently, I overheard my young children discussing Rosa Parks. Because their conversations usually revolve around Beyblades, Super Mario Brothers or flatulence, I eavesdropped anxiously wondering what they might say. To my great delight, they spoke about this civil rights icon in heroic terms. Michael wondered aloud if Parks understood the long-lasting impact of her bravery, and Sydney simply declared, “I’m sure glad she didn’t give up her bus seat.”
This is when I knew things could be different. This is when I knew that times are changing.
I realize that we haven’t solved all racial divides or cured all ignorance and hatred. I understand that there is still a battle for equality and there is work left undone.
However, I have new hope. We don’t have to perpetuate ugly lessons. We can reject the lies passed down to us.
Bigotry isn’t permanent. Racism isn’t immortal.
Even children can vanquish them.
