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[youtube=http://youtu.be/8PaoLy7PHwk]
I was looking at onesies last night. I wanted one specifically to be Yoda’s “Coming Home from the Hospital” onesie and others for fun. I saw one that caught my attention. With the recent Trayvon Martin verdict, it struck a chord with me. I have a nephew, he’ll be 15 this year, and he reminds me a lot of Trayvon. When the verdict was announced, I couldn’t help but to think of my nephew. It could’ve been him that night. It could’ve been any of my friends’ kids.
It’s a horrifying fact. An unarmed black male is more likely to be killed when there is the thought of a threat than any other race. Don’t believe me? Ask the family of Oscar Grant, the real-life inspiration behind the movie, Fruitvale Station. Ask the family of James Byrd, Jr., a man that was beaten and dragged to his death by three white men. Ask the family of Emmitt Till, a young teenager who was tortured just because he simply whistled at a white woman back in the 1950s. Ask the family of Medgar Evers, the NAACP activist who was killed at the driveway of his home.
And there are plenty more.
I made a status on my Facebook page that black men are an endangered species. I stand behind that. Yoda is half-Ukrainian /half-Black. No matter how light my son might be…
Or how dark he’ll be….
…Yoda will have African-American features.
As he gets older, it’ll become more apparent that Yoda is biracial. I plan to raise my son as a Black man because when he is out in the world, he will be treated as one. I’m not saying he won’t know his Russian-Ukrainian heritage because he will. The plan is for Maks and his family to speak predominantly Russian and Ukrainian to Yoda while me and my family will speak primarily English to him. Yoda will spent an ample amount of time with his Ukrainian grandparents as well with his African-American relatives.
Back to the topic at hand, I was looking at onesies last night. I think as I get older, I’m becoming more militant and very Fight the Power-ish. I found one that I liked. I want to get it as part-joke, part-making a statement. My husband, however, didn’t co-sign this:
In case you’re wondering where I found that onesie, click the picture for the link.
So Maks and I were looking at other onesies for Yoda and we decided on one that we both liked:
I should tell you the story behind this onesie. I was mentored by John Carlos in high school and his wife used to do my hair so this onesie has a lot of sentimental value to it. We’ll definitely get this one.
It might be tough for Yoda. He’ll be biracial and it might be difficult for him to fit in, depending the social circle. We’ll protect him as much as we can without getting arrested (smile!). Y’all might see me on the 11 o’clock in the future. Just a warning.
