"I can not remember having any negative feelings associated with (color) as a child."

Through the eyes of: LaShawndra (Written by LaShawndra)

I realized I was black when I was in elementary school. I had to be in either the first or second grade. I often noticed that the majority of people at my school were very similar to me and lived in the same areas I lived in and knew so well. I had one friend who did not exactly look like me or what I was use to, but she was apart of the things (places and people) that I had associated with the norm. Although, I was able to realize the difference (as far as color of skin was concerned) amongst my childhood friend and I, I will say that I can not remember having any negative feelings associated with it as a child. Today, being a product of the South, having an African American president, and being consciously aware of subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) prejudices has inevitably made me more aware of my blackness.