A little question for my f-list:

Do you think teaching a child to hate one half of his racial make-up constitutes child abuse?

This isn’t hypothetical. A friend of mine, Glenda, works at a day care center and one of her charges is a 6 yr old biracial boy who lives with his white aunt because his mother is in prison. Over the past year that she has been watching him, it has become increasingly clear that he is being taught to hate black people. It’s been made evident by little remarks that he has made and how he treats other black and biracial children at the center. Over the summer he even refused to play outside in the sun because he didn’t want to “get dark and look like a nigger”. That’s exactly what he told her.

Once everything came to light, Glenda told her boss who said she would investigate. This was a few months ago and it appears that nothing had been done. In fact, the little boy’s behavior is just getting worse. Glenda is getting very frustrated and wants to call the child abuse hotline on the aunt but isn’t sure that it’s child abuse.

I say it is. I know the aunt very well. I grew up with her and she has always had a deep-seated hatred for anyone who is not white. I am incredibly surprised that she agreed to take in her nephew. I can only assume she did it for the paycheck the state sends her every month for having him.

This whole situation is so appalling and it bugs me so much I can’t stop thinking about it. It ‘s bringing up bad memories of what has gone down in my own family. I had the experience of being a biracial child with white relatives who had nothing kind to say about black people. Hell, the only memories I have of one aunt are of her always telling me “to act my age and not my race” whenever I was misbehaving.

But, I didn’t have it nearly as bad as a distant cousin who is also biracial. He grew up in an incredibly hateful environment and it totally fucked him up. He refuses to admit that he is half black even though it is glaringly obvious. His face is scarred from too much skin bleaching. And you know where he is now? In prison for assault and battery. He beat up two black boys for reason at all. It should have been labeled a hate crime but I reckon most just saw it as black on black crime. But anyone who knows my cousin knows the truth.

I fear that this little boy is going to turn out like my cousin if he is allowed to remain with his aunt. Or maybe even worse. I hate that he probably will stay with her. Around here DCFS doesn’t seem to act unless there is physical and/or sexual abuse, or negligence. Emotional abuse tends to have a low priority with the system overworked as it is. But they will get called. I’ll do it myself if Glenda doesn’t act soon.

Thankfully, the boy’s mother gets out next year, but who knows what damage will be done by then.