As a Mother, and in Celebration of the legacy of the late great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I reflect on one of the most powerful statements in history,
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
This is a dream that every mother has for their child. In today’s society the thought of nonacceptance can run rampant in the minds of our children. Children deal with the social world every single day. The struggle of acceptance, and fitting in can make it impossible for our children to thrive. But as parents we are there to remind them: who they are matters, what they can accomplish and achieve goes far beyond the color of their skin, the city they live in, or even their age.
As moms we have a responsibility to teach our kids that barriers are only barriers, if you don’t choose to barricade through them. Teaching our children to love who they are, helps teach them acceptance, and in return they are able to love and accept others.
Skin Like Mine Story
LaTashia Perry Author, and Flint native is the mother of five. While attending dance class with her eldest daughter, they walked away with an interesting lesson that would change their life forever. LaTashia’s daughter was unintentionally introduced to the fact that she was just not like the others. From her hair, to her skin tone she just didn’t understand. This prompted mom LaTashia to step in a educate her daughter about loving who she was, just the way she was. This lesson turned into a book called, “Hair Like Mine.” LaTashia wrote her first book to not only teach her own daughters, but to also teach young girls all over the world how to love an accept the very things that make us different. One of those being our hair! So many different textures, curls, and styles.
But the lessons didn’t end there, after the release of her first book LaTashia began traveling to different book signing events, and realized that her message of self love needed to expand from just hair to being confident in the skin that we are in. One night LaTashia found herself sitting in the classroom for parent teacher conference for her 4th grader. LaTashia was instructed by her son’s teacher to sit at the desk of her student. As LaTashia sat down, she began to look around her and she noticed that her son was the only black student in the classroom. An overwhelming feeling came over her as she thought, “Wow this is how my son feels everyday.” As a mother it encouraged her to seek a better understanding on how to teach diversity to our children, and the world.
LaTashia compiled all of her experiences and released her second book, “Skin Like Mine.” This book brings the lessons of love, acceptance, and diversity for every skin tone full circle. These lessons, and conversations start, and should be taught at home. As mothers we have the ability to expose our children to resources that helps teach our children life long lessons about sharing life with people we encounter in our lives. The transformation starts at young age, and progresses as they grow and experience different situations in life.
LaTashia Perry puts on different events in Genesee county from book reading at the Flint Public Library, Totem Bookstore, and events hosted at Flint local downtown area. The ‘Hair Like Mine’ events brought mothers and their daughters out to meet the author, and engage in activities that encourage self love.
If as a mother we have an opportunity to evoke change in the world for the good. Our sounding board starts with our own. Kudos to LaTashia Perry for starting a movement to teach our little ones about self love.
LaTashia’s books can be found on Amazon.com, as well as Totem Bookstore and The Local Grocer both in Flint, Michigan. Contact information for events is: secretlivesofcurls@gmail.com.
Until next time loves positive vibes only!
