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 Although this site is dedicated to African American children (otherwise known as black children, children of color, melanated children, etc),
this site is ultimately dedicated to all children who must deal with grown-ups who behave worse than children. Something happens to us as we age...and it is lock a rottening piece of fruit. When children are together, they play, regardless of color, sex, religion, or keeping up
with the Jones's. What happens to us?
Particular focus is placed on melanated children...because I know that my kids face abuse and torment at a very early age. The realization of what it means to be "black" in America takes place in as early as the second grade
when the SLAVE BOMB is dropped in Social Studies class.
And then, Missouri's lies on the truth of its place in slavery and the Civil War. Yes, they told me as a child that Missouri was a "neutral" state. That is far from the truth! The pictures speak
differently, the lynchings certainly speak differently, the segregation speaks differently, W.E.B. DuBois sued while in this state, the paintings placed in the Boone County courthouse (by the way, sponsored by Judge Conley and others) speak
differently....Missouri's "neutral" claim is the same thing as saying "if you are not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem."
 I hear stories everyday of black children in our public schools who come home very frustrated and aggravated at
some "smart" (rather ignorant) comment made by a teacher about black people in general. I know it is difficult because I have been there. This is not an assumption, this is a valid experience. Things have not changed much either.
And when people deny my children their feelings by saying "oh it's not just black people, EVERYONE goes through this experience," then I am sickened by these comments. The fact of the matter is that "..it" rolls
downhill and so whatever you encounter means that because of my darker skin, I encounter it much worse. Look, I didn't make the game. But we as a people, ALL OF US, need to understand that the shame of this state's treatment of Blacks do not rest on my shoulders. Also,
understand that I was born in this country, in this state. But every census, when I sign up for almost anything regulated by the state, you ask me for my classification. I am African before I am American (African American). I have been colored, negro, black, and more.
So my color and the color of my children plays an important role in how we are treated and how we are perceived.
To clear up any stereotypes, according to the Child Abuse Report in 2000 for the Department of Social Services, Division of Family Services, 80% of neglected children were white while only 18% of neglected children were black.
See page 24 of this report. Our children are not beaten at home, but emotionally beaten by the police as they profile them at the Mall, the movie theaters or other hangout spots.
And I am sick and tired of people telling me that "shhh, we have come along way." Or that, "things are so much better." Imagine telling a rape victim that she should not have post traumatic syndrome years after
the experience. Better yet, how many of you have not forgotten your past, your childhood, your first kiss, your first teacher? So people tell me to "let go" of the past whenever I talk about the history of black people, but blacks suffer from post traumatic syndrome and
it's a struggle to heal from it. We are the largest surviving group of foster children in this country. We were robbed of our name, our family, our religion, our traditions, our values, our freedom, our esteem, our cultures, our EVERYTHING and have adopted the same ideology that killed
millions of blacks who tried to escape this nightmare. Millions of dollars and economic growth reaped from our suffering, from our children snatched from our mothers and fathers standing nearby not able to defend their families. Children sold into slavery (the massa), just like
mainstream America experiences today in the form of foster care and adoption. When will you ever see them again?
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