Not Just in America

Original post date = March 29, 2012.

Thursday, March 29, 2012


I know in the States that color is a major issue. Toni Morrison (I think) wrote The Bluest Eye. Michael Jackson (allegedly) tried to make his skin whiter. So much baggage about outer appearances. I thought it was just an American problem. But it’s not. It’s everywhere. Which is too bad.

The other night I was talking with Julia and Rosie. Rosie is Gertrude’s daughter. She spent about 15 months in the States right after the earthquake. Julia is Haitian born and was adopted by a German couple when she was just a baby. She is now 21 and has come to PAP with a group from Germany who has been building the bunkhouse out back for the kids.

Both girls commented on how they wished they had hair like mine and blue eyes like mine. Made me sad. Both are beautiful girls, yet they wanted to look like someone else. Someone not even of their race. They didn’t see beauty in their own looks. I can sort of see how they developed their attitude because both girls have been exposed to modern media. The saddest part for me was in watching Keloke draw this afternoon.

Keloke is about 9 and is a great artist! He loves to draw and has a great eye for it. Some kids sent a sketch book with me, so I had Gertrude give it to him and explain what it was for. While he drew today, all his people had Caucasian features: bone structure, hair texture, hair color, eye color, and skin color. Here’s a boy who has only known Haitian culture and has only been exposed to Caucasian visitors, yet his drawings are not of people who look like him.
How has this idea that “white” is somehow better permeated even the minds of young Haitians who have so little exposure to pop culture?

Why can’t he see the beauty and value in how he looks?

Why not draw the features of the people he sees every day?

I had already decided to bring him some drawing books on my next visit, but I am going to look for a book that teaches how to draw people with African features. My hope is that Keloke will turn his talents toward creating images of people who look like him and share his culture.