Both are Human

Jackie was born in 1963. My father was born in 1963. Jackie was born in Ohio. My was father born in Michigan. Jackie is brown. My father is white. These are two very similar beginnings but two very different stories. My dad’s stories center around life on the farm, growing up in the rural town of Springport, and playing outside with his brothers. He was never burdened with the stigmas of race. His parents never had to instill in him that he was of value, for he was white and already had it. In those days that was all you needed to be above the ground level of society. He was never followed around in stores. He never had to sit at the back of the bus. And he should always look a white man in the eyes.

Jackie’s story seems to be a near opposite. Although, her story depicts much of the same childhood essence of playing in a rural town with her siblings, Jackie was burdened with the color of her skin. She was followed in stores. She was told to look at the ground whenever there was a white person around. Her parents had to whisper in her ear that she was just as good as those white folks. She was told they had to fight for what the white man had already been given. They had to fight for what was already rightfully theirs just for being a part of the human species. She was exposed to the brutal nature of the human race before she could even understand it.

Jackie and Todd. One is brown, one is white. Both are human.