Color Me Dark

One of my favorite books is "Color Me Dark." It is about a young, African-American who is growing up in the hills of Tennessee. It is her journal entry of what she went through in 1919. The book discusses the issues of prejudice or preference. Her family decides to move to the North for a better life. In Tennessee the KKK was running thick and it was spreading all over the south. The young girls' name was Nellie Love. She was 11 years old and thought only whites were judging them. When she moves to Chicago she finds out that it's not only whites vs. blacks. It is dark colored vs lighter colored, and rich vs. poor, and its everyone against everyone. Eleven year old Nellie, learns that everyone judges everyone. She thought that if she moved to the North, that the judging would not be there. She learns to over come all of the prejudice against her.

This book relates to me on a very personal level. Nellie sees people judging other people by their appearance alone. She judges, and is judged. I completely understand where she is coming from. I have been judged by what I look like all my life. When I was growing up, I was judged because we didnt have alot of money. I wore my brothers hand-me-downs, instead of dresses. I was called "one of the boys." I have been at ICC for two weeks give or take and I have been called a cracker, snowflake, and white out. Last Thursday, I had a bigger girl tell me that I need to start eating or stop puking because I was embarrassing myself. They never got the time to get to know me. It hurts but I just keep telling myself that it's them being arrogant.

Im just as guilty as them though. I have judged people by their appearance before. But i know what its like and its not a good thing. I don't say it out loud, but I do think it. And everytime I have a judging thought in my head I just think "they are just different. That is all." We all do it but that doesn't make it right. I have also seen it. I remember it was the first day of school. I was ten and my brother was 9. I missed the first day of school because I had an ear ache. My brother came home and was crying. Telling my mom and I that people were calling him fat. He was a bigger kid but they didnt even get to know him at all. They were just judging him by what he looked like. My mom had to explain to a nine year old that people base them off of looks. Can you imagine that?!?!?

This book not only relates to me, but I think that this book can relate to everyone. Everyone has been judged, seen prejudice, and has judged.