Race Issues

Daniel's class was learning about MLK the other day.  We were discussing what he had learned.  He had many questions, and to give him some background, I was explaining how at that time many white people didn't like people that were a darker color and that those people were then treated unfairly.  He told me, "So, Mommy, if we had lived back then, you might not have liked me or Daddy or Katie or Jacob because you're white and we're all Mexican."  I told him that I hoped I would have been one of the white people that was more loving. 

This couples with the story that happened awhile back.  Daniel and I were talking about Abraham Lincoln, and I told him that one of the most important things that he did as a president was to free the slaves.  I should have thought that through better because, of course, Daniel didn't know what a slave was, and then I had to explain all kinds of things.....I felt like he understood by the end of our conversation.  Then a few days later, we were playing the game Guess Who, and Daniel asked me, "Is yours a slave?"  I said, "A what?" thinking I may have heard incorrectly.  Daniel repeated the question, and then we had to have another whole discussion about why it wouldn't be good to continue to refer to black people as slaves. 

Sheesh.