Skin

It shouldn't be a surprise to any of you that there have been rumors (for as long as I can remember) that I am part African-American.  Now that doesn't mean that I am calling into question whether my dad is my dad.   Having said that, I will remind you all of a story:

In my freshman year of college, after basketaball practice one day, one of my teammates and I were shooting around and talking.  He was a very big, African-American guy who was very proud of his heritage.  (He was 6'6" -- but with his afro he was 6'11".)  We were talking about several things and he abruptly asked me, "So, how much of a brother our you?"  I have been asked similar questions in the past and never gave a straight answer.  However, in this situation, I told the truth.  I told him, "Honestly, all of my heritage is northern European."  He actually got a little mad at me because he felt I wasn't embracing my heritage....at least the portion that was so apparent to him.  He told me very matter of factly, "D, I can tell you are at least 1/4 black for 3 reasons:  A) You are darker than me (I had just gotten back from a beach vacation, and was very dark.), B) Your hair is not 'white boy hair' (I have no excuse for that.) ,and C) You can jump out of the gym."  (I paraphrased the last one.)

I guess what I'm saying is that you can never be 100% sure what is in your blood  from centuries past.  My mom has even shown me photos of my grandma's mother.  Her hair was just like mine.  However, all that means is that "something" may have happened prior to that time period.  Who knows?  (Hindsight:  I probably shouldn't have confronted my mom one day and demanded to know who my real father was.  jk)

I recently watched an interesting movie about this very topic.  It's based on a true story in South Africa.  Two white parents (unaware of their black ancestory) give birth to a black child.  This is in a time in South Africa where segregation is a huge deal.  She basically is driven out of "white society" and for the next 30 years lives as the black people do.  The story is a 30 year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation all while she tries to find her own place in her world.  I recommend it.

I even talked to Em about this the other day, and asked her what she would do if she gave birth to a black baby.  I guess what I'm trying to say with this blog entry is this:  No matter what color our baby is, whatever health concerns they may or may not have, whatever the baby might be.....I can't wait to be the dad.........even if it's a girl.