Finally Finding Diversity

"Hey Look! An Asian person!"

We'd only been in Ohio for a few weeks when I realized that choosing the public school with the highest test scores may not result in the best environment for our family. The shocking statement had been uttered by my daughter's best friend with a completely innocent, delighted smile. She was pointing excitedly out of the window of our car as we drove in to town, the same way she would point at a pacing tiger in the zoo.



I was surprised by her comment because our neighborhood was not completely white. We had a Korean family living across the street and an African American family living next door. But over the next few months, I observed that geographic proximity is not enough to integrate different races. It was as if an invisible wall of frozen politeness divided us, an unspoken, unbreachable divide respected by people on both sides, never going beyond enthusiastic waves hello and goodbye as we crossed each other in our cars.



This wasn't the world I wanted to live in, and it wasn't the world I wanted my children to grown up in.



Our lives in our new home in the Chicago suburbs couldn't be more different. My son's classroom more accurately represents the diversity of our world. They are not color blind. They know who is black, who is white, and who is in between. They compare the hues of their arms, and discuss their heritage. They celebrate where they come from through cookbooks, stories, and descriptions of their special holidays. They're learning to celebrate diversity, but most of the time, they're just playing soccer, sweating and laughing together, a sight that never fails to make me teary.



When I explained what Martin Luther King, Jr. was fighting for the other night, I illustrated the story with his friend's names. "If it wasn't for Martin Luther King, Jr. you wouldn't have gone to school with Joe, wouldn't have been able to go swimming with him, and we wouldn't have been able to all go out for pizza like we did the other night." His answer was immediate and strong, "Well that would have been stupid, unfair, and just no fun! Good thing Martin Luther King took care of that."



And as the conversation moved on, I wiped a stray tear, the emotional mom once again, overwhelmed with gratefulness that we've landed in such a wonderful place for my children to grow up.



Happy Martin Luther King Day.