New Knowledge about Africans
@shaggin (72116)
United States
December 26, 2010 8:33pm CST
I was going to title this new knowledge about African Americans but that doesnt include all the black people out there and my discussion concerns all of them not just the ones living in the United states.
I grew up in a town where there was no black people. Everyone was white including myself. Now there are a few people in town that either have african american children or families that are african american. Our town is still pretty close minded about them but I love that my daughter is growing up with different races. Last year in her kindergarten class her two best friends were the two african american girls in her class. Anytime she would say how they had different color skin I would say yes isnt it beautiful.
Since I have never really been around anyone who is black I never knew that some black people have brown gums. I knew that the bottoms of their hands arent brown which I always thought was really neat. I was looking on facebook today at a guy that I've been corresponding with. He has a bunch of nice pictures up of himself and I noticed his gums werent pink. I was shocked. I looked up online to see if that was how all black peoples gums are. I was amazed to learn that they do not all have pink nor do they all have brown gums. They can have either or and a variation of the two. I love learning new things. I thought this was really neat and wanted to pass on my new found knowledge to educate others who like myself maybe have never been around african american people.
2 people like this
8 responses
@frontvisions101 (16043)
• Philippines
27 Dec 10
I've had an African American classmate. He's cool. He talks like a rapper which is pretty fast so i whenever he talks i weren't able to understand what he was saying. There are times when i ask to repeat it again especially when i think what he was saying is important. They're cool. He said to me once that back in America, the racism never ends. There are racists who just hides it from everybody and there are racists who flaunt it and don't care. He said if he had one wish that will surely come true, he'd wish for discrimination and racism to end. He said we're all people, we all have the same number of limbs, same number of heads, we all have souls, why can't we just get along? If he was actually asking me, i would've said "it's because some people think they're higher than the others." They think just because they have a specific color, they're superior to everyone else. That's where they're wrong. White or brown or yellow or whatever doesn't mean number one, or first place or "king of the world". It only means you're of a unique color and that's it. It doesn't give you the right to oppress others of different race and ethnicity. In fact, in my honest opinion, the racists are the ones that should be discriminated. They deserve it since they're one of those who invented the word "discrimination".
3 people like this
@shaggin (72116)
• United States
27 Dec 10
You are exactly right. Even if there arent many people of different nationalities here I know that we are all equal. Just because japanese people have different shaped eyes then us white people it doesnt make them any less of a person. The same with people who are black... their skin is a different color so what... its all beautiful! Racism is wrong. We should all be able to get along.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
30 Dec 10
I find it very refreshing to come across a discussion about differences in skin colour which is simply that: an understanding that we do have different skin colours and isn't that interesting?
Like you, I grew up in an all white society (in England) and it was quite a long time before I met anyone with a different coloured skin. I suppose that, where ever you live, your initial reaction to someone of a different colour is mainly curiosity, unless you have previously learned that 'black people come from Africa and are in need of aid and education' or that 'black people are of a different (and implicitly lower) social class' ... neither of which is true, of course!
I guess I have known for a long time that black people have less melanin on their palms (and on the soles of their feet) and have often wondered why. It had never occurred to me that their gums could be anything other than pink. That's a new and interesting observation to me.
2 people like this
@shaggin (72116)
• United States
30 Dec 10
Exactly to me things like this are so amazing. There is no differences in us as far as our nature goes. We are all the same. We cry when we are hurt. We bleed when we are cut. We feel the same emotions when we are happy or in love. There is only physical differences with us. I think that is neat that the soles of their feet are white to. I didnt know that. I love learning new things and I think every little bit we learn about different nationalities is a good thing. Like you said its people who hear only bad things about a certain race and believe it will feel shocked at seeing someone of that race. Hopefully once they get to know someone they will realize how wrong they were in the things they had heard.
1 person likes this
@Nadinest1 (2016)
• Canada
27 Dec 10
My hometown is very small and were never any African Americans living their either.....nor are there any living there today.
Thanks for the info. I feel that we are all the same.....red and yellow, black and white...we are precious in his sight....Jesus loves the little children of the world. That is a song I learned in Sunday School about 35 years ago.
2 people like this
@advokatku (4033)
• Indonesia
27 Dec 10
differences in skin color is the beauty of God's creation. We should not distinguish between people based on skin color
1 person likes this
@Gorillafootprints925 (3586)
• United States
27 Dec 10
It's not really about the color but the culture. Black people have their own culture that makes them unique just like white people.
@Desiree1203 (75)
• China
28 Dec 10
wo~~~~~~~~~~~ r u sure? it is a great astonishment for me. I only know they have white palms never noticing their gums.
thanks
1 person likes this
@Momandwife89 (27)
•
26 Feb
WOW. This one reason I like Mylot, so many different perpective of the world lol.
I am an African American and this post really blows me out of the water. Not all white people's gums are pink either......
I am glad to hear that although you were not around different races growing up, that you are teaching your daughter that we are all equal. Our human has always been equal.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (72116)
• United States
26 Feb
@Momandwife89 Nationalities have mixed so much if white peoples gums were all pink they could be all different based on genetics. My sons are red because he doesn’t brush his gums well enough 
. MyLot really is so neat to learn about so many different things.
I’m sure you can’t even imagine an area so full of white people that we don’t know these simple things about others of different races. I would love if our town was more even with different races. It would make it better for everyone.
. MyLot really is so neat to learn about so many different things.
I’m sure you can’t even imagine an area so full of white people that we don’t know these simple things about others of different races. I would love if our town was more even with different races. It would make it better for everyone.1 person likes this
@shaggin (72116)
• United States
2 Apr
@Momandwife89 were people kind you I hope? There’s way too much racism around here. I’ve been told by a woman whose African American son was in my son’s grade that he was still treated differently 
. People need to do better teach their children better!
. People need to do better teach their children better!@Momandwife89 (27)
•
28 Mar
@shaggin Actually I can, I went to a majority white high school. Including me and my brother, I believe there may have been a total of 2 black kids there lol. It was definitely an experience.
1 person likes this
@Gorillafootprints925 (3586)
• United States
27 Dec 10
They also like chicken very much. It's not a stereotype, I have asked many of them and they do love chicken.
@Angelwriter (1954)
• United States
27 Dec 10
Actually, it's a stereotype to say we ALL like chicken very much. Well, the stereotype is specifically all black people like fried chicken. And, it's a stereotype that's specific to the United States. I'm sure there are different stereotypes for black people in England or Ghana.
And, since you didn't say some black people like chicken very much, but just an all encompassing "they" it is a stereotype.
2 people like this
@Gorillafootprints925 (3586)
• United States
27 Dec 10
They also told me that Black people is totally different from Africans living in America.
@shaggin (72116)
• United States
27 Dec 10
As angelwriter pointed out saying that black people like chicken is a stereotype because not ALL black people like chicken. Everyone has different tastes. Perhaps many of them like chicken but it doesnt make it a fact. So if I have a black man come over for dinner I need to ask him what he likes because if he comes over and I assume that just because hes black he will like chicken I may be wrong lol. Thanks for the input though.
1 person likes this
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
27 Dec 10
shaggin glad of your new found knowledge. I find your discussion is somewhat of what other would perceive as they all people are quite the same just, the only difference is that they skin is of a different color.
