Obama: There's no longer time for excuses for black men

[onpatrol98]

60. It's not the same...

I don't think we should be questioning his "blackness", but his experience is difference. I never really thought about it until I had the opportunity to teach some African students living in America. The way they approached life in America was different.

I had one kid tell me that he was taught to love America and that anything would be possible as long as he could get to America. He felt that black children in America were taught to hate America and that nothing was possible because they were black in America. At first, I just thought this kid was full of it. But, having black parents that lived through segregation, etc. does make a difference.

Before my grandmother died, there were still places downtown that she didn't visit, because black people "didn't" go there when she was young. The people have all changed, but the impression was firmly made. I don't go to these places, either. Now, I do believe as time passes, these impressions can be diminished. For instance, my kids don't think twice about it. Not all of my grandmother's experiences have been shared with me. I haven't shared all of my known grandmother's experiences or my own with my kids. From generation to generation, it makes a difference.