Blactoids are Black....I mean Back!

For those of you eagerly awaiting the return of the blactoid, wait no more. I'm here to share those funny insights as only I can. Each year during the month of February as all the rest of the country celebrates black history, I like to make a contribution as well, that both informs and entertains.

Well I was volunteering for a game night at a local private school a few weeks ago. It was for grades K-3 so most of the kids were under the age of 8. The kids were going around to the different game stations. For some reason the same kids mostly girls kept coming over to my table, I'd like to think it was my winning personality but I'm sure it was the games and the prizes they were winning. One little girl (probably aged 6) was just standing beside me for a long time watching the game. So in a lull between games I asked her what she was learning about in school. She said they were learning about black heroes and Martin Luther King, Jr. and that we had MLK day on January 18. I said yes that's true.

Then I asked her what did Martin Luther do. She said that ...

Rosa parks wanted to sit on the bus, but they wouldn't let her so Martin Luther King started boycotting because there wasn't any freedom. Then because he had a dream that everyone could be treated the same and be free he helped everyone. Now we have freedom all over the world.

She looked to me and said was that right? I said pretty much. I figured I was giving her freedom for poetic license.

I remember when I was a kid and I attended schools where more often that not I was the only ethnic minority in class, so it went without saying I was the only black kid. Whenever we got to black history month everyone in the class would turn their heads and look at me. Like I represented all the black people on earth. I am pretty dark, but still.

I remember reading the glossed over versions of American history in our textbooks and trying to figure out how in the world they got that out of what I already knew to be the truth. I later realized the importance of age appropriate material and understanding truth in stages, but it didn't help at the time.

Blactoid: The movie Song of the South has been a controversial film since it's release on November 2, 1946. However, because most people haven't seen the movie few know exactly why it's considered controversial. A few reasons are because it downplays race relations in the south during the reconstruction era, portraying slavery in a favorable light. It has also been said that the main character Remus is too "Uncle Tom-ish". I could of course go on, but that's enough for now.

Although the movie did receive some positive reviews on it's release it wasn't generally well received throughout the county. I think most importantly, the movie is meant for young children who take things literally so it can pose severe problems which is why it has only ever had limited release and is not available on home video.