http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=655
By Lome Aseron
November 25, 2009
The first thing that came to my mind when I saw my son for the first
time was: "How am I going to pay for this kid's college?" He was only
a centimeter long. I don't know whether it's just me, or if it's
something shared by all fathers, but my first thoughts after that
early sonogram were for his material and physical security. I wanted
to make sure that there wouldn't be any barriers to his ability to
get the best education, earn a living without struggling, move freely
in the world, become whatever he wants to be.
As a father of color, I carry additional layers of concern. I don't
just fret over protecting him from the dangers inherent in growing up
as a human being on this planet, I also worry about institutions and
societal structures that threaten the healthy growth of children of
color. In my most cynical moments, all I see are potential landmines
of schools that don't honor children of color, a prison system that
makes money incarcerating a disproportionate number of young men of
color and businesses that profit on convincing communities of color
to engage in harmful behavior.
As scary as all of those outside forces seem at times, I'm even more
concerned about his inner world. Acknowledging the limits of my
ability to control external conditions, I choose to concentrate on
ensuring that Joaquin grows up with a sense of self strong enough to
deflect any and all negative messages about people of color. I want
him to have a healthy self-esteem, not only because he will be a
happier person, but also because a positive self-image will lead him
to make better choices. In my opinion, better choices are the best
defense that I can give him against the negative external and
internal impacts of racism.
I can't do that alone or even with the help of a wonderful, caring
wife. If raising a child takes a village, I'm assembling the biggest
village I can get. I'm gathering a village from as wide a pool as
possible, not just family, friends and like-minded folk. I'm
including Sesame Street.
As a child, I was drawn to Cookie Monster's manic love for baked
goods, but my most vivid recollection of Sesame Street is Gordon. I
can't remember when I first saw him, whether he was having one of his
chats with Oscar about O's grouchy outlook on life or whether he
joined in a song urging us to do something good for ourselves, but I
do recall his presence: warm, joyful, thoughtful and firm. Not a
caricature or stereotype of a Black man, Gordon represents Sesame
Street's greatest value for me as a fathera world where people of
color are celebrated without being tokenized, satirized or exaggerated.
Gordon was central to Sesame Street's multicultural universe, but it
wasn't his presence alone that made it that way. Just having a Black
actor as part of a casteven one that has also featured, throughout
the years, Native American, Asian and Latino/a cast memberswouldn't
be sufficient to create the culturally embracing tone that that I
remember fondly. It's all of Sesame Street, from the skits teaching
the number 5 through doo-wop and encouraging friendship through
break-dancing to guests like Patti Labelle singing the ABCs
gospel-style, Tito Puente playing timbales, Ziggy Marley encouraging
us to set our piggies free by going barefoot and, most recently,
Michelle Obama urging us to eat healthy foods during the show's 40th
anniversary in early November.
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