Only One Color -- Skin Deep

There was a lady in line behind me yesterday at the grocery store asking how long it took to get one of the saver cards. She was from out of town. I told her she could let the cashier know she was from out of town and ask for a courtesy scan. Because of the "color of her skin," I started to ask where she was from, but didn't ask. Was afraid to hear the words, "New Orleans." Afraid I'd start crying right there in the store. I wish I had listened to my heart more than my head. I was getting one of those Spirit tugs I sometimes get.

This morning, reading the paper, I finally gave into the tears. Went to the chapel and had a good sit down cry about the atrocities in New Orleans, the apparent racism that still plagues our country, the inequalities in our own homeland. The death tolls are going to be astounding and, I believe when the numbers start to come in, numbing. I hope that Americans across the country are shaking their heads in disbelief and wondering how could that be in this day and age, in the year 2005, in the 21st century. It should not have happened. It was preventable with planning. It was a foreseeable disaster. An evacuation plan should have been in place 20 years ago. But the poor and especially the poor minorities in our country are not treated equally. And it is something Americans are to be ashamed of.

Here is something I learned at Genesis Farm. It was like a laser hitting me between the eyes the day I learned this. It was so incredible. I was sitting in my chair listening to Dr. Larry Edwards explain about skin pigment. I may get the facts a bit skewed until I'm able to get my hands on the Sci-Am. Articles, but the gist is that we all (everyone of us) have the exact same kind of and same amount of skin pigment in our bodies. What is different is where it lies -- whether closer to the top or further down. And that is what causes the gradation of colors.

Now, really think about that for a minute. Are you getting it? There's only ONE pigment. It's the same composition of chemicals no matter what skin color we are on the outside. There's only ONE COLOR. The difference is where the pigment is lying in our skin, and that difference is due to an evolutionary process that occurred millions of years ago as our ancestral species either remained near the equator or migrated away. I think if we could really get it in our heads and in our hearts that we are only one color, expressed in a diversity of shades (as the earth so abundantly exemplifies in all her glory), maybe...just maybe...one day we'll stop treating our brothers and sisters as something other than our brothers and sisters.