This is really sad. Eudoxie clearly had nothing but love and compassion for her family. It is very unfair and I think hurtful to be so critical of someone's personal decision of kindness and generosity towards her own. Her rant was clearly a response of frustration after all the unnecessary backlash (not saying it was the best choice, but we are all human right? And even celebs hurt and anger when been tormented). This excerpt on this blog in itself is biased and doesn't paint the whole picture if you haven't being following her prior on Instagram. Point number 1, Eudoxie comes from Gabon, like many African countries the racial tension and history is not the same as the Americas's and we shouldn't automatically impose or judge based on that especially since the child is also African and probably has no knowledge of the culture here. As a nationalized citizen myself, I empathize with all the horrors of the past blacks have endured but to simply criticize without seeing her view is just wrong. Point # 2 Out of curiousity, I am not clear on her racial background but assuming she is of mixed background, does this whole White doll/Black doll argument still apply?? It's always intrigued me how confusing and perhaps a bit of a torture it must be to someone who is indeed mixed yet are forced by mainstream America at times to not acknowledge their other half and only identify as 1 over the other. In my opinion a blend of two races is just that and 1 can choose and should choose to celebrate both ethnic backgrounds equally. Point #3 Lets not be so sentimental, children are taught to discriminate and are not born with these values, teaching your children to specifically only play with one color though may seem harmless is detrimental to their social exposure and development. They should be able to own and play freely with any and every doll be it white, black or in between. I mean let us not forget these toys are just a fantasy and all have unrealistic proportions anyway. I mean when was the last time you saw an Overweight Barbie, Wheel Chair Barbie, Amputee Barbie, Autistic Barbie? Probably never right; my case and point exactly. Dolls do not represent every child's outward appearance and it is up to all parents to make their kids feel "perfectly beautiful regardless of what you play with. I mean should every Arab, Indian, Asian, Mixed person cry foul too like this and never touch a black doll? Afterall what is good for the goose is good for the gander. We wouldn’t like it if mothers of other ethnicities flat out came out saying with all confidence that their daughters are forbidden from playing with a black doll due to fear of self esteem or beauty issues so why is it ok for us to be so callous? Also should every boy’s Action figure like Spiderman, Batman etc be black too before they are allowed to play with them?
As a dark skinned American of African descent, per my experience the only people I ever got bullied/teased by were my own (And by that I mean Blacks). It was indeed unfortunate and I struggled like any child would with the confusion of how people who look just like me would be so cruel. Of course as an adult now, I accept most of it as childish ignorance but it makes me conclude that the problem within is far greater that the exterior and before we point fingers at others let us truly look within at how we contribute to any of these issues. Till we open our minds and realize no one of us is better than the other. Not light or dark, not African or Black, before we pounce on people on far=fetched matters, let us please address colorism in our community.
Shawn - 11 years ago
Recently, I've tried to stay away from entertainment news (if that's what you want to call it). Some of these celebrities or lack there of have NO CLUE! The only reason we know about this woman is b/c of Ludacris. I agree, her response was very uneducated and lacked so much awareness of the issue. It's sad to see the direction our culture has been going. Yes, we want to teach our children to be color blind, however, they need to be aware of the racial criticisms that goes on in our country. It's not about wearing black this and driving black that...it's about understanding that our Black is beautiful and we shouldn't be ashamed of the skin we're in. #THATSALL
Lexi - 11 years ago
Her response was as stupid as her choice. The color of a car, house or clothes is totally not the same. BTW, I send my donations to Africa through a friend twice a year.
Az - 11 years ago
Isn't everybody always talking about teaching there is no difference in color? I love her response to the public. I really hope those that do comment negatively on her gesture send those 'black' gifts and follow the 'black everything' on their daily life. #ridiculous
This is really sad. Eudoxie clearly had nothing but love and compassion for her family. It is very unfair and I think hurtful to be so critical of someone's personal decision of kindness and generosity towards her own. Her rant was clearly a response of frustration after all the unnecessary backlash (not saying it was the best choice, but we are all human right? And even celebs hurt and anger when been tormented). This excerpt on this blog in itself is biased and doesn't paint the whole picture if you haven't being following her prior on Instagram. Point number 1, Eudoxie comes from Gabon, like many African countries the racial tension and history is not the same as the Americas's and we shouldn't automatically impose or judge based on that especially since the child is also African and probably has no knowledge of the culture here. As a nationalized citizen myself, I empathize with all the horrors of the past blacks have endured but to simply criticize without seeing her view is just wrong. Point # 2 Out of curiousity, I am not clear on her racial background but assuming she is of mixed background, does this whole White doll/Black doll argument still apply?? It's always intrigued me how confusing and perhaps a bit of a torture it must be to someone who is indeed mixed yet are forced by mainstream America at times to not acknowledge their other half and only identify as 1 over the other. In my opinion a blend of two races is just that and 1 can choose and should choose to celebrate both ethnic backgrounds equally. Point #3 Lets not be so sentimental, children are taught to discriminate and are not born with these values, teaching your children to specifically only play with one color though may seem harmless is detrimental to their social exposure and development. They should be able to own and play freely with any and every doll be it white, black or in between. I mean let us not forget these toys are just a fantasy and all have unrealistic proportions anyway. I mean when was the last time you saw an Overweight Barbie, Wheel Chair Barbie, Amputee Barbie, Autistic Barbie? Probably never right; my case and point exactly. Dolls do not represent every child's outward appearance and it is up to all parents to make their kids feel "perfectly beautiful regardless of what you play with. I mean should every Arab, Indian, Asian, Mixed person cry foul too like this and never touch a black doll? Afterall what is good for the goose is good for the gander. We wouldn’t like it if mothers of other ethnicities flat out came out saying with all confidence that their daughters are forbidden from playing with a black doll due to fear of self esteem or beauty issues so why is it ok for us to be so callous? Also should every boy’s Action figure like Spiderman, Batman etc be black too before they are allowed to play with them?
As a dark skinned American of African descent, per my experience the only people I ever got bullied/teased by were my own (And by that I mean Blacks). It was indeed unfortunate and I struggled like any child would with the confusion of how people who look just like me would be so cruel. Of course as an adult now, I accept most of it as childish ignorance but it makes me conclude that the problem within is far greater that the exterior and before we point fingers at others let us truly look within at how we contribute to any of these issues. Till we open our minds and realize no one of us is better than the other. Not light or dark, not African or Black, before we pounce on people on far=fetched matters, let us please address colorism in our community.
Recently, I've tried to stay away from entertainment news (if that's what you want to call it). Some of these celebrities or lack there of have NO CLUE! The only reason we know about this woman is b/c of Ludacris. I agree, her response was very uneducated and lacked so much awareness of the issue. It's sad to see the direction our culture has been going. Yes, we want to teach our children to be color blind, however, they need to be aware of the racial criticisms that goes on in our country. It's not about wearing black this and driving black that...it's about understanding that our Black is beautiful and we shouldn't be ashamed of the skin we're in. #THATSALL
Her response was as stupid as her choice. The color of a car, house or clothes is totally not the same. BTW, I send my donations to Africa through a friend twice a year.
Isn't everybody always talking about teaching there is no difference in color? I love her response to the public. I really hope those that do comment negatively on her gesture send those 'black' gifts and follow the 'black everything' on their daily life. #ridiculous