Beauty and Bigotry | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Beauty and Bigotry | Previous Challenge Entry
By Barbara Culler
04/23/25
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The classroom of noisy kindergarteners hushed when their teacher invited the guest speaker to the front of the room. The man spoke about nature: flowers, birds, and trees. When he alluded to a specific flower, we kids giggled, and all heads turned toward a grinning child seated at her desk.

We looked at her -- not because her chocolate-colored skin was different from the vanilla-skinned kids in our class, but because her name was Iris.

That is my only memory of the 1960 incident, but the snapshot of what happened stayed with me all these years. We were naive about pre-judging someone by their skin color. If only the innocence of young children remained undefiled as they grew up.

Children can be cruel, but when and where do they learn this? Growing up attending Sunday School and church, I learned to be Christ-like and respect everyone, regardless of one's physical attributes. But as I matured, sometimes prejudice reared its ugly head, due to actions or behaviors from a smattering of people. It's not right to judge all people for the actions of a few.

We usually don't dislike flowers due to their colors or species, so why do so to fellow humans? I ask God's forgiveness when my heart becomes corrupted with the weeds of bigotry regarding the Iris' of the world.

I never knew what became of my young classmate, for I moved away from the school. I pray she bloomed into her lovely namesake, spreading joy and beauty wherever she went.

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