Some of us have may have lighter skin than they do, but other than that they are Americans frist, and have ancestory from Africa ,secondly. They should be raised to behold their American spirit ,and to forward themselves using all of the riches of this country. That is what I am teaching my Scottish-Danish -Cherokee- Irish American children to do.
An intersting story for you: I had to remind my son of attending a friend's birthday party. He could not remember her from the homeschhol co-op group of girls in his class. I told him her name, she could not remember her that way, I told him what she was wearing the last time we saw her, he still was unsure because all fo the girls sort of stick together. I asked him: "Honey, have you ever noticed some people we know ,and some friends of ours have darker skin than we do, including our friend from co-op with the darker skin than yours"? He said , "no Mom, I only see them as people".
This from the boy who notices when I have trimmed my bangs in the bathroom as I come out the door.
I don't want to teach my son to see people with darker skin than his, as African- Americans. I want him to always see them as people first. I wish for the sake of all of those children, that we could do away with calling them Africans. They are Americans.