I Could Have A White Grandchild One Day

He has one of the sweetest smiles that I have ever seen on a human being and innocence in his eyes that I pray is never corrupted by this evil world. He is mannerly and kind. He is sitting in the backseat of his grandfather's car. His grandfather stops the car in our office's parking lot and roll's down his window and his grandchild's window. He says to him, "Help the young lady take the trash out." In about a second, he had taken the trash from me and was offering to shake my hand with the biggest smile on his face. It was quite abnormal to me because put in the same position I would have been annoyed at my grandfather's suggestion. In the meantime, while he is taking out the trash, his grandfather informs me that this gentle-hearted young boy is his grandson. A sudden surprise escapes my mouth in the form of the word "really" and in that moment I know that I said something he had probably heard thousands of time. I am not ignorant of genetics, in fact, I am enamored by it and spend most of the time studying it. Yet, the manifestation of genetics in my face at 9 AM in the morning caught me by surprise. As my boss' freckled, blue-eyed, milk skinned grandson continues to scurry past my desk and flashes the sweetest smile at me each time, I realized that it is possible that maybe, one day, I could have a white grandchild, great-grandchild or great great-grandchild (or at least one that appears white).It is just astonishing to me as a black woman that my genes could lend a hand in creating another human being that others would be surprised is related to me. It also reminds me of just how closely related we are to each other and that in two generation my family could be white or your family could be black.

In my generation, the issue of race is not a daily debacle in The Bahamas. However, we do have issues with generational racism particularly in regards to the distribution of wealth and class. There are Bahamians that look very similar to the boy I saw today, but I am more familiar seeing them with their "white parents" (who most likely have at least one grandparent that is "black", otherwise known as "Conchy Joes"). I am starting to realize that biologically there may not be a thing as Black & White in terms of DNA (unless we use mutations as qualifiers in dominant traits). But in terms of social perceptions and consequences, the social construct of race is alive and thriving.

Seeing my boss' grandson today was interesting. I wonder what he identifies as? He is visually white, but does he identify as a Black Bahamian? Black and White are not the same in the Bahamas as it is in America. It is bit more fluid and less visible when an authentic Bahamian accent is intermixed. In fact, white Bahamians, not expatriates, are viewed, for the most part, as equivalent to Black Bahamians even though they sometimes benefit from the privilege extended to White Americans. This young boy's heritage is vast, I wonder if he relates to it? After all, he is Bahamian, born and raised.

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