I've been thinking that I shouldn't write about race relations because it would upset or offend people. But then I remembered my Queen Reigneth and she would knit her eyebrows and tell me to do whatever the heck I want.

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It was district conference at church last weekend, which means that people from cities close to Shanghai gathered in Shanghai. I met a guy from Ghana, Africa, and he lives in Ningbo, China. He can't speak Chinese so I offered to help him buy a train ticket. After church was over, they were giving away flowers, and I took some lilies and orchids before taking my new friend to the subway. When we were in the subway, we talked while I held my flowers. He said the little girl next to me was cowering behind her mother because he was black. I looked at this little girl, and she looked around 5. She was too young to be filled with hate, so it must have been fear of the unfamiliar. I knelt down and saw she was near tears. I said hello and smiled, offering her some of my flowers. She burrowed further into the comfort of her mother. I looked at her mother. Her mother said, "She is scared of the black man you are with." I responded, "Ah, she's probably never seen one before." Her mother said, "She saw one black lady, and she was mean, so now she is scared." I look at the girl and said, "He is a good person. He is my friend. You do not need to be scared." I again offered the little girl flowers. The little girl said, "You dropped some of your flowers earlier, and I told you, but you didn't hear me." I said, "Ah yes, I know I've dropped some flowers, but what am I to do? I know that you can take good care of my flowers." She took some of my orchids and held them close, admiring them. The mom said, "Auntie gave you flowers. You should say thank you." She looked at me, still scared, and said, "Thank you, Auntie." 

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I wish I could've done more than give her flowers. I wish I could've healed the fear in her heart. Little kids with this fear can grow up to the be the people who say things like, "You should be careful. You never know what a black person might do" and "I don't want to live with a black person" and "Black people are dishonest." 

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People have asked me if I am afraid of black people, if I avoid black people, and if I say the n-word, and I only have two answers. One, I chose to live with my Nigerian friend back in America, and I think she is a good person. Two, there are good people and bad people of every race. Of course, both of these are simplistic responses, but I don't know how else to answer. I say these things and then just let it be. I didn't come to China to initiate a moral crusade. Race relations are complicated anywhere you go, and it's impossible to just fix problems with smiles and flowers. That would be nice though.