What's The Colour of My Date?

I felt alienated when I shared a lift with 2 white kids at Atlantis Hotel in Palm Jumeira, Dubai recently. The kids almost collapsed in the lift just because I'm black...such poor understanding. But I see a lot of them on regular basis these days- at events, at my office - and they're not afraid to relate with me nor do they treat me as an alien. Oh, you'd say, it's because they're in my country. Well, maybe, but there are a few good ones who do not even care whether you're black or white. They'd love you all the same.

My status on Facebook read 'What is wrong with being black?' and I received some comments - ones that I agree with and ones that I do not totally support. There's something we call convention in Linguistics, and it simply means that there is nothing in a name that makes what the name represent what it is. Big, huh? Let me disambiguate. There is nothing in a football, for example, that makes it a football or that make us give it the name football. We are not calling it football because it's round and soft.

Naming is just a matter of idea, norm, tradition, hence convention. That means, there is nothing in this land that I live that make us give it the name Nigeria. The shrubs, vegetation, weather, people, language, etc, don't make it Nigeria. Nigeria is just an idea. What I'm saying here is, there is nothing in our colour that makes us black or white. The naming or classification is just a matter of convention. Being black, however, doesn't make me evil and being white doesn't make me good. It's all in the mind. It's all about you. Not your colour.

That makes me think, if my 2 younger ones, who are presently in England should just call me and say, 'Sis, I've just found the person I want to marry and he/she is white'...What will be my reaction? Well as a proper Yoruba girl now, I'd react a little but if they love each other, why not get married? The truth is...there is nothing wrong with being black or white (personal view).

I got into a discussion with mum a few months ago about one of my cousins who got married to a white man and mum was like the whole family already considered her (my cousin) lost to them. And I was like, since the guy agreed to come to Nigeria to wed her, it shows that she's not lost after all. It means the guy is genuinely in love with her. We read about countless of weddings that the couple will get married without the consent of the parents. They'd meet within 2 weeks and tie the knot. But this guy, after about 3 years of relationship, agreed to come to Nigeria to marry his wife properly. More so, they have a kid already. So, what's the fuss? (You can prove me wrong). Like I pointed out to mum, I just don't see why our colours should be a barrier to marriage...as long as he is a human being!

Prayer is what make all marriages stand and strong. We've seen people of same colour married and divorced after about 2 or 3 years. No marriage - whether between people of same colour or different colours - can stand without standing on the solid rock!

...Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them...

I've never come across a description of God in the bible that says God is white or black. But he said let us make man in our image. Could mean, God is both black and white.

Out of curiosity, I ask now: What should be the colour your date or your fiance/e, husband or wife? Is it black or white? What say you?