This video from TheFineBros has been shared a lot on YouTube and Facebook recently. The clip shows kids, from preschoolers to teens, reacting to the “controversial” mixed-race Cheerios ad featuring a family in which the mom is white and the dad is black. The poinst of the video? To show that children don’t notice, much less care, that the family is biracial.
It’s a cute video, but I think the most notable part is not so much that kids are “colorblind”, but that children of color seem much more aware of the racial implications. One Asian tween boy, Dylan, is especially outspoken, calling out issues of discrimination and equality. When asked if he’s ever experienced discrimination, he answers,
It’s kind of annoying when people say, ‘Ooh, you’re Asian. That’s not fair. Of course you can ace that test.”
When asked why people would leave comments criticizing the commercial, one teenaged black boy responds, “Because they’re racist.” To me, this shows that while the younger generation is much less judgmental about race, minority children are still more aware of racial differences — mostly because they have experienced discrimination first-hand.
Overall, the video is a good sign of change, with all the kids — white, Asian, black, multiracial — agreeing that it’s wrong to have a problem with mixed-race families.
What do you think about the video?
Also, for more about why it’s important to talk to your kids about race, check out my piece at The Mother Company.
It’s nice to see kids in support of biracial families. I’m curious what part of the US these kids are from.
Good question! I’d like to know where they are from, too.. although I’m going to guess they’re from a major city.