A Hero in the Mix

Posted On July 10, 2019

When I was nine years old, I discovered ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. I’ve been a hopeless romantic since! This quirky girl that caught everyone’s attention and beat all odds was a hero after my own heart. And her name is Anne too. Oh, never mind the fact that my name is plain, old Ann without an “e”. Didn’t matter in the least. I was the only one who had the privilege of this title in my school. Sure, there were other red-haired gals who got the part in the play. Or who had the tenacity to match her personality. I grasped onto our one, common factor: a name shared. Her stories inspired me: to overcome, to write, to read Tennyson…to adopt…

Being the book lover that I am, you can guess that the entire collection fills a shelf of honor in my home.

There are stories that have woven into our lives and if we look back far enough, we can trace our inspirations to a single novel, biography, or a hero. And our kiddos? They’re the same way! As their mom, we are in the best position to offer them a feast of stories and histories that may impact their lives.

My daughter wants you to know this. Recently, she toured a museum. The guide cautiously asked, “Are you biracial?”

She was totally weirded by the question. No one had ever asked. She nodded.

“Come here, let me show you something that you can be proud of.” The guide led her to an exhibit featuring Garret A. Morgan.

This dude. He was a cool mix of African, Native American, Caucasian decent. Biracial (triracial? Whatever.) Totally handsome.

Go ahead and add this guy to a list of heroes to introduce to your kids. Born in Paris, Kentucky, he survived ten siblings. (For real) But that’s not what he’s known for–check this out: with only an elementary education, he managed to go from handyman to inventor with patents. You still benefit from his work today. After nearly 100 years…

TADA!

Surprised? His idea and invention has put all the stop’s and go’s in your day. And cautions, let’s not forget that. This man also saved thousands of lives with his gas mask invention. Think WW1.

He also came up with this hair straightener chemical cream, but I’m going to shelve that. My girlie needs to keep her curls. But I think women everywhere must have been grateful for this beauty supply. Hello, straight braids.

Looking backwards in history, being black or mixed in 1900 wasn’t Gap- photo-shoot-cool. He shoved past prejudice that reigned in his day. Had both black and white friends, and didn’t let anything stop his driving passion to create.

It’s a privilege to watch our kids come into themselves, to be what God made them to be. My daughter is inspired. A biracial inventor! Biracial being their one, common factor. Like a hook to a good novel or a movie trailer, this fact caught her attention. Someone like her…