Dear Leila,

Yesterday, you and I were coloring a mermaid sheet together. It was a “mixed media” project, with some parts colored with crayons, some with pencils, and others with markers.

After coloring the mermaid’s tail, I absentmindedly said, “I need a nice skin-colored crayon to do the rest of her body.”

You said brightly, “Look! I have a brown crayon. I can share it with you!” I flinched. Without so much as realizing it, I’d been searching for a pale peach crayon. You had quickly laid bare decades of conditioned self-hatred.

I gratefully took your crayon and colored the mermaid a deep, dark brown. I made her eyebrows black. Her hair alternated between pitch black and neon green at your insistence.

You colored the other mermaid brown too. We sat back and admired our handiwork. Just two brown girls who had colored two brown girls.

Love,

Mama