If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want to be White

Dear Dr. Eve, I am a white mother of a very cute blonde four year old girl who attends a quasi-public pre-school in a small city on the East Coast. Said city's school system is a bit less diverse than the neighborhood in Brooklyn where I grew up. I am very conscious of this and tend to pounce on the non white parents at birthday parties, and before you know it I've said things like "hip hop", "diverse," "Ralph Ellison," and "Henry Louis Gates, Jr." within the first forty five seconds of the pizza portion of the party. Needless to say, I am in a deep state of embarrassment and remorse by the time I flee the scene in my Subaru with the Obama sticker on the back. Help me to find a new way to say: "We may look like the bad guys in Sound of Music, but we're totally cool and basically black ourselves."

Dear Reader,
There were bad guys in The Sound of Music?!
Here is where my area of expertise runs aground, I'm afraid. If I were to hazard a guess based on anecdotal evidence such as reactions to the work of Vanilla Ice and the like, though, I'd say that some black people might not actually like white people who think they are black. Then again, talking about Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and hip hop probably isn't going to give anyone that impression.
For a more extensive and informed answer, I refer you to a book called Making Friends With Black People by my good friend Nick Adams. I can say he is my good friend because that's what he became -- once I read his book. Nick is a brilliant stand-up comedian, writer, and actor whose excellent book addresses your concerns and many others in an insightful and entertaining manner. Is it any wonder we like each other?


While you're at it, check out his blog, NickAdamsWeb, and his wife Tasha's blog, BlackburnandSweetzer.