I am absolutely Mortified!!

OK. Here we go. As most of you all know I am NOT racist. I never have been, and probably never will be. Our family lives in a predominately black neighborhood. Since we have been here, our kids have been beaten up, hurt, name called, and treated with less dignity than they deserve by our neighbor kids of color. As their mother I am protective of them whether it would have been children of any color. Unfortunately all the children doing this to them are of the same color....black. I have very smart children, and they tend to be able to use their reasoning skills and come to conclusions. At one time or another all of them have come to either Will or I and asked us "Why are black people so mean". Of course Will and I try our hardest to tell them that it's not just black children who can be mean, other races are mean as well if they aren't taught correct principals. However this answer never really satisfies them, since their little church friends are white, and very nice. Well you see where this goes.

Any rate, we constantly deal with this race issue with the kids. They are young and can't comprehend that just because your skin is one color doesn't mean that everyone that looks that way, acts that way. So the kids were learning about the elections at school. And they were going to get to vote themselves in the elementary school voting. They were all excited about this. In Vanessa's class the teacher Ms.Colling is great, and Mr. Adams is wonderful. Sabrina had these two teachers last year and loved them. Well, Ms.Colling was teaching the kids that it is a secret vote, and that no one knows what or who you vote for, so you don't have to be afraid of voting for who you want. Well, as the class was quiet, Nessie blurted out "My mommy is voting for McCain cause she says blacks shouldn't be president and they are all bad people."

Oh my gosh. I about died. Will had to get the first ear full from Ms. Collins when he picked up Nessie that evening from school. He explained our situation and that the kids have had issues with kids of color, but he also explained that he was engaged to a woman of color, and that I had dated a few men of color, so neither of us had any issues with people of color. Well needless to say that was ok with her since it was coming from Will, and Nessie said it was me that said these things not Will. Also on a side note, Nessie and one little girl in her class are the only little white kids there, both Ms. Collins and Mr. Adams and the rest of her class are all black. Now can you see what problems this caused. Anyway we sat her down at home and asked her where she heard such a horrid thing, and she said she didn't know. I asked her if she had ever heard mommy or daddy say anything like this before, and she said no. Which by the way was NEVER EVER said in our home not even anything close to that. We then discussed why mom and dad were not voting for Obama, and so on. We explained only the easiest of things for her to understand. Simply put...Obama doesn't want to protect families like ours, and he doesn't protect unborn babies, and that those things make Heavenly Father very sad, and so that's why we should vote for someone who does what God wants us to do. She totally understood that.

Well I took her to class yesterday morning, and made her apologize to Ms. Collins and Mr. Adams she did, and then Ms. Colling asked her where she heard such a thing. Nessie being Nessie said "I don't know". And then she went to sit in her seat. I then turned to Ms. Collins and apologized for any problems and hurt feelings that may have been caused, and she retorted back to me very coldly "Well you should be it caused a lot of hurt feelings". As if I really had said such an inflammatory thing and was just making my daughter lie about it. Needless to say I went back home and cried. Here was such a nice teacher who I had a good relationship with, now being snippy with me, and not understanding that I didn't say these things. Well life goes on, and then today I went to drop off the kids, and sure enuf the principal who usually is cheerful and talkative to me, is now very short and curt with me, but then the next mom walked in behind me and she was all happy and bubbly again. I don't understand it.

A - where did she hear such a horrible thing
B - Why are people so quick to suspect I'm lying after almost three years of being at the school, helping out, and doing 100X's more than any other parent in that school.

I'm seriously trying not to be racist or judgemental, but how could you not waiver on that subject a little when this happens? I feel like I want to pull the kids out of that school, and find a private or predominately white school for them to attend...maybe that will solve it. I just don't know what to do. I'm so embarrassed to show my face there anymore. Any help??