White Baby Black Parents

20th July 2010: The world watches in shock as news breaks of a white baby born to black parents in South London this week. You might happily be able to say, finally, that skin colour is only skin deep. No matter what your skin colour, you are still a human being.

Which leads us to ask: What is it that makes all humans the same? If it is not skin colour, then it must be something else. Someone has wisely observed that all humans have the same colour blood when their skin is cut open, that all humans cry tears when hurt or broken, that all humans feel passion or emotion, have needs and capacities, seek to be loved and are capable of fulfillment.

All human beings are gifted with reason, memory, emotion, desire, consciousness, love, knowledge, choice, and so on. These powers or capacities constitute our human nature. This is what it means to be human.