I try to stay away from controversy on my little baking blog.
I have a philosophy… it’s silly I know. But I believe that we can all unite over cake. No matter your beliefs or views or politics, we can all come together and celebrate with a beautiful and delicious cake.
When I heard that there was a controversy over a Cheerios commercial, I was deeply saddened.
After seeing the commercial, I literally had no idea what the controversy even was! In case you are as blissfully naive as I am, the issue was race.
Some people were upset that the husband was black and the wife was white and that they had an interracial child.
Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”
I don’t want to be a part of the appalling silence anymore.
After reading some of the awful comments people have made, it’s clear to see that their minds are not going to be changed through some brief internet interactions. I am never going to argue someone into seeing my perspective.
Instead, what I do want to focus on is solutions.
This cake is simple. Overly simple some might say, but that was intentional.
I feel like the solution is simple.
Teach love.
I can certainly make sure that I am raising intelligent, well-mannered and considerate young people who understand that our inherent value is not based on appearance.
Simple.
I can model the behavior that I want to see in them. I hope that my children will see in me a love for others, regardless of physical appearance. I hope that they will remain blissfully ignorant of the pain and destruction caused by prejudice and racism for many, many more years.
Maybe we can all make a simple cake for someone you love!
Now. Do you want to know how I really feel about segregation?
Ahem.
Just in case you want to make your own Cheerios Cake here is what I did:
Make the perfect white cake in two 8-in rounds and the best chocolate cake in two 8-in rounds.
I then whipped up a batch of chocolate buttercream to cover the cake. There is no frosting between the layers.
Using Chocolate Cheerios, I spelled out the word “love”. For the individual slice, I just poured some more Chocolate Cheerios over the top to add some texture and depth of flavor.
Teach love. Amen, sister. Beautifully said! And beautifully pictured.
I’m biracial, adopted by white parents. I was raised in a very diverse area and didn’t encounter very many ignorant or hateful people. I knew I was part black, people around me knew I was part black, but it wasn’t a big deal. I just want to say that there are a lot of people in a lot of places who don’t let things like race or color get in the way. There IS hope for the human race.
Also, that little girl is adorable! Like my mom always says, brown babies are cuter 🙂
Also, I don’t even separate my laundry by color. (but that’s just cuz I’m lazy)
Yep! Super post. Thanks for speaking up!
While I am saddened to hear that there were people who took issue with this commercial, I love your response AND I love this cake! Good for you for speaking out! I will be sharing this with my friends. : )
You rock, girlfriend.
Thank you for the awesome commentary. I already enjoyed your blog, but now I know much more about the kind of person you are and it makes me feel good to be in your “virtual” company. Your cakes and recipes are not the only inspiration I can gleen from your website.
I loved the commercial and I’m going to love this cake when I bake it this weekend…
It is ridiculous what people cause a stink over these days. I loved this commercial when I first saw it and was surprised by the controversy. Your words gave me chills. Great use of quotes (I’m a quote freak!). I couldn’t agree more.
Wonderfully said! What a gift we give our children when we raise them with open minds and open hearts. And I love your sentiment about not being able to argue someone into accepting your point of view (if only more people understood that…)! Thank you for sharing!
The only thing you can say to someone who clicks the X and vows never to return is……..good riddance to bad rubbish. And the only thing anyone should see when watching the commercial is an adorable little girl who’s worried about her Dad.