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.
Well said!!!! Love everything about the cake!!! 🙂 thank you for sharing!
Amen sister!!! Love you article today!!
Amanda~
What a beautiful and classy post! Thanks for standing up and speaking your mind.
Mary Kay
Amanda,
You are the loveliest of lovely people. I applaud you and your courage in tackling tough issues in such a beautiful way.
xoxo
Thank you for this, for saying something. We all need to stand up and be counted. Off to buy Cheerios.
I really think it’s fantastic of you to have made this post. I help teach a university level class on race in America and I really think people looking the other way or keeping quietly to themselves has helped perpetuate what is just such a silly (yet still very powerful) division in our culture. My students are always shocked to learn that most of the immigrants in our class say they never knew they were “black” or “white” until they got to America. People like you, who are brave enough to post things like this, can really spark wonderful discussion and realization.
So thank you!
When my two-year-old saw your cake, she exclaimed, “Cereal cake! Yum!” And then started singing, “Jesus said love everyone, treat them kindly too. When your heart is filled with love, others will love you,” in her broken toddler-talk way. And I almost cried because how could she know that’s the heart of what you wrote here? Thanks for this post and for giving me that sweet moment.
I ADORE this comment. Give your sweet little girl a big hug from me!
While I LOVE the Cheerios commercial, I won’t purchase their cereal because of their flagrant hypocrisy. They pretend they’re a family brand, but serve our children harmful GMO ingredients. Poisoning our kids isn’t pro-family.
I am also not a fan of GMO, and sad to hear about their support of it.
Love this cake. Love the commercial! I, too, am taken by surprise with the controversy. My family’s best friends are that commercial! Thank you for your post and I am going to buy a few boxes of cheerios today!
Well said Amanda! Ok, I must be living under a rock because when I clicked on the commercial on your blog I thought the “controversy” was going to be over Cheerios making the claim that is “heart healthy”. The fact that it was over the race of the actors never crossed my mind….
I seriously don’t understand people…. and the ones who were objecting to this commercial? I truly pity them – it must be awful to go through life with so much hatred in your heart…