James Mcleod’s Incredible Journey: Embracing Vitiligo and Inspiring Others
There are billions of people on this earth and no one is the same. We are all born with different characteristics, personalities, and family backgrounds that influence the course of our lives.
But standing out from the crowd by your appearance is unfortunately not accepted by everyone. When a person needs love and support, we all too often hear how instead of receiving that, they receive insults from the people around them.
James Mcleod knows exactly how that feels. As he grew up, his peers called him the “zebra boy”. James was born with vitiligo, which creates various white spots on his dark skin throughout his body. Now, as an adult, he wants to spread awareness about this disease that too many people have negative prejudices about.
Different from the others
No other peers looked like him. When he was just 18 months old, he was diagnosed with a condition that would change everything. As he grew up in the big city of New York, many people turned and looked at him skeptically as he walked down the street.
Vitiligo
James was born with the disease vitiligo, which means his dark skin also has light patches. “With vitiligo, you get white spots on the skin and sometimes white hairs. This is due to a lack of pigment. Vitiligo can be found in one or more places on the body and is not contagious,” writes 1177 on its website.
Bullied and ridiculed at school
But even though everyone knew James couldn’t help it, that didn’t stop his classmates from being mean. It didn’t take long for him to be known at school as the “Zebra Boy” because of the white spots on his body. Spots covered his entire body, and a white stripe on his face caused his classmates to mock and point at him in the hallways.
“I was a beautiful black baby”
“I was diagnosed with vitiligo when I was 18 months old. Until then, my skin was one color. I was a beautiful black baby,” he told the British Daily Mail. “When I was 18 months old, my mother noticed a small white spot on my face. The spot gradually grew and spread over one side of my face, leaving that side completely white.”
“She took me to a doctor who diagnosed vitiligo. Doctors believe that in some cases, vitiligo can have a genetic component. My sister has a small white spot on her leg.”
“Confronting the monster”
“As a child, bullied and excluded at school, one day I came home and decided I didn’t want to cry anymore, I didn’t want to be afraid of people,” he said. “I forced myself to look in the mirror and confront the ‘monster.’ And when I did, I began to realize how beautiful I was.”
Dream and ambition
He has written several children’s books and is determined to spread more awareness about the disease. His big dream and ambition are that no one, regardless of age, who has vitiligo, has to go through what he went through. Standing out should not mean being bullied – you should be respected and accepted for who you are.
“What an amazing inspiration and role model you are, James! We wish you all the best! You can now also follow us on Instagram for more good stories, photos, and videos.”
