A childhood belief about skin

I used to believe that black people were black because there's too much sun in Africa. I watched a Discovery Channel program on climate and they talked about how much hotter Africa is than the United States, so I figured everybody black, having roots in Africa, was sunburned, and it even passed down to their children. Whenever my mom pestered me about how much I needed sunblock at the beach, I didn't worry that much because I would just become a black person! When my mom kept insisting I wear sunblock, that made me think that my mom didn't like black people, or at least didn't want me to be black. I pretty much held this belief until my mom explained that the sun can give you cancer, and THEN I thought all black people had cancer! She eventually learned everything I believed and set everything straight. Thank goodness.