I think this is very sad.

Or maybe you could explain it to her gently without upsetting her further by making her feel that she's done something wrong.

Many years ago I was going to pick up my elder son from school taking his younger brother with me. We passed a house where there was a young black child playing in the front garden and my son said "I don't like that little boy." When I asked why he said he didn't look nice. I suppose these days the authorities would have been called in for him having made a racist remark. I, on the other hand, simply explained that he was only a little boy like my son but came from a very hot country where everyone was that colour. Explanation was accepted and nothing more was said. You may not be surprised to learn that as an adult he has colleagues and friends of all nationalities.

I mentioned a film I enjoyed with Whoopi Goldberg in it, the person I was talking to said "I couldn't watch her she's too ugly...and she's black" and this from a reasonably educated, so it seemed, woman in her fifties. Mind you, my husband did say to me, has she ever looked in the mirror! My colleague had the most awful teeth!

Re what little children say. last time I was in California my grandson who is about 10 said that I had better sit down. I asked why. "Because I think you are very old" "Really? Why do you think so". He thought about it for a while and then came close to me and stared in my face. "Hm" he said, "I am almost sure!" Well, the "almost" was at least a bonus.

My mum has always explained people I might not know by their so called weak points. That man with the awful teeth/ that child with the hair/that woman who speaks badly... I just wait for it and this isn't just in later years. I had a big argument with her once (and we don't do arguing) when she slagged my potential son in law off for having long hair, he was Australian and the sweetest chap who loved my daughter, very intelligent , had great job etc but looked like so many of them in oz. loved his surfing and his down time but had a professional life as well but all she could see was the hair!

I was once visiting someone in Hull, where a large family of black people lived opposite. A little boy of about 4 from that family stood outside and shouted at me "clear off you black b.....d! "
The poor kid had probably been called that.