Read on Twitter
Fellow white parents: talk with your kids about racism and racist violence.
They are not too young. It’s like talking about gender or privacy. You can do it at any age.
If you’ve talked with them about #covid19, you can absolutely talk with them about racist violence.
They are not too young. It’s like talking about gender or privacy. You can do it at any age.
If you’ve talked with them about #covid19, you can absolutely talk with them about racist violence.
We’ve been pushing ourselves to talk about racism with our daughter since she was about 2.
We thought about our black neighbors (also parents) and tried to talk about race and whiteness as frequently as we imagined they might. I’m sure it was still far less.
We thought about our black neighbors (also parents) and tried to talk about race and whiteness as frequently as we imagined they might. I’m sure it was still far less.
Last night, we talked about George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery with our 6yr old. She burst into tears. We kept talking, calmly.
Then she said, “when I think of a robber, I think of a black man.” Gulp. So we talked about where that idea comes from and why it’s wrong and dangerous.
Then she said, “when I think of a robber, I think of a black man.” Gulp. So we talked about where that idea comes from and why it’s wrong and dangerous.
We talked about Amy Cooper. We talked about how to not become an Amy Cooper. We talked together about ways we could proactively love and respect black men and black people, and how we could push ourselves to reject the ways we’ve been taught not to.
None of this is to say we’re good at this. We aren’t. But we know we have to be proactively talking about race and racism if we want to have a chance at raising an anti-racist kid.
If you aren’t sure where to start, check out @consciouskidlib.
If you aren’t sure where to start, check out @consciouskidlib.
You can also take small actions together. Make a family donation to @MNFreedomFund. Put the phone on speaker and call the MN DA. Make a colorful sign to put in your window (maybe your kid made a “thank you delivery people” one?) that talks about the need for justice.
Normalize the idea that you, as a white family, might fight for justice. If you have a daughter, like me, you’ve probably been equipping her w messages and tools to fight gender discrimination. Do the same re whiteness and racism. Imperfectly. All the time. You can do it.
