In addition to comforting your children, Ali states it’s critical to “tell them the absolute truth,” when discussing police trauma, violence and racism. “Here’s the thing. There’s a lot of Whites [who] would like to believe this is a post racial society. There’s also a lot of Blacks [who] believe this is a post racial society. When in reality, it’s safe to say a 3-year-old today won’t even see a post racial society. There’s too much work to be done.”
“So, while as parents our natural reaction is to protect our children from the ugly truth, children eventually grow up to learn the truth themselves. We truly only serve them when we are being honest: this is our history, this is the current situation and this is what racism is…”
“Of course, growing up in diverse situations [for example, a mix friends at school] makes it difficult for them to process. They may come back like ‘well wait a minute this is my friend and we like each other.’ But at that point, it’s your responsibility to provide them with a broader example of racism,” continued Ali. “It’s for their own good.”
Ali added, “It [knowing about racism] used to be important because well, ‘it’s your history’ but now knowing your history can save your life.”
While this is just the foundation of an ongoing discussion, your bravery to begin it will plant a seed – one that may very well change our future.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King Jr.