Hey buddy,
2020 has been unlike any other year I have been alive. First, the coronavirus struck and subsequently the world as we know it was shut down. This has devastated the economy and left most of us wondering when/if/how we will come out of this.
Then on May 25, 2020 a black man named George Floyd was killed by a white police officer while being arrested. The whole thing was caught on video and was horrifying to watch. I couldn't watch the whole thing. George was choked by the officer who was kneeling on his neck. The video got out and the whole country (and much of the world) was horrified. People began marching in the streets and protesting, holding signs and chanting about the injustices that they have experienced or witnessed in the world.
You and Maximus have grown up knowing and loving people of color, some of whom are your family. You have often noted their different skin tones, but its always been sort of a side note/observation and hasn't really warranted much conversation. Dad and I may have been remiss up to this point because we have never really talked to you directly about racism. But as the events following Floyd's death unfolded, I felt like the most tangible and necessary thing we could do was to have some discussion within our family about this very difficult issue. We ordered children's books on slavery, segregation and Martin Luther King. We spent the week reading through them together and you and Maximus were both very interested and asked a lot of questions. You seemed excited by what MLK did and said. Still, it felt like an abstract concept for a 6 year old.
Then last week I picked you up from grammy and paps'. As we were leaving, the maintenance man from their complex stopped by and started going on about how he was quitting his job there. During his rant he used language and talked about people of color in a way that made me cringe. It was some of the most overt racism I have personally experienced and he did it right there in front of my kids. I didn't know how to effectively confront the man so instead we just got up and left. Once we got in the car I talked to you guys about what we just experienced. I told you that it was an example of racism. You kind of cut me off and said, "why do we still have to talk about this!?" I thought you were annoyed by having to have a serious conversation and I said, "because it is important that we talk about it. What that man said was wrong." And you said, "No, I mean, why are we still talking about this?!? Martin Luther King fought for this a long time ago so why is it still happening?" You seemed genuinely perplexed and also so very wise.
On the drive home we just so happened to drive through a neighborhood protest where people were holding signs and waving at cars as we drove past. They were black and white people and they had signs saying things like, "The answer is LOVE." We honked and waved and cheered with them.
All of that happened within about a 20 minute period. It was intense but I think it was a really great way for you and Maximus to see the impact of racism first hand so that you are better prepared to be champions against it as you grow.
