And, yes, it can feel scary to talk to your kids about racism. As Cory put it, “I don’t want to tell my 7-year-old that Santa doesn’t exist.”
And yet, for Cheyenne, the alternative can be even more terrifying.
“We have the conversations in our household much younger, especially with the boys,” she shared. “My nephew is 5, and we’re talking to him about stuff right now because he has to understand the differences. He’s been put in situations where it’s like, ‘No you can’t do this, because this could happen.'”
Among the anecdotes they’ve shared is the time a cousin played a relatively harmeless game of ding-dong ditch (as in, ring a nearby doorbell, runaway and revel in your childhood prank).
“She was the only Black one out of all of her white friends,” said Cheyenne, “and she’s the one that the cops got upset with. She had to understand, you don’t have the same privileges and this is why. Unfortunately, we have to have these tougher conversations a lot sooner. And I wish that it wasn’t like that, but that’s just the reality.”