Oklahoma 2Gether: Talking to children about race

Oklahoma 2Gether: Talking to children about race

MERGING WITH JUNETEENTHCELEBRATIONS LAST MONTH.THAT'S PROBABLY SPARKED ALOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITHYOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY..MAYBE EVEN SOME HEALTHY --OR UNHEALTHY -- DEBATES.BUT THERE IS ONE GROUP WHOMIGHT BE EXPERIENCING ALL OFTHIS FOR THE FIRST TIME.LITTLE EYES WATCHING EVENTSUNFOLD ON TELEVISION.

LITTLEEARS HEARING CHANTS ORRACIAL SLURS.

I'M TALKINGABOUT OUR CHILDREN.

THISMORNING..

WE'RE STARTING ATWO-PART CONVERSATION WITH ADIVERSE GROUP OF PARENTS --SOCIALLY DISTANCED -- AND APROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR --ABOUT HOW TO TALK TO YOURKIDS ABOUT RACE..SPECIFICALLY BLACK SKIN ANDWHITE SKIN.

HERE'S SOME OFOUR DISCUSSION.TRAVIS: Teaching your kidsnot to see color - it's kindof specious.

Because a lotof people say, 'I don't seecolor' and they mean that asa good thing.

Is that a goodthing to not see color andwhy would you want to seecolor?

Lamar Guillory /African American father toAfrican American sons U+20288:11:17-34U+2028 "Oursociety, in the way it's setup, is going to force you tocheck a box." KelliMcLoud-Schingen / AfricanAmerican mother to biracialchildrenU+2028 8:13:47..8:13:56 "We know that kidssee color .

.

.

When theydraw us all, I'm alwaysbrown.

They never draw mewhite.

They never draw mepink.

They never draw meorange.

They draw me as abrown person."U+2028U+2028Leonard Shepherd /Professional CounselorU+20281:18:10-19-32 "Then youraise up a child that willinteract with otherindividuals on the premisethat 'I don't see you.

Whatmakes you unique and whatmakes you difference is notimportant.'

We don't reallylearn to appreciate oneanother.'"U+2028 1:33:17-30"To say to a child, 'I don'tsee color.'

You want to stayaway from things like thatbecause it kind of justdismisses it a little bit.They see it.

And that's whywe need to talk aboutit."U+2028U+20288:14:13-41U+2028 "Whatmatters is what informationthey hold around that color.What experiences do theyhold around that color?

Whathas somebody told them aboutthat color?

Because they seethe color, right?

That'sjust a fact.

But how theyexperience it is going to bethe most important thing.So, we as parents, have tobe intentional to make surethat the experiences theyhave around certain peopleor groups of people arepositive ones." Jo Lein /White mom to white children8:13:30 U+2028 "(We need to)recognize that just becauseyou had one experience withone black person doesn'tmean that that is all blackpeople.

And that needs toacnst,R CONVERSATION...WHETHER IT'S BEST FORPARENTS TO INITIATECONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE..OR IF THEY SHOULD LET THEIRCHILDREN EXPERIENCE IT ONTHEIR OWN AND THEN ADDRESSIT.THE