Parent Should Be Teaching Their Children About Racism

Eighty-eight percent. In 2018, that was the amount of police stops involving just Black citizens; out of that percentage, 70% of them ended up being completely innocent, yet were still pulled over and in some cases abused by the police. Furthermore, police brutality is the leading cause of death for African American men in the United States, said an article NetImpact.com. Whether we’d like to admit this unfortunate reality to ourselves or not, black citizens are being discriminated against on a day-to-day basis. Especially for something that is fully out of their control.

To this day racism still has a shockingly large presence in our country and isn’t going anywhere if something doesn’t change. According to a recent study done by the Pew Research Center, in school systems 55% of all African American college students reported race-related struggles while in school. The almost daily occurrence of racial discrimination against black people should not be something parents tip-toe around and avoid talking to their children about. 

Altering mindsets about races other than our own begins at home from a young age. The way that parents influence their children, has a substantial impact on how the future generation will grow up to view other people. Parents need to teach their children that we are all human regardless of race. But, for most parents, teaching their kids about such a serious topic, while still young, can be a little unnerving. However, there are ways for kids to learn, so it organically forms the way children’s opinions. Just like you would teach them to not play near the stove and to say please and thank you. You can also teach them about the sad reality of racism and what they can do to help.

UNICEF says, there are different ways to talk to your kids depending on their age. For example, for children under 5 years old you can begin to recognize and celebrate other people’s differences. At such a young age, parents have the opportunity to create the world view for their kids. 

For children between the ages 6-11 they tend to want more answers and are eager to learn. So with them, be curious and let them discuss all their feelings in an open conversation.

And finally, for kids who are 12 years old and older. Just continue to have the conversation with them and encourage action. Racism isn’t just going to magically go away, even if every parent properly educates their kids. They need to take action and stand up for what is right. And together we can make society a better and more inclusive place for absolutely everyone.

 

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8 thoughts on “Parent Should Be Teaching Their Children About Racism

  1. Hi Alex,
    I wanted to say I really liked your editorial and agreed with your opinion wholeheartedly! You gave this difficult topic the respect and attention it deserves. I thought the evidence you cited was great and really backed up your argument. Anyway, I enjoyed reading your piece, thanks for writing it!
    – Julia J

  2. Hi Alex-
    I don’t really disagree with your claim, but I think some of the statistics you used were either misleading, false, or didn’t actually show racism. You started your editorial by saying that 88% of police stops involved black citizens, but you left out some important information. If you press on the link you attached to that stat, it actually says 88% of police stops involved black AND latinx citizens. It also says that this is just talking about New York City. This isn’t necessarily surprising considering that black and latinx Americans make up a sizable percentage of New York’s residents- 53% (US Census). This is a major difference from what you originally said. And it’s not necessarily racism because African Americans and Latinos are getting pulled over 88% of the time- it just means police are doing there job. Police are supposed to keep us safe, so by pulling people over- despite there race- they are just doing what there supposed to. You also stated that “police brutality is the leading cause of death in African american men in the United States”- this is completely untrue. According to an article by USA today, only 13 unarmed African Americans were shot and killed by police in 2019. This is certainly not the leading cause of death in African Americans. In fact, according to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death in African Americans- not police brutality. So in conclusion, my issue was not with your call to action, but with how many of your stats and quotes were misleading and not actually showing apparent racism in America. I hope this isn’t seen as me trying to be mean, I just thought I needed to point out what I thought.

    1. Billy reading this comment brought up many good points. I admire how much research you put into this.
      -Connor

    2. Dear Billy. I agree with your comment,I like how you used facts and from trustworthy sites to prove your point. This comment also has a lot of evidence. Good comment Billy.
      Sincerly-will

  3. Dear Alex,
    I agree with your statement wholeheartedly but some of the statistics you used were misleading if you didn’t click on the links and do further research on the topic. Teaching people how to be anti-racist and deal with racism in schools is a better approach(in my opinion) then saying that parents should teach children about racism. The reason being is if parents are not educated on racism or are racist then they would pass those racist ways onto their children most likely causing them to be racist, so if the school system made a curriculum teaching people how to be anti-racist and deal with racism is a better approach. I myself am not a person of color so I never have experienced racism before so I can never understand the experiences of racism.
    -Griffin

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