“The Talk”: How Parents Protect Their Black Children from Racism

“It’s so ironic how Black children are so easily stereotyped as threatening when they are so often bullied by systems that are supposed to help them,” says Andre Dukes, Senior Director of Collective Impact – Early Childhood at the Northside Achievement Zone. In this week’s important Mom Enough episode, he discusses the necessity of "the talk," which he describes as Black parents, or parents of Black children, “preparing their children to enter into this world where they are unfairly judged and stereotyped.”   “The Talk” is not a new concept; it has roots in times of slavery when parents had to teach their children how to survive in a dangerously racist world. As Dukes says, the goal of “The Talk” is “to keep children alive in a world where whiteness is the standard by which all people are measured.” He shares personal reflections, gives tips for protecting Black children's innocence while making them aware of the dangers they face due to racism, and calls on all parents, regardless of race, to teach their children empathy and the importance of standing up when they see injustice. Tune in to hear the wisdom and critical insights of a leading parenting expert in Minneapolis, Andre Dukes.     WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT “THE TALK” AND RAISING EMPATHIC CHILDREN IN THIS EPISODE?   How are you raising your children to be aware of systemic racism and injustice? What will you do differently to ensure your children are empathetic and prepared to be an ally who speaks up when they see injustice? How will you raise your awareness of your own bias?   WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RACISM OR RAISING EMPATHETIC CHILDREN? ❉ MOTHERHOOD SO WHITE: A DISCUSSION ON RACE, ADOPTION, AND PARENTING IN TODAY’S WORLD. What can a mother do when she doesn’t see herself in the pages of parenting books? Or when the resources don’t address her greatest concerns? As a single Black woman who chose to become a mother through adoption, author Nefertiti Austin took to writing her own experiences in her critically acclaimed memoir, Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender and Parenting in America. Tune into this poignant episode of Mom Enough.   ❉ NURTURING YOUR CHILD’S EMPATHY, INFANCY TO ADULTHOOD. In this episode of Mom Enough, Dr. Megan Gunnar, professor in the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, joins Marti & Erin to discuss early signs of empathy in infancy, the growing capacity for compassionate empathy in the toddler period, and simple, practical ways parents can encourage and expand children’s empathy in everyday interactions at every stage.