My beautiful, multiracial child is learning that a black man died under the knee of a white man. He is learning that hate can kill and being a bystander with power is a crime. He is learning that one police officer's choice does not reflect every police officer’a engagement in the community. He is being taught the importance of respect and justice at the same time.
He will learn his own family's history with race and ethnicity. He will one day see the name of his great-grandfather on the wall of the Japanese Internment Camp Memorial. He will be taught about the mass genocides against his native blood by his Spanish blood. He will learn about white privilege. He will understand the importance of standing up against oppression.
He will be made aware that he will never understand what it is like to walk in an African-American's shoes. He will learn that his ethnicity will never make him superior or less than anyone. And he will learn that he, like every human, was created in the image of God and is a gift to the universe.
I know one day my son will experience racism first hand based on the color of his skin and the shape of his eyes. My prayer is that he will never be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
My promise to him is that he will be taught to have love and compassion for all. He will have aunties, titos, tias, and unkies of all different races, genders, classes, sexual orientations, religions, political opinions, and ethnicities throughout his life. This exposure to people "different" than him will be key to teaching and learning acceptance, tolerance, and compassion.
Black lives matter! I will make the commitment to teach that to my child. Not because it is on the media, but because it is the right thing to do. As a family, we will stay open to learning and dedicated to supporting. I may not have the power to change everything I want right now for my friends and family who are hurting. But know this. I see you! I hear you! I cry with you! I am with you! And I do have the power to raise a non-racist man. Imagine the impact on this world if we all made that commitment now! 🌎
Live Moore! ~Nikki Moore