BÉATRICE DE GÉA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

By JENNIFER HARVEY

MARCH 14, 2017

DES MOINES — Last year at this time, my 7-year-old was running around singing the praises of George Washington. I was happy to see her so engaged with what she’d learned at school. But I was dismayed that the peace- and diversity-centered curriculum she gets at her public school had left her with such a one-dimensional view of history.

I struggled with how best to respond. Then one morning, she overhead the news on our kitchen radio about a politician charged with ethics violations. “What’s that about?” she asked.

I told her someone in the government had done something wrong, and she asked how an adult who was a leader could possibly do something bad.

“Unfortunately,” I responded, “a lot of our country’s leaders have done bad things.”

When her eyes grew big and she said, “Like who and what did they do?” I knew I had my opportunity.

“Well,” I said, “you know how you’ve been running around here celebrating George Washington? We always talk about George Washington fighting for freedom. But George Washington also owned black people as slaves.”

Her intrigue turned to horror.

Fast forward, one year. For those of us raising children, the future couldn’t be more on our minds. With the news full of reports about vandalized Jewish cemeteries and mosques on fire, police officers who terrorize and endanger black and Latino children, and engineers from India being shot while enjoying a meal after work, it’s tempting to shut off the radio, turn off the TV and cancel those news alerts on our cellphones. But it’s more critical than ever that we talk about difficult and morally complex issues with our children.

Of the many dangers this presidency poses, one of the greatest is deep damage to our children’s perceptions of race, gender and other kinds of difference. We know the youngest children internalize racist perceptions of themselves and others. As early as age 5, children recognize differential treatment and understand something about the social status of different racial groups, their own group and others.

These effects are powerful in normal times. In this political climate, they’re on steroids.

Meanwhile, studies have long shown that generic messages about equality aren’t effective in countering such racial socialization. Right now, then, it’s even more urgent that parents who rely on messages like “we’re all equal” or “we’re all the same underneath our skin” in the hope of teaching our children the values of inclusion, equality and difference significantly up our game. And let’s be frank, it’s parents of white children, like myself, who tend to rely on these sincere, but ineffective, strategies.

The consequences are serious. When we don’t talk honestly with white children about racism, they become more likely to disbelieve or discount their peers when they report experiencing racism. “But we’re all equal” becomes a rote response that actually blocks white children from recognizing or taking seriously racism when they see it or hear about it. This is at best.

At worst, the consequences are akin to what happens when you breathe in polluted air. Not realizing the pollution is there doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you. White children are exposed to racism daily. If we parents don’t point it out, show how it works and teach why it is false, over time our children are more likely to accept racist messages at face value. When they see racial inequality — when the only doctors or teachers they see are white, or fewer kids in accelerated classes are black, for example — they won’t blame racism. Instead, they’ll blame people of color for somehow falling short.

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children have long made thoughtful choices about when and how to engage in difficult and nuanced discussions about difference. Studies show that such parents are two to five times more likely than whites to teach their children explicitly about race from very young ages to counter negative social messages and build a strong sense of identity.

These parents have responded to the racial epithet overheard at recess in age-appropriate ways. They’ve figured out when to have “the talk,” explaining how their children must conduct themselves around police officers. They’ve had complex discussions about equality: “We should all be equal, we all have equal worth, but we don’t all experience equality yet.” Parents of children who are not white have long contemplated how to make their kids aware of painful racial realities in the United States, while simultaneously nurturing resilience and a healthy sense of self.

Those of us who are not immigrants or Muslim and who are raising white children stand to learn much from parents like these, even as we apply the teachings differently for our particular families.

For example, I’ve tried to go beyond the abstract “be kind to everyone” to encourage my children to recognize racial meanness and understand that white kids have a particular responsibility to challenge racism. These are necessary skills when the racism emboldened by this administration shows up in the world.

One-dimensional, generic teachings are tempting. They feel easier and safer. That’s the only reason my daughter’s school would settle for partial truths about George Washington. But raising children who are resilient for justice and able to do their part to create an inclusive society takes more, especially now. And it’s not as hard as it might seem.

After I told my daughter the whole story, she asked, “If Washington held slaves, why do we celebrate him as if he was such a great man?”

What a good question — one that allowed us to engage in moral reasoning together. I asked her what she thought the reason was. In turn I speculated that sometimes it’s hard to admit our white predecessors did bad things because it makes us feel bad. Then we talked about how we don’t have to just feel bad about the past but instead should find ways to challenge injustice today. We talked about the importance of telling the whole truth, even when it’s hard.

It’s always risky to tell other people how to raise their children, and I don’t want to imply that I’m some kind of perfect parent. On top of that, our children and families are all different and there are many distinct ways to have conversations about race with our children. But however we talk about it, we need to talk about racism now more than ever.

Jennifer Harvey, a professor of religion at Drake University, is the author of “Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation.”

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTOpinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827259)

YES! THIS IS MY MOMENT TO LIB OUT!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827321)

My kids' schools are the belly of the beast when it comes to shitlibbery, though, so I only relate in a sort of converse way.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827397)

Like how Washington owning slaves was "bad"

Bull fucking shit. It was normal and taught as OK by moral authorities.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827653)

Whether it was normal doesn't change that calculation.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32828277)

Wanton cruelty to your slaves was still bad though.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32834244)

By the way, the probability that the kid said that exact phrase is damn near 0.000%.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827610)

>good question

First off, yes, it's a good question for a 7 yo to ask. But if you're an adult and can't answer it, you're a FUCKING RETARD.

Also link to 7yo using "celebrate" correctly as a verb? And "held" for "own"? And "as if"?

This is very shitlib making up things-ish.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827643)

JFC women shouldn't be allowed to vote

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827288)

With the news full of reports about vandalized Jewish cemeteries ...

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827310)

She can have her OWN country, without George Washington.

SECESSION IS THE ONLY ANSWER.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827306)

- apparently the logical thing for the child to assume is the wrong thing. this is like ptolemus and his concoctions vs the more simple model of coppornicus. systemic persistent racism vs persistent iq gap.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827345)

France-Saudi Arabia = does not mix

Isn't there a little more nuance here? Not all pieces of a puzzle fit together as easily.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32834397)

CHILDREN ARE RATIONAL AND SMART AND HAVE A GOOD GRASP OF RUDIMENTARY STATISTICAL AND LOGICAL REASONING, WHICH WILL LEAD THEM TO CONCLUDE THAT BLACKS HAVE CERTAIN QUALITIES THAT DISADVANTAGE THEM IN THE MODERN SOCIETY. WE NEED TO TELL CHILDREN THEY'RE WRONG AND COUNTER THEIR BUDDING POWER OF REASON.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827383)

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

We have better models. Parents of black and Latino children...

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32827681)

I'm sure those are very nuanced and thoughtful discussions.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32829762)

Oh, what a model!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32830627)

Looks like some trannny freak too

http://www.drake.edu/philrel/faculty/jenniferharvey/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32828180)

Bachelor of Arts, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA, December 1992

Oh, what a scholar!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32830647)

Anyhow, I don't think there's anything wrong with the article. That sort of American Myth teaching is a bit silly, and any kid can go on the internet and learn that Thomas Jefferson had a thing for the sistas.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32828472)

Most people understand that. Except shitlibs now, who want to foist current morals on everyone over time and ignore historical context.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32828662)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32829767)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtAZ-2xT3q4

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32829835)

I wasn't "raised" a racist, I have an innate dislike of black bodies. I was repulsed by the musky, animal odor of black bodies long before I knew of its source.

JIGABOO, JIGABOO

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32830157)

Seven year olds do not talk like this.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32833592)

Also, woman ashamed of whiteness lives in Des Moines...How can she stand herself being somewhere so homogeneous? Get her to live in Chicago at the very least.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3552840&forum_id=2#32833936)