The past few weeks have been a living history for our children. Watching the protesters and police clash, they have become witnesses. This deep dive into America requires explanation from parents. Our kids might study racism in school, but it is parents who are needed now.
Our fundamentally separate experiences need adults who can provide context right now. The Rev. Cathlin Baker and her daughter shared history this past week. Together they witnessed the protest at Five Corners. Immersed in history, her daughter will remember this day for the rest of her life. History is no longer pages in textbooks. With clear eyes, she witnesses history. Moreover, those grandparents who lived through the ’60s and watched Watts burn, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the beating of the Freedom Riders — this generation also has much to teach.
“Sesame Workshop” on public television found in 2019 that more than 63 percent of parents rarely or never talk about race or ethnicity with their children. Books by African American authors provide an excellent first-person perspective. One alphabet book, “A is for Activist,” can be heard on YouTube for free. Slightly older readers should read “Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice.” Written by three psychologists, Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, each provides a guide for discussion appropriate for kids.
Finally, an important new book, “White Kids,” is written by Margaret Hagerman. For two years Hagerman embedded herself in an all-white, upper-middle-class, Midwestern city. She attended church, family dinners, and classes. What she discovered is that children segregated have an incomplete outlook on both history and privilege. One 11-year-old girl told Hagerman, “Racism is not a problem anymore … Racism was a problem when all those slaves were around and that, like, bus thing, and the water fountain. I mean, everything was crazy back in the olden days … But now, I mean since Martin Luther King and, like Eleanor Roosevelt, and how she went on the bus. And she was African American and sat on the white part … After the 1920s and all that, things changed.” Even her mother sitting next to her was proud of her daughter’s knowledge. What Hagerman discovered is that children segregated by race and class had a very limited perspective of life for children of color today. Not only were their historical timelines riddled with errors, their facts too were muddled. Schools can teach about events in history, but it requires parents to witness history with their children.
As we approach June 19 this summer, we have an opportunity to teach some history. Juneteenth is celebrated as a state holiday in all but four states. Ironically, Minnesota was the fourth state to designate it a holiday. On this day in 1865, the Union Army marched into Galveston, Texas, to liberate the last enslaved people in the Southern states. Most white children have never celebrated this holiday. This year, with schools closed, parents can take time to share the story of Jubilee — the true Independence Day for all Americans. By sharing moments of our diverse history in the U.S., we can share moments of past and present. Don’t forget to barbecue and sing.