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A different kind of education: Black parents in the USA run "The Talk" with their children from an early age. A conversation about racism, police violence and lack of equal opportunities.
By Katharina Wilhelm, ARD Studio Los Angeles
"Black people in this country are taught that they have to be twice or three times as good to achieve something. We are always closely monitored," says Aric Lewis. He can still remember what it was like when his parents started talking about racism. About the fact that as a black American he doesn't have the same chances compared to whites in the United States. "We are always aware that people see us as 'different'. It is a burden that you learn to live with," he says.
Lewis lives in Long Beach, California. The late thirties is a cutter for film and TV series. During his college days in Indiana, he met people who had never met a black person before.
In the United States there is a special term for this conversation between children and their parents: "The Talk". Black children are educated at the age of six or even earlier. About the fact that it would be better not to conflict with the police and, if you put your hands up, you have to be calm and friendly. The risk: violence or even death - parents discuss this with their children.
A video, which is currently being shared a thousand times on social media, gives black children a chance to explain how they would deal with police officers in critical situations: "Be extra polite when you speak to the police, including teachers, people in positions of power, because they have the opportunity to make your life more difficult, "it says.
Official statistics show that blacks are the majority of those killed by police violence.
"The Talk" is therefore part of everyday life for black families. The fact that many white people know little or nothing about it is also due to the fact that white parents simply do not have to talk to their children about it, says Jelani Memory from Portland: "Typically, white people do not talk to their children about racism. For black parents, this is essential, also because the children will be confronted with it at some point, in childcare, at school. Black children are very quickly aware of their status and skin color. "
After the violent death of black George Floyd, many protests against racism and police violence broke out in the United States.
Memory wrote a book about it: "A Kids Book About Racism" - a children's book about racism for children aged five and over. He came up with the idea as a black father of six children, he says. "Children usually don't have as many problems with it as you would think. Most of the time it is not uncomfortable for the children, but for the adults to talk about it." His book wants to give them the words with which to start the conversation.
The author's recommendation: be honest and name things specifically, provide context for children. They would quickly ask the right questions. He also spoke to his children about the current demonstrations: "My children quickly understood that it is not okay to kill someone. Especially when this person is unarmed. Their reaction was grief and then anger. And so you can then explain to them why there are protests and even riots. "
Film editor Lewis also has a child - a three-year-old daughter. He is already talking to her about topics such as injustice, and probably soon also about racism and the police, he says. Even if it makes him sad: "Unfortunately, I'm sure to take some of her childhood away from her. But I have to prepare her for the world and what she has in store for people who look like her."
