One of the most common reasons people give for not talking to their children about activism and social justice is wanting to protect their “innocence.” Here’s the deal… white supremacists are not protecting their children’s “innocence.” They are teaching them very early on what to think and what to believe, so we might think we’re doing our children a favor by not telling them the realities of this world, we’re giving the next generation of white supremacy a headstart.
White supremacists have always indoctrinated their children from the womb. Whether it was taking them to lynchings where they ate lunch and watched as Black people were killed by hanging, or taking them to white nationalist events. People love to say that children aren’t born racist but if they go home from the hospital with racist, what do you think they will become in the end?
Nurture matters. I wonder how many children will receive this MAGA: BUILD THE WALL set for Christmas. How many children will sit down with their parents and work on building a fictional wall that focuses on all the people who are different being kept out? And they’ll take those experiences and beliefs with them out of the house.
Will your kid be ready to stand up to the white supremacist in training? Or will they have no idea why someone would say something like this to them or their friends at all? Protecting your children’s innocence is really just leaving them ignorant. Worse… it gives the next generation of white supremacy a head start.
Raising carefree innocent children does not mean raising them to be ignorant of the world. Your children can’t be free of respectability politics if they don’t even know the box they’re refusing to be placed inside. Raising children who are knowledgeable of the history and realities of this world does not take away their innocence. It empowers them.
Read your children books about the history of our country. And not just any books, read them the books that show people fighting back and refusing to accept the status quo. If they’re white, tell them the truth about what white people have done in this country and how important it is for them to grow up and tear down the system. If they’re part of a marginalized group, tell them the truth about their ancestors.
The next generation of white supremacy is already in training. If we’re going to fight back, we need to get started now.
