Cyndi Morris,
Los Gatos, CA.
I’m a White mom of a Black son, living in an overwhelmingly white neighborhood.
I struggle against my in adequate education on race in America. I’m sure I stumble as I guide my son toward valuing everything about himself, including his African American heritage.
I have known that I need to have an ongoing conversation with him about how to stay safe in our country – how to behave during a traffic stop, how to act with those with authority.
But, this verdict makes me consider what I need to teach him about how to survive an encounter with any strange White adult man. I wonder how to teach him to balance protecting himself from predators while also being “unthreatening” enough to escape the notice of vigilantes, and I despair at the need for this.
I don’t even know how to begin…
