The following video addresses both sensitive and difficult topics. To be clear:  there is no easy or right answer. But of all the school communities, it is ours who should talk about this. The most important thing is to have the conversations - today and always. And realize that our individual perspectives are not the experience of others. Listening, and learning, is essential to moving forward. 

It is for these very beliefs that we are offering this perspective and these resources. Please read / watch with an open mind - our diversity is our strength, and doesn’t mean we always get it right. The approach to teaching our children about the role and nature of police highlights these different experiences. While some parents are able to equate the police to safety and helpfulness, we must recognize that comes from significant privilege. Other parents are very often having an entirely different conversation with their children -- they teach to be wary and cautious, at best. As with all of this, there are experiences with varying degrees of each of these two approaches. 

So these are the conversations that we all can and should have. With our children and our friends. With our communities and with our government. We know that this video cannot replace a conversation. But we hope it is one step among many on a path toward a shared, better future of equity and justice. 

Resources:

• Education about Black Lives Matter 
   
• National Museum of African American History and Culture
   
• Books for Families of all ages
   
• Raising Race Conscious Children

  • The goals of these conversations are to dismantle the color-blind framework and prepare young people to work toward racial justice.