Black Lives Matter - June 2020

“So what did you guys think of the protest?” I ask our kiddos as we buckle up to drive home from Lakeview Commons.

“It was great,” Michael, our 10-year-old, responds.

“I suppose in some ways it was great, Buddy. What else?”

“It was surprising how many people were there, more than I thought.”

“I thought that it was good too,” Jane, our 9-year-old, says. “I liked the chants and being there with everyone and I’m glad it wasn’t a violent protest.”

“Yeah,” Michael adds, “Black people are dying because of the color of their skin.  It’s a serious problem.”

“It’s true,” I say. “It is a serious problem. The way that our society looks at and treats black people, and really anyone who isn’t white, isn’t fair and is sometimes really dangerous and can kill them.”

“Like George Floyd,” Michael says.

“Right.”

Wifey and I have been having some really constructive and uncomfortable conversations with our kids about the Black Lives Matter protests, about riots and violence, about their privilege and opportunities compared to other people, and about this moment in history. It’s not always easy, but it feels like the right thing to do.

“Why are they burning things and hurting people?” Jane asks while watching the news.

Wifey pauses the TV and looks at Jane, “Well honey, some people are not there for the right reasons and are taking advantage of the protests and doing bad things.”

“Why?”

“Lots of reasons. Some people are angry. But they might also be hungry or want to steal things because they haven’t had a job for so long now.”

The former history teacher in me can’t resist jumping in, “Our country was actually founded in part because of rioting. The American colonists rioted against the British. Did you learn about the Boston Tea Party in school?”

“I did,” Michael says.

“Cool. Throughout our history we’ve rioted, the Whiskey Rebellion, John Brown’s uprising to arm slaves that helped spark the Civil War. So much of our nation is founded in the idea of insurrection and resistance when things aren’t right. And sometimes it gets violent.”

“Peaceful is better though,” Wifey says.

“Yes,” I quickly agree.

We all sit quietly for a while with Lester Holt paused on the television staring over us. Wifey is about to hit play when Jane asks, “How do we fix the problem?”

“That’s the question to answer, isn’t it?” Wifey says.

“Do the protests help?” Jane asks.

“They do,” Wifey says.

“How?”

“They let lawmakers and everyone know that there is a problem and it needs to be fixed.”

“How do we fix it though?”

There’s another long pause in the conversation and then I jump in again, “There’s no one single answer. Former President Barack Obama held a virtual town hall this week, and he thinks we need to vote the right people into local offices that will improve and reform local policing. But it’s not just law enforcement; it’s how we spend our money too, Juneteenth is coming up, it’s a holiday to celebrate the emancipation proclamation. On Juneteeth, Friday, June 19th, we should all support black-owned businesses. And there’s so much more.”

“Dad?” Michael speaks up.

“Yeah?”

“Weren’t you saying that we need to pay cops more?”

“Cops and teachers definitely need to be paid more. Our society, America, places value on things with money. How much we pay someone is essentially how much we value them and their contribution. It’s kind of how America and capitalism work and it has given our country more innovation and wealth than anywhere else in the world, but it has its problems too. If we paid police more, we’d value them more. There would be more competition for those critical jobs with higher standards, more education, and training required to be a cop. Did you know that in some places more schooling and licensing is required to cut hair than to become a police officer?”

“Really?” Jane asks. “I’m a good hair cutter. I cut Daddy’s hair.”

“Thanks Kiddo. I’m glad that I don’t have mullet anymore.”