>> LIVE FROM DOWNTOWN DETROIT. HOME OF WDIV CLICK ON DETROIT.
HOME OF WDIV CLICK ON DETROIT.
LOCAL NEWS AT 5:30 STARTS NOW.
>> KIMBERLY: IT’S A CONVERSATION
NEARLY ALL BLACK PARENTS HAVE
WITH THEIR CHILDREN SOMETIMES AS
EARLY AS THIRD GRADE, YET MANY
WHITES ARE NOT EVEN AWARE THAT
IT’S TAKING PLACE.
>> I TELL HIM, YOU KNOW, HONEY,
I’VE HAVING THESE DID YOU HAVE
CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU IN HOPES
THAT WHEN YOU HAVE CHILDREN,
YOUR CONVERSATIONS ARE LIGHTER.
>> KIMBERLY: I SAT DOWN FROM A
SAFE SOCIAL DISTANCE WITH THREE
DETROIT MOTHERS RAISING BLACK
CHILDREN.
WE DISCUSSED THE TALK WE HAVE TO
HAVE WITH OUR CHILDREN THAT
MIGHT ONE DAY SAVE THEIR LIVES.
>> KIMBERLY: IN THE MOMENTS
BEFORE GEORGE FLOYD’S LIFE WAS
ENDING, ONE OF THE LAST THINGS
HE DID WAS CALL FOR HIS MOTHER.
I’M A MOTHER AND THERE’S NOT A
DAY THAT GOES BY THAT I DON’T
LOOK AT MY SON AND WONDER HOW
MUCH LONGER I HAVE BEFORE WHITE
PEOPLE START TO SEE HIM AS A
THREAT, AND HE’S TARGETED
BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HIS
SKIN.
THE TRUTH IS, WON’T BE LONG AND
I’LL HAVE TO HAVE A VERY
DIFFICULT CONVERSATION WITH HIM
ABOUT RACISM IN THIS COUNTRY
LONG BEFORE HE’S MATURE ENOUGH
TO FULLY UNDERSTAND IT.
IT’S NOT ANYTHING NEW, BUT IT’S
SOMETHING I FEEL EVERYBODY NEEDS
TO KNOW IS HAPPENING AND HERE IS
WHAT IT’S LIKE.
>> I WORRY ABOUT THEM GROWING UP
TOO FAST IN THIS ENVIRONMENT AND
NOT THAT THEY CAN’T ENJOY THEIR
YOUTH, BUT I ALSO KNOW I HAVE TO
EDUCATE THEM ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS
TO BE BROWN OR BLACK IN THIS
COMMUNITY, OR ANY COMMUNITY,
RIGHT, THAT THEY CAN’T
NECESSARILY DO WHAT THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS CAN DO.
COUNTERPARTS CAN DO.
AND THEY HAVE TO BE SMART ABOUT
HOW THEY CONDUCT THEMSELVES IN
PUBLIC AND SO, I THINK ABOUT THE
DICHOTOMY HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM
TO BE YOUNG AND ENJOY THEIR
CHILDHOOD YET, DEMONSTRATE TO
THEM AND SHOW THEM AND TELL THEM
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD.
>> KIMBERLY: WHEN WAS THE FIRST
TIME YOU HAD TO HAVE A
CONVERSATION WITH YOUR KIDS
ABOUT RACE?
>> SIMILAR AGE, WHEN MY SON, WHO
ACTUALLY HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE
MINORITY IN HIS SCHOOL, REALLY
DIDN’T KNOW ANY DIFFERENT UNTIL
THAT DIFFERENCE APPROACHED HIM
AND SO THERE WAS A CHILD ON THE
PLAYGROUND THAT ACTUALLY SAID
SOMETHING TO HIM AFTER HE HAD
DEPARTED FROM A SWING AND SAID,
YOU KNOW, I CAN’T GET BACK ON
THAT SWING BECAUSE YOU TOUCHED
IT AND MY MOM SAYS THAT I CAN’T
TOUCH BROWN PEOPLE.
AND HE CAME HOME AND TOLD ME
THAT AND I WAS CLEARLY MORTIFIED
BECAUSE TO A CERTAIN DEGREE, WE
AS PARENTS FEEL GUILT THAT WE
HAVE PUT OUR CHILDREN IN THESE
POSITIONS OF VULNERABILITY WHERE
THEY’RE NOT PREPARED.
AND ALSO, I WAS FACED WITH A
CONVERSATION I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS
PREPARED FOR.
>> KIMBERLY: PETRA HAS BEEN AT
THIS LONGER.
THEY ARE CHILDREN ARE OLDER,
AGES 20 AND 24, AND YET, THEY
ARE JUST AS AFFECTED.
WHAT DO THEY THINK ABOUT WHAT
THEY’RE SEEING?
>> THEY -- TRAUMATIZED.
I GUESS THAT’S THE ONLY WAY I
CAN REALLY DESCRIBE IT.
WHEN THE ORIGINAL TAPE CAME OUT
AND THEY SAW IT BECAUSE OF
COURSE, YOU KNOW, YOUNG PEOPLE
ARE SOCIAL MEDIA, VERY CONNECTED
ON SOCIAL MEDIA, THEY WERE IN
TEARS.
THEY COULDN’T BELIEVE THAT, HOW
COULD THIS HAPPEN?
HOW COULD SOMEBODY JUST KILL
SOMEBODY ON CAMERA, UP PROVOKED,
UNARMED, AND IN JUST SUCH AN
EGREGIOUS MANNER AND THEY WERE
LITERALLY IN TEARS.
SO IT’S BEEN A LITTLE BIT
DIFFERENT BECAUSE MY CHILDREN
ARE OLDER AND ACTUALLY, MY
DAUGHTER SORT OF TOOK IT AS AN
OPPORTUNITY, AS A CALL FOR
ACTION AND SHE ACTUALLY DRAFTED
A LETTER TO HER FRIENDS, TO HER
WHITE FRIENDS, AND SAID, YOU
KNOW, WE’RE IN PAIN AND THESE
ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO
IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SHARED RESOURCES AND BOOKS
AND WEBSITES AND PETITIONS AND
THINGS, AND THAT OFFERED TO HAVE
THOSE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
WITH PEOPLE, TO HELP THEM TO
UNDERSTAND THE DISSPARETIES AND
THE DEEP FEELINGS THAT PEOPLE
HAVE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
>> KIMBERLY: AND THESE ARE
REALLY DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS,
BUT THEY’RE CONVERSATIONS THAT
HAVE TO BE HAD AND I’LL BE
SHARING A LOT MORE WITH YOU ON
MONDAY, AND LATER TONIGHT AT
11:00.
THEY TALK ABOUT THE FEAR THEY
HAVE WHEN THEIR KIDS WEAR A
HOODIE .
HOW THEY TEACH THEM TO CONDUCT
THEMSELVES IF THEY’RE PULLED
OVER BY THE POLICE AND IT’S AS
IMPORTANT FOR WHITE FAMILIES TO
TALK TO THEIR CHILDREN ABOUT
RACE WHEN WE SEE A DAY WHEN WE
SAY ALL LIVES TRULY MATTER.
>> DEVIN: IT’S GREAT TO HEAR
FROM THOSE THREE AND HEAR FROM
YOU AS YOU KEEP THIS
CONVERSATION GOING THIS WEEKEND.
IN FACT, WE’RE GOING TO TALK