Rebecca Hendrickson: Parents must break cycle of racism

I will never understand the struggles of being racially profiled. My son will not have to panic if he sees blue lights behind his car. He will simply reach into the glove compartment for his registration and not worry about the police thinking he’s going for a weapon. My daughter will not have to be followed in a store by “concerned” employees.

But what I can do about it is teach my children that racial inequality is a part of our society.

I am not racist and want so badly to raise “color blind” children, but that is a part of the problem. Not talking about racial differences will leave them to their own devices to form assumptions based on a society whose decisions are perpetuated by a biased media that constantly reiterate the very ideas I don’t want them to assume.

Our society will not change unless we, as parents, have the hard conversations that start to break the cycle of intolerance and bigotry. It is our responsibility to provide our children with a foundation of acceptance, but also a moral and ethical obligation to teach them to stand firm against intolerance in whatever form it takes.

This story was originally published July 8, 2016 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Rebecca Hendrickson: Parents must break cycle of racism."