At what age do you remember your parents talking to you about racism? Most people you have met probably do not remember their parents having a sit-down talk with them about race and racism. This is an issue because this can cause those children to discriminate against people, and that could affect those who are discriminated against through adulthood.
Many people say that children “do not notice people’s skin tone,” but this isn’t true. Kids do see it, but it matters how they react toward it. Depending on the kid’s environment and their knowledge of racism, how they’ll react to other people’s skin color could vary in the future, whether they make it a big deal and point it out or make a racist comment since they don’t know any better.
If a child isn’t taught about racism and hears something racist said, they could pick up the habit of saying racist things. If no one corrects them early on, it will continue, and they’ll see it as a normal thing. The child could end up not caring if it’s wrong or right because of their fixed mindset.
Having a fixed mindset could affect them in their careers. When they decide to get a job one day, most likely they’ll hang with the co-workers they feel are similar to them (in terms of race), and those people may have the same fixed mindsets too. This would be an issue because then both they and their work friends could get into trouble by discriminating against the workers who look different than them. If the issue escalates, it could be presented to the higher-ups and lead to them being fired.
It would also be bad for the person who was discriminated against; they might be dissatisfied with how the situation was taken care of, and they could report it or take it to social media. Once it is on social media, they could show the people who did that to them, and this could have painful consequences.
In conclusion, parents should begin thinking about when and how they should approach race and racism with their kids. A way they should approach it would be to first research the subject; ask others who’ve dealt with racism; and ask what they should say to their kids so they don’t end up saying what they shouldn’t — and then find an appropriate way to present it.
Angellynn Morales is in the ninth grade at Warwick School District.
