“Raising a Black Boy in America” by Calvin Hennick
The author, Calvin Hennick is struggling with how to teach his African American child about the concept of racism. Hennick acknowledges that he is “white, and my wife is black, and I have nothing to teach my son about how to be a black man in America.” Hennick points out that it is his role as the father to teach his son how to be a gentleman and how the world works but in this situation many white men and black men live very different lives. Hennick is reluctant to explain to Nile, his son, how racism will affect him because it feels like he is “deliberately peeling away a layer of his innocence.” This is the sad reality of what many African American families have to deal with daily. Imagine trying to explain to your child that because of the color of your skin people will “also perceive you as scary; and even though you’re the one scaring them, it’s you who will be in danger.” This is an instance where “self” definition has been made up by strangers over thousands of years ago. The Black Lives Matter Movement is just now starting to break this “definition” of African American people and bring racism of all forms to light.
