I am the white mother of black children. I am also the mother of Asian children, Hispanic children and caucasian children. Racism has touched our lives just as surely as immigration has.
Over three decades of parenting, my husband and I have tried to be “intentional parents.” We have deliberately focused on teaching our children the value of hard work, of being responsible and accountable for their actions and their life. We are trying to teach them to shun the idea of “entitlement,” whether real or imagined, that might come from their skin color, gender or socio-economic status and to not expect life to be fair.