“Converse to comprehend not to convince.” This was the charge given to parents by Assistant Head of School Brian Thomas as he kicked off the first Community Conversations event of the year.
David Martineau, the evening’s featured speaker and executive director of NCCJ-STL, shared his experience of talking with his son about racism. A white man with an adopted African American child, David’s perspective is influenced by how his child sees and experiences the world.
David touched on the importance of developing a relationship with your child that allows you to have open and honest conversations about race and racism, how a parent’s skin color often affects the type of conversations they have with their child about race and more.
Following his presentation, a group of MICDS parents took the stage to share how (and if) they talk about racism with their kids. These parents shared personal experiences of racism, hard conversations they’ve had with their children and their own shortcomings for not always making these conversations a priority.
The audience settled into similar conversations—sharing experiences and listening to fellow parents— in small groups later in the evening.