Superman Can't Fix This

I was washing dishes last week when I heard Beckett ask a question from the kitchen counter... “Is everyone in our family a white person?” 

“Yes, they are,” I said.

“Phew,” he sighed. 

I closed my eyes and thought: “Oh, no. Ask questions before you react.”

“Why did you sigh like that, buddy?”

“Because I don’t want anyone in our family to be treated unfairly.”

We live thirty-six miles from Elizabeth City, NC, a town recently in the headlines for the shooting of Andrew Brown, Jr. Nathan chose to join other clergy in Elizabeth City in a prayerful procession of peace in response to the shooting, so we discussed as a family why he chose to participate. I always struggle with talking to Beckett’s young, categorical mind about racial injustice, and I fumble every single time. We keep having these conversations anyways, because they are just that important to get right.

When Beckett was very little we would say the job of superheroes, like Superman, is to stop villians from causing harm. As he got older, the job of the police was to help people in danger. But, there’s a good guy vs. bad guy dichotomy that falls apart quickly the more aware you become. He’s old enough to know that explanation is shaky at best, because he knows now that there are some childhood heroes that don't use their power to protect and defend everyone. We told him that many people in our country still assume black people are criminals and expendable, but in our house we believe that black lives matter. 

Last week, we read Something Happened In Our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazard. It’s a story about the way two families, one white, one black, experience and discuss a racially-motivated police shooting in their town. The families reflect on racial injustice and the historical roles of their families. The parents discuss with their children the ways to break these patterns of hate and injustice. 

We told Beckett that while it’s true that the world is much a fairer and safer place for our family, we have a responsibility to show courageous compassion to those that don’t get treated with that same humanity. Superman can’t fix this, but we can teach our kids that, in time, they can.

#somethinghappenedinourtown