How to address racism in our country? Experts say start with teaching your children

If what's going on in America has gotten your attention and you've decided that you want to help address the problem of racism in our country, experts say to start at home and start with your kids.

"It's important to have the conversation about racism," said Raleigh therapist Freddy Perkins who added, "I think there was an interesting Sesame Street segment between Elmo and his father."

Tips for parents about talking to kids about race and racism following the death of George Floyd

That segment was part of a racism special put together by CNN and Sesame Street.

In it, Elmo asks his dad why people are in the streets and his dad explains they are protesting racism.

"Racism? What's that," Elmo asked.

"Racism is when people treat other people unfairly because of the way they look or the color of their skin," his father replied.

"And that's a really good concrete way to explain it to them," Perkins said.

Perkins, who is African-American, sat down with another Raleigh therapist Casey Baine to talk to ABC11.

Baine, who is white, said conversations with children can be simple.

"You can just start talking about differences. You can start talking about maybe what would the world be like if we only had one color flower? What would the world be like if we only had one sport to play or one tree to climb?"

But both therapists said while there are great resources online for teaching kids about tolerance and acceptance, like the Sesame Street special, it's not just about a talk here and there - it's about examining how your children see you living your life.

"For example if you're a white parent and the only dolls you buy for your child are white dolls, what is that telling them about what beauty looks like? So those little nuanced things I think are important things to tackle as parents and the way that you bring your child up," said Perkins.

So many times in the past it appeared America might confront its history of racism only to see the issue fade away.

This time activists hope the mass protests signal hope.

And Baine and Perkins said there's nothing wrong with giving kids a little hope.

"It's always important to talk to your kids about hope because they're going to fail over and over and over again. in some way. in their life and it is always a parent's responsibility to tell them, 'Hey, you can do it again,'" Baine said.

"You can tell black children, yes, there's hope and also I think you also need to be real with them and let them know that there's hope and it's scary right now. And that's okay," Perkins said.

Baine held an Instagram seminar on the topic of talking to kids about racism on Friday.

On her website you can find links that and other information that will helpful to parents are this crucial time.