A Checklist for Keeping Your Black Daughter Safe
How I protect her from Covid-19, police brutality, and sex trafficking
The news is jarring this week, so perhaps you saw — or didn’t see — the story of the Black family in Aurora, Colorado, who were pulled over by police, had guns pulled on them, and told to lay face down on the ground while police investigated a stolen car call. The youngest child on the ground was a six-year-old wearing a pink princess tiara. Her family members ranged in age up to 17. Turns out the police pulled over the wrong car — they should’ve been looking for a stolen motorcycle instead.
Police told the mom they apologized for their actions and would provide for counseling for her children. But the damage was done. This is the story of 2020, it seems. At the same time, this isn’t new. Being Black while parenting has always been challenging given that we have to navigate systemic racism and bias, and now Covid-19, while also teaching our little ones how to navigate this themselves and protect them as best possible from this sometimes cruel and unforgiving world. After viewing the latest news of how Black girls are treated, I drifted back to those nights when my own daughter was an infant and I put her to bed. How do we as Black mothers protect our daughters when we live in a world where we are unsure of how to…
