Dear White Parents, talk to your kids

Empathy and understanding are at the core of this 12-minute video from anti-racism education non-profit WE ARE. 

For generations, Black parents and other People of Color have had to have hard discussions with their children about racism from an early age, sometimes as young as four years old, in order to protect their children from the bigotry of the real world. While this is a near-universal experience for children of color, only 65% of white adults say they had a talk with their parents about racism. 

Dear White Parents shows white parents having uncomfortable discussions with their children, understanding that their child’s own discomfort or sadness cannot be put above the safety of other people who are at risk of bigotry. There’s a lot of emotional work done by white people to unpack white privilege, and the ability to show the moment where white people experience an understanding of the racial divide in America without putting the burden on People of Color to show sympathy or share their own experiences is deeply important to helping raise an anti-racist generation. 

Through The Ad Council’s support, the campaign will run in spaces donated by media outlets throughout the country. The project was conceived by Margenett Moore-Roberts, IPG DXTRA’s Chief Inclusion, and Diversity Officer, and it was developed and produced by IPG DXTRA, a global collective of advertising, marketing, and communications agencies. The collective included members from The Brooklyn Brothers, Golin, Hugo & Cat, Resolute Digital, R&CPMK, and Weber Shandwick. The film was directed by Kevin Wilson Jr. of Chelsea.