White Parents Must Have ‘The Talk’ With Their Children: Here Are Three Ways to Start
I’ve been a communication professor for 9 years, and one of my favorite courses to teach is Intercultural Communication. During the first week of class, I open a conversation about culture and race by asking my students to discuss their racial identity. As we make our way around the room, what tends to happen is my white students get noticeably uncomfortable when I ask, “What is your race, and what does it mean to you?” It is tough for them to say, “I am white,” and even daunting to discuss what their whiteness means to them.