This has been a difficult week for all of us following the disturbing events in Charlottesville. I have been trying to process these events myself and have taken a few days to do so. You may have been going through similar struggles as well. If you haven’t yet addressed what happened directly with your children it might be good to bring the subject up with them. Children are often able to sense that something is wrong even if we haven’t figured out exactly how to talk with them about what is going on. I encourage you to have age-appropriate conversations with your children so that they know where you stand on the issues of racism and white supremacy.
I have gathered some resources on how to talk with children about about these challenging issues. Listed are links to some articles for talking to younger children and to older children that were suggested by other religious educators:
- Explaining Charlottesville to my 7-year-old
- Raising Race Conscious Children
- Four tips for talking to kids about Charlottesville
- Talking to Students About Charlottesville Violence and Racism
- Sunday Reflections: Talking with Teens about Charlottesville
As always I am here to help you in any way that I can. I may not have all the answers but I share your concern and care about all of our families. We are a village who looks out for and supports each other. Jim will return from his time off next week and will meet with anyone needing to talk. Please be in touch as needed.
In peace and love,
Vicki Benevides