Friday, June 06, 2014

What Do Black Parents Need?

What Do Black Parents Need? 
I would love to hear your thoughts about what Black parents need.  We talked about this on my show this week, and there's still a lot more to say.  I was joined by Shaunes Richardson from State of the Black Parent.  You can listen below.  

On both sides of the Atlantic, we are facing some of the same challenges.  This is why I wrote Success Strategies for Black People.  Our communities are dealing with a lot iof challenges, and there is a lot more to say about this.  I'll be blogging about this some more.  

I was listening to Rev Up with Rev Alethea yesterday - her interview with Mr. X, a former prisoner.  Even though I am not a Christian, I found her approach very inspiring - and it occurred to me that, many times, parents don't realise how much impact their words have.  When they say something hurtful, they don't realise how much it hurts.  If someone else said the same thing, it would not be nearly so painful.  

But actually, most of us do not realise the impact of our words and actions most of the time.  And our words and actions have long-term consquences. 

What do Black parents need?  Please leave your comments below.  Thanks.   

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2 comments:

Ani said...

Hello Zhana;

I have been thinking about your question for a few days. At first, I dismissed it because I am not a parent, so I felt that I had nothing to contribute. But a couple of nights ago I was talking with my sister about what it means to grow up in a society that has a million ways to tell us that we are worth less than the white population, and how to overcome these negative messages.

I think that parents need a way to help their children resist such racist messages. Most of these messages are very subtle these days, but they are still powerful. How can parents instill in their children a sense of self-beauty, for instance, when the society they live in constantly tells them that they are ugly? How can parents talk positively about skin color? About hair texture? This is something that Black parents need.

Zhana21 said...

Thank you for your comments, Ani. You raise some excellent points,. Toyin Agbetu, the director of “Beauty Is”, has said that he has met someone whose mother put bleaching cream on her when she was a child.

Before Black parents can give their children positive messages, they often need to do some healing themselves.

For more about how to cultivate self-love and a sense of one's own beauty, check out this article:
The Key to Confidence
http://www.blacksuccess1.com/thekeytoconfidence.htm

and download my ebook, What They Don't Want Us to Know.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/zhana-books/what-they-dont-want-us-to-know/ebook/product-20749154.html