I’m furious today and thinking about race. Barely a week after a grand jury in Missouri refused to indict a White police officer in the shooting death of a Black teen, a grand jury in New York refused to indict a White police officer in the choking death of Eric Garner, a Black man and father of six.
I am angry, and sad, and frustrated today. My thoughts are with the people of Ferguson, Missouri, especially the family of Michael Brown, as a grand jury chose not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer charged in the shooting death of the teen. Let us not forget that we must all continue to work together for racial justice.
As a mother who used a sperm bank to start my family, and as someone who works in my day job for a program that addresses racial inequities, among others, I feel compelled to write about a disconcerting lawsuit that has been making headlines: That of a lesbian mother suing a sperm bank for sending her the wrong sperm — something she discovered only after she was pregnant. The added complication is that much of the lawsuit revolves around the fact that the donor is Black, while she and her partner are White, and had chosen a White donor.
Many of us who have any sense of social justice — nay, of humanity — are angry, outraged, and saddened by the shooting death of Michael Brown, a Black teenager in Missouri. I find myself once again scared for my son’s friends who are Black. I find myself hoping I can raise my son, who is White, to be a strong ally and help continue to erase the racism in our world. I hope I can be a good role model in that regard.
Like many, I am deeply saddened and disturbed by the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. My wish now, in the aftermath of the verdict, is that we as a country use this as an opportunity to build bridges, not barriers.
In his second inaugural speech, President Obama linked “Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall”—the birthplaces of the women’s, Black, and LGBT equality movements—and reminded us of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words that (as Obama paraphrased) “our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.” A new book about two lesbian moms and their children reminds us that LGBT equality is indeed bound to the need for racial justice.
My spouse and I have tried to teach our nine-year-old son to use respectful language, and to model it ourselves. Melanie Coffee’s recent piece at HuffPo on “Talking About Martin Luther King Jr. and Race With My Biracial 5-Year-Old” struck a chord with me, however, because she’s made the same exception that I have. In trying to explain racial bias to her son, Coffee says, she used “the six-lettered s-word in our home that is considered profane”—”stupid.”
Like many of you, I have been reading extensively—and sadly—about the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American student. Some of the most insightful pieces I’ve found have come from parents—whose families cover a range of color.
Here is the eighth in my series of quotes from Who’s Your Daddy? And Other Writings on Queer Parenting. I’ll be running them for a couple of weeks courtesy of the book’s editor, Rachel Epstein. I’m choosing the quotes I feel are most intriguing and thought provoking; I don’t always agree with the sentiments, but
Here is the third in my series of quotes from Who’s Your Daddy? And Other Writings on Queer Parenting. I’ll be running them for a couple of weeks courtesy of the book’s editor, Rachel Epstein. I’m choosing the quotes I feel are most intriguing and thought provoking; I don’t always agree with the sentiments, but
