So this weekend I dedicated a lot of my energy towards my children. I direct most of my time for them all the time. As a mom they are always on my radar. However with a few changes that we have coming up it is equally important for me to take out to spend quality time with them. In the beginning I had planned on taking my son and my daughter but right before I was about to leave, he decided he wouldn’t be able to sit for the 2 hours. I respected it. I can find another way to give him the same lesson.
So onward my daughter and I went to have a little mommy and me time. She has been talking about this movie since she saw the previews. I had already seen it the weekend it came out. I wanted to prescreen to make sure it was okay for her to actually see. So now it is the time. I watched her at so many points to make sure she was okay. One particular part that had me in tears and the whole theatre was the part (spoiler alert) when Katherine played by Taraj Henson had to keep walking to the bathroom for colored women and that bathroom was about a mile away. Katherine had enough of this when she was asked where she goes when she’s not in her seat. If you saw the movie it was such a moving moment. My daughter is crying saying mommy why can’t she just go to the potty with the other women? I am telling her it’s because she is black. She cries and says people are super mean. For a 7-year-old that is the perfect response. She then tells me that mommy there are some mean people like that today and I sure hope I don’t have to meet any of them. That is my prayer for her as well. I hope she doesn’t have to meet those types of people but the reality is I know that may not be the case. My great grandparents meet them, my grandparents, my parents, and even I have met them same people.
My hope is although the movie is outstanding is that we can begin to allow all people’s ability to show regardless of color, creed, etc. It hurts my heart that we live in this world that my daughters may have the same education as a male counterpart but paid significantly lower due to them sitting on the toilet and not standing to pee. I would love for my kids not to have to be at a traffic stop and go through extra protocol just because they are brown. I think of my son. He is 5 and is the same height as his 7-year-old sister, wears the same size clothes and shoes as well. His dad is 6 feet 1 and no doubt he will either match or surpass him in height. He will be perceived as a threat even if he is in a suit and tie. My son has said things like daddy what if you get arrested from a traffic violation and don’t come home. He is 5. He already gets it.
I am so happy that movies like this are being shown. It’s time for some amazing people to be showcased. We know there are countless others who haven’t been recognized and deserve their just due. I am hoping that if you haven’t taken the time to see it that you will consider. It opened up some great conversation with my daughter and allowed me to be able to empower her to be even more strong and confident even when people are dismissive of her talents and gifts.
