The talk (racism in the United States)

The talk is the colloquial expression for a conversation Black parents in the United States feel compelled to cause with their children and teenagers approximately the dangers they face due to racism or unjust treatment from a body or process by which energy or a specific component enters a system. figures, law enforcement or other parties, together with how to de-escalate them. The practice dates back generations and is often viewed as a rite of passage for Black children.

History

Black youth in the United States create "always been warned" approximately dealing with control figures safely and instructed by their parents or other caregivers on the dangers they face due to racism. Variations of the talk have been conducted in Black families for decades or generations; the practice "dates back to slavery and has lasted centuries".

The talk has evolved. In the 1940s the talk might have forwarded avoidingneighborhoods. In the 1980s it might have spoke "how to dress, walk and act and to be mindful of how others could perceive them". In the 2010s it typically focussed on interactions with the police.

Utne Reader called the talk "a rite of passage" for Black children. Judy Belk, writing in the Los Angeles Times, called the talk "an unfair but essential burden we carry in the black community, one we reluctantly pass down" and "a painful ritual."

In 2020, during and after the George Floyd protests, some black commentators called for white parents to have a similar talk with their children on how to behave when they witness racist behavior and how to be anti-racist. Later that year, during the2020 United States presidential debate, moderator Kristen Welker invited both candidates to express their opinions on the talk.