Dear Max, Sofia, and Claire,

There is a man name George Floyd. He is an African American man that law enforcement had been called to investigate. The details of this interaction are yet to be clear. But Mr. Floyd was a Black man, and he suffered extreme and unnecessary consequences, and ultimately died. He did not deserve what happened to him. This was not right of the police. This happened because Mr. Floyd was African American. His skin color was different than that of the police. Can you believe that someone can be killed because of their skin color? It is hard to talk about, it is hard to understand, but it is real life. It happens. And as much as I want you to live in your childhood, I also want you to grow up to be adults that see justice and fight for humane and respectful treatment of all people.

Because of the wrongful way Mr. Floyd was treated, our nation is currently undergoing great chaos. It has triggered in citizens of our country great unrest. Because, unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. This has happened time and time again to many African American people. Their lives are often in danger because of the color of their skin. Think about your friends at school that are African American. Do you know that many of them have to live with this fear that their life can be in danger if they interact with the police? Can you imagine if your life was in danger every time you encountered the police? What if someone went for an early morning run, like Daddy often does, but his skin was black, so he had to fear for his life because he was running before it was daylight outside and his skin was a different color? Can you imagine if someone pushed you to the ground, punched you in the face, kicked you because of the color of your skin or the color of your hair or the way you talked? Doesn’t that seem wild? But it happens all the time. And this is why people are angry and want our country to change the way people of color are treated.

I know this can be confusing. Police officers are people that are trained to protect others and keep us safe. But all police officers are people of varying beliefs, just like teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, mail carriers. Just like neighbors, friends, moms and dads. And among all these different people with different jobs, you will find people with great flaws that allow them to make bad decisions because of their clouded judgment. This does not mean all police officers are bad people. All people make mistakes. But when mistakes become a pattern and puts the lives of others in jeopardy, that needs to stop immediately.

We are living during a time of revolution in our country. As you grow older, you will become familiar with the phrase that sometimes, we have to hit rock bottom before we make progress forward. This feels like our country’s rock bottom in our lifetime. Right now, in our country, there is passion for change. There is anger. There is peaceful protest against the unjust way people of color have been treated for centuries. There is rage that has fueled violence and destruction. There is brokenness and heartache that has brought people together to restore and love through support of one another and our communities. There is fear that has channeled distrust and retaliation. There is persistence, resistance, and standing together.

All of this is happening right now. It is a reminder of our ingrained human imperfections and the need for change to ensure these dark human flaws do not do as they have done time and time again and lead to the unlawful punishment and death of people of color.

Racism is real. Racism is seeing people that look differently than you, act differently than you, have different cultural and religious beliefs as you, as less than you. Feeling as if you have the power to control them, degrade them, or shower hate on them for absolutely no valid reason.

You will, at some point, be the subject of racism. Mom is Asian and Dad is Caucasian. Some people look down upon people of different colors and races being married. They may look down on you, make fun of you, be mean to you because you are an Asian American. How you feel when this happens, is a fraction of how African Americans feel when people are racist towards them. You may feel anger, hurt, small, and sad. But African American people also fear for their lives and the violence that may be inflicted on them. Can you imagine being afraid right now that someone would hurt you because Mom is Asian and you are too? Think about what that feels like, and think about how you can use that to be strong and be strong with other people that feel that and more.

What I want you to do, is open your eyes. Listen with your ears. See how your friends are different than you. See how their hair is different, their skin color is different, their clothes are different, their lunches are different. And see how much you like to play with them because of who they are. These differences don’t make them less your friend. They make them who they are. Every person is someone’s friend. Every person is someone’s son or daughter. Every person has people that love them. That is because of everything that makes them them. Their black hair, their brown eyes, their brown skin, their red hair, their green eyes, their white skin. See the beauty in these differences.

Too often, people are quick to judge the things that they are not familiar with. Things that we are not familiar with often make us uncomfortable. It’s like before you, Claire, try a new food. You scrunch up your face and say “EW”! And Max and Sofia, you know that this food Claire has never tried is delicious and encourage her to try it. Sometimes she does, and then she loves it. Sometimes she never does, and she doesn’t get to enjoy this new thing that you guys love because she has rejected it before ever trying it. We urge her to try it, because it is usually healthy and will provide her body the nutrients it needs to grow, but also, what if it ends up being her favorite food? Sometimes, it is easy to not want things you are uncomfortable with in your life. But just like it is hard for Claire to try new foods, I want you to push yourself outside of your comfort, observe and ask questions about them. Get to know them. Think about the friends you have made. What if you didn’t push yourself to get to know them? What if they weren’t in your life right now? Wouldn’t you be less happy? Connecting and embracing how we are all different is what makes our country thrive. It is what makes our country healthy and allows it to grow. It is this tie-dye mixture that makes our country’s heartbeat colorful and strong.

If you notice someone being pushed aside or made fun of because of their differences, be the one to stand by their side. Be their friend. Be their second voice against someone that doesn’t value their differences. The more voices that stand together, the louder we are. Maybe they will start to make fun of you. Maybe they will push you aside too. People that put you down for that reason will need to face their own flaws. Remove that from your shoulders. It is not your burden to carry. Imagine if you were to stand alone and be made fun of and there was no one to stand by your side. Know that those that stand their ground and help others stand their ground are always the strongest.

Right now in our state and in our country, people are standing together. They are protesting what happened to Mr. Floyd. Mr. Floyd died because racism is real and because he is a Black man. In no place is this the right thing to have happened. Mr. Floyd is not the first man to die because he is Black. But this should never happen. This should never happen. And now, we have hit our rock bottom with Mr. Floyd’s death. So people are standing by their friend. They are saying this is wrong. They are demanding that no person like Mr. Floyd ever be subject to extreme punishment or death because of the color of their skin. Some people are doing this with peaceful protest. Some people have turned to violence and destruction.

Now, I want to be clear. I never want you to turn to violence and destruction. Violence and destruction, no matter how mad, how angry you are, is never the answer. It is never going to be the right thing to cause more pain, put more people in danger, destroy things that people depend on like food and medications and people’s property and business that provide them shelter and their livelihood. This will never, never be accepted by your mom. Ever.

But I do want you to know that this is the time to open our eyes and stand with those that are standing by Mr. Floyd, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Arbery, Mr. Castile, Mr. Sterling, Mr. Garner, Mr. Scott and all the other people that were treated with brutality because of their color.

Max, Sofia, and Claire. I love you more than anything I can imagine. All these people that have been harmed because of the color of their skin also have moms and dads that love them more than they could imagine. I want you to be part of the good in the world. The healing and the strength, because I need as many moms and dads hearts to be protected as possible.

Our country is at its rock bottom. Let’s be part of the rise. It starts now and it starts with us, my loves.