Tia Mowry has shared her fears about raising a black son under the current racial climate in America.
Speaking to Vibe, the Tia & Tamera star says the recent police shootings have led her and her husband Cory Hardict to have an ongoing conversation on what to teach their son Cree as he grows up.
“I’m a huge advocate about Black Lives Matter and for a while, I had a hard time sleeping,” she said. “I have a son who is black and who is going to be growing up in a society such as this. It’s a conversation that I have with my husband all the time about, what are we going to tell Cree? What are we going to say to him so that he is not put in any circumstance with what’s going on? And it’s hard. It’s hard to face that reality.”
Mowry who has a white father that previously worked as a cop says he has educated her on what to do if stopped by the police – to keep her hands at 10 and 2.
She added that she encourages her son to always take necessary precautions.
“It’s sad that I have to tell him that you cannot give anybody any reason whatsoever so that you are not put in that situation,” Mowry explained. “But I think what I am spotlighting is having the conversation and talking about it and saying, ‘Unfortunately, you are not, in my opinion, treated equally in a situation like that.’ So if you educate yourself and know that you aren’t – unfortunately – then you have to take those precautions.”
Mowry says she is comfortable talking about racism with her child because her mom who is black had to do the same with her. She reveals mother had a conversation with her after she was called the n-word in third grade.
“That’s when she had to say, ‘Look, Tia you’re Black, your dad’s white,’ ” Mowry said. “I credit my mom and my dad. We had to have the conversation. I think you should talk about it, you know? Because it’s the reality of the situation.”
To read the full interview pick up the latest issue of Vibe on newsstands.
Image Credit: Fame/Flynet