A Mother Explains How She Prepared Her Young Son For A Peaceful Protest Against Racial Injustice
Karen Akpan is the mother of a 7-year-old little African American boy named Aiden. Akpan made the decision to bring her son to a peaceful protest against racial injustice. In an open and honest Instagram post, Karen shared a photo of her son holding a sign at the demonstration. She also explained how she prepared him for the protest and how she has been teaching him about racial injustice, according to Today.
Akpan began the teaching process regarding this difficult subject by reading the book Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson with her son not once but twice. She also talked to him about what the protests are for, explaining how George Floyd’s unlawful death came to take place. She then discussed whether or not it would be prudent to bring Aiden to a peaceful protest with her husband, Sylvester. Finally, she asked her son whether he would be willing to take part in a peaceful demonstration that would be occurring in Riverside, California.
Aiden did indeed want to participate but it was not without hesitation. He made his fears regarding the protests clear to this mother.
“Some of his questions and concerns after we read the book yesterday:???????? ‘Mom, will they put me in jail for protesting like the kids in the book??????????? Will they spray water hoses at us and let the dogs bite us??????????? Mom, I don’t want to be shooted by the police. I don’t want to be dead,'” Akpan recalled, listing off her son’s worries.
When Aiden asked his mother if he would be shot during the peaceful protest, she assured him that he would not be and that they would not be doing anything wrong by simply taking a stand for justice.
“‘No, they’re not going to do that because we’re just peacefully protesting. We’re not starting drama, we’re just going to physically walk and let our voices be heard,'” she told him at the time.
Now that Akpan has gone through her first peaceful protest with her young son, she is offering tips to other parents who might want to do the same with their children. She encouraged them to find a smaller city to protest in, and to be aware of curfews and cautious of their surroundings.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, the demonstrations that erupted across the nation were sparked by Floyd’s death. Floyd was an unarmed African American man who died while in custody of the Minneapolis police.
