Feature
A Mother’s Heart During a Time of Unrest
A mom of four shares her hope for the future as we grapple with the racism that plagues our country.
ur children can be such a reflection of who we are and what we’ve been through in life. I’m not sure whether that’s always a good thing. I don’t want mine to carry any of my baggage, as heavy or light as it may be for them. When I look at my four children, ranging in age from 10 to 14, I see promise and light and love. I hope that others can see that, too, in spite of their differences. And despite the way the world looks today in the midst of a pandemic and a fiery identity crisis, I know there’s hope. My children, like all our children, are our hope for the future. The question is what do we, the ones who are creating their present, want that future to look like?
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I see the promise of our children in the natural curiosity they have about the world around them, and their ability to adapt so quickly to change. I find so often that the things I struggle with, like explaining world events and crises, they’re able to quickly digest and deconstruct. The complicated and painful history of racism can be whittled down to a simple question: “So why don’t they like Black people?” A simple matter of like and dislike that’s not so simple to explain. As I answer their questions and allow them to see the good and bad in the world around them, it changes my thinking. Maybe I can’t shield them from everything, and maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe
NJFAMILY.COM | SUMMER 2020
REGINA CASH-CLARK
By Regina Cash-Clark