My middle daughter, who is 20 and a college student, attended a protest rally at the state capitol today. My wife wouldn’t let her carpool with friends and made certain she had her mask and hand sanitizer. Even though COVID has almost dropped out of sight in Connecticut, she warned her to keep her guard up, and watch out, not just for COVID, but any hint of violence.
Fortunately, the protests in Connecticut, which have been held daily, have been peaceful and that was the case today. I asked my daughter to text me some pictures and when she did I texted back, “Power to the People, Power to the People right on!” She gave my text a red heart. I gave her a high five when she got home.
She and I have had some interesting talks about racism in recent days. She is mixed race, and she has told me about how confusing it is to be the black girl in one group of friends and the white girl in the other. To me she has just always been my daughter and I have rarely thought of her in terms of race. The events of recent days have caused me much thought about racism in America and how I have changed in my views over the 61 years I have lived. I have been doing some writing about it (not ready for the blog, and maybe not ever), but the practice of memory and trying to put the world into words to better understand it, is always enlightening. I hope I continue to evolve as a father and as a citizen of this country and the world.
Tonight I am proud of my daughter, (and her two sisters), and hope that her world, despite setbacks, continues to be a better one than the past, and that she will engage in it and fight to make it so
