Comedienne Kym Whitley has some fears about raising her own three-year-old adoptive son, Joshua. In a press conference for OWN, the star of OWN’s Raising Whitley confessed that she’s worried about how she will raise her son in a world of racism and police brutality.
“What I will tell my son growing up through the years is that you just have to be careful,” she said. “Be aware of who you are, when you see the police, don’t agitate them. There’s certain things you don’t do.”
Whitley goes on to say that as her son grows older and becomes and adult, there will be less things she can teach him about survival.
“My biggest fear is raising him as a man,” she said. “I’m not a man. If the police roll up on me, I’m not a man, things are different. With a little Black boy, there’s a different experience.”
“I hope I can have my villagers and friends help with me with my son because I don’t understand it,” she added. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell him. That’s the fear.”
We want to know if you can relate. What do you believe are the biggest challenges in raising young Black men today—whether you’re a single mother or married. Take our poll and sound off in the comments.
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