The Updated “Talk” For Parents To Give Their Black Children
For four hundred years, parents of Black children have had to give their children some version of “the talk.” Survival tips to help them get by in a land that didn’t always mean them well.
An early version of the talk, given to enslaved children in the early 1700s, was intended to teach them the plantation rules. After the invention of the cotton gin, the enslaved population boomed, and they often outnumbered white people in the area. The talk was about how to act around white folk.
“Always be respectful to the slave catchers, ‘yes sir,’ and ‘yes ma’am.’ Do what you’re told. The slave patrols have the power to punish and even execute you. When it’s all said and done, it will be their word against yours, and you will never get to tell your side. Don’t even look at a white woman and never be out after dark; they’ll think you’re trying to escape. You can play with the master’s children, but no matter how good friends you are today, one day, they will be a master, and you’ll still be a slave.” ~ “The Talk”
Black girls had to be given a separate talk about their bodies. That one day, they might be used without consent for breeding purposes. They might be ordered to sleep with someone selected by the master to produce offspring to be later sold. They might be used by the master himself or a male…
