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Growing up Beyond Black and White


((PKG: INTERRACIAL COUPLE))
((TRT: 9:52))
((Banner: Breaking Expectations))
((Reporter/Camera: Deepak Dobhal))
((Map: Lincoln, Nebraska))
((Main Characters: 1 Male, 1 Female))
((NATS))
((Courtesy: Ron Taylor))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
We were at the Union at the university. That's
basically a
place where people come and relax and you
check your emails
and your class schedules. And I just happened
to see this
head of curly hair and I had to get closer to her.
And the
closer I got, the better she looked.
And I had to introduce myself. So, here we are
20 years later.
((NATS))
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
I have three kiddos. Isaac is our oldest. Ian is
our middle child. Isabella is our youngest.
She's seven-and-a-half. We homeschool them.
We have for the last five-and-a-half years.
((NATS))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
Our children, they do have the best of both world
s in having a Black father and a white mother.
In life, they don't have to think about choosing
a side.
I’m originally from Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines which is in the eastern Caribbean.
((Courtesy: Ron Taylor))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
I was evacuated due to a volcano in 1979. I was
seven years old at that time. Came to United
States, lived in New York City for few years.
And I also was in the military myself.
The only questions that the kids have asked us
about race is, “Dad, why is your skin
darker than Mom's?” And, so,
I went ahead and took a DNA test and I
explained all that to
them. Okay. Daddy is 50 percent Nigerian.
Daddy is 25 percent from Sierra Leone. Daddy
is 11 percent
Scottish. Daddy has four percent Native
American. Daddy has three percent Asian. So,
I break it down for them.
As far as what we're teaching them, it's what's
appropriate
for their age. We don't put them in that
environment where they can be harmed
or anyone
can share their negativity with them. So, we
protect
our children. They're still trying to learn how to
do their
multiplication tables, you know. So, the issue of
slavery and systemic racism, you
know, that's not at their level at this point.
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
But we're not clueless that it's there. And in due
time, as those discussions come into play,
he's like you're old
enough, you're mature enough, it's
time for you to learn this. And it may come up
because our child has a question, or it may
come up because
of something they're exposed to.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: Ron Taylor))
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
Couple months ago, there was protests right her
e in our
neighborhood. They chose South Lincoln
neighborhoods,
where we live, because they felt that they
needed to expose South Lincoln. So, the kids
got to see that first-hand right here at the end of
our street and what that looked like
and it was a peaceful protest. But then when
they see something on the news that's violent
and people are literally
hurting each other and causing vandalism, that's
not a
peaceful protest. That's
literally riots. And so, I've talked to them about
knowing that we live in Nebraska and in some
regards their exposure looks very,
very different than if we lived on the East or the
West Coast.
((NATS))
((Video Courtesy: Ron Taylor))
((Popup Banner: George Floyd, an African
American man, was killed in police custody. His
death led to widespread protests against racial
injustice in the US.))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
We explained to them about George Floyd and
what happened and that's when I showed them
the video.
((Courtesy: Reuters))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
And then we all went through the steps of,
okay, who was wrong at this point,
who was right?
Not the color of their skin, but, you
know, who did something wrong at point A?
Who did something wrong on point B? So, we
went from A to Z.
((Courtesy: Reuters))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
Ultimately, once you're in handcuffs, the police
have you
apprehended. Your job is to put someone in
handcuffs, take him
to jail, and then the judge will take care of the
rest of the process.
((Courtesy: Reuters))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
Due process happens in the court, not on the
street.
((NATS))
((Video Courtesy: AP))
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
To actually participate in a protest, I don't know
that I have
enough information to make an educated statem
ent on that. But when I look at those things, I
say
where did this come from? Who
started this? What is their
goal? Who's funding it? What is the purpose of
this? So, I
ask a lot of those questions, which is why, I
mean,
I myself, I'm not going to go intentionally be a
part of that if I don't align with that. But that has
nothing to do with my view on race. And so,
to intertwine that would be mangled.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: AP))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
The political side of some of these matters have
been
cloudy. It's something that people that want to
manipulate
the process and cause confusion as opposed to
dealing with the issue.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: AP))
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
Of course there's empathy,
empathy for those going through that is
generated from
((Courtesy: AP))
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
sincerity and heartbreak and recognizing, hey,
I have no idea what it felt like to be [Civil Rights
icon]
Rosa Parks that day, but do I need to teach and
train the childrenhow to be strong,
courageous
people like her or how to be a Dr. Martin Luther
King and
speak up and be able to use his voice?
That's not just
history. That's who
do you want to be today? So, yes, I empathize
with that
because I care and I want our kids to be able
to live their life in that way.
((NATS))
((Courtesy: AP))
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
Much of what people are seeing and hearing
today is based on the hate. And when hate is
represented, it
doesn't matter what form you're seeing it in,
it's a matter of the heart. These are
interpersonal
relational conflicts that have been stirred up.
In some people it just started.
Some people that was inbred in them from the
day they were
born. And heart issues can only be resolved
within someone's most inner thoughts. We can't
go around and fix other people's heart.
((NATS))
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
My job is to figure out how to keep the five of us
and this family
focused on who holds
our tomorrow? Where do we go from here?
Because if this
is our last conversation and the world ends
today, is what we've shared and reflected and
discussed upon without our
children, something in
which they can then make an educated decision
without us?
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
When you use faith as your foundation in your
discussions as a family, it's really simple actually
to integrate that into the relationships that you
choose to expose them to.
So, instead of shielding them from life, we've just
chosen the
tribe of people that we want to associate with.
((NATS))
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
Their exposure is so diverse. We were talking
yesterday
about who their friends are and where they're
from. And I'm like, I feel like we could pull the
whole
United Nations to the park for a gathering
if you really look at color as who we're exposing
our children to. It's not
a selection pool. It's just who we have grown to
love
and who the Lord's brought in our path to be
friends with.
((NATS))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
Our goal is to, you know, not pigeonhole their
thinking. We want
them to be whole brain thinkers. We want them
to think
beyond someone's color of their skin or
their eyes or their hair. Because if we solve one
problem, there's always going to be a next. And
we're always going to find
something to talk about with someone and to jud
ge.
((NATS))
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
Based on what we're experiencing now and the
divisions that
we have in our society, I have to be above that.
If I were to dwell on what I look like and what
somebody thinks what I look like, I won't
be successful as I am right now.
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
Hmm. I think you look good. I am just saying
like, I don’t know.
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
But, you know,
we shouldn't deny that there's something going
on and it's bad.
((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother))
Yeah.
((Ron Taylor, Production Manager))
You know,
we need to focus on how can we make it better?
((NATS))

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