An Important Message from Our Mommy

From the Anti-Racist Parent blog

From the Anti-Racist Parent Meme


1. I am:
Polish, German, and a whole host of others

2. My kids are:
my children are Korean
husband is French Canadian, Native American, English, and more.

3. I first started thinking more about race, culture, and identity when:
When I was young and my beloved extended family members started to die. I wondered
more about my culture and my identity than my actual race back then. It really wasn't until
high school that I was exposed to foreign exchange students that my best friend's family
hosted that I was exposed more to race and cultural differences and likenesses.

4. People think my name is:
Unknown...Nobody has really come up to me and asked. However they do get the spelling of
my married name wrong all the time. So I'm forever known as Jennifer C-O-X.

5. The family tradition I most want to pass on is:
Being close to my sibling. My brother and I were very close growing up. I hope that my
kids are the same way.



6. The family tradition I least want to pass on is:
Not sure.

7. My child’s first word in English was:
Both my son and daughter said "dada".

8. My child’s first non-English word was:
"Omma" by my son and daughter. My son can sing London Bridges Falling Down in Korean
now along with Mommy.

9. The non-English word/phrase most used in my home is:
Saranghae...Korean for I love you.

10. One thing I love about being a parent is:
Becoming a kid all over again--learning all sorts of things through my children.

11. One thing I hate about being a parent is:
Trying to potty train two kids at once...sorry I have toddlers here and I know that right now
this is the thing that I hate about being a parent. Ask me this same question in 5, 10, 15 or
20 years from now and I'll have a different answer.

12. To me, being an anti-racist parent means:
Understanding that I have to be there for my children, to protect them from others who are
racist, to educate others about racist language or action that they might be using, to
understand that I have become a little Korean and my kids have become a little Caucasian, to
learn more about my own culture as well as my children's culture as well as other cultures, and
to try to find situations in which I can become the minority just to experience it.

~Jen