NECN/NBC10 Boston: Prof. Copeland Says ‘Never Too Early to Talk to Children About Racial Justice’

In the immediate aftermath of the Derek Chauvin trial, Mom2Mom host Maria Sansone interviews Assistant Professor Phillipe Copeland about why it’s important to talk to kids about racial justice.

From “It’s Never Too Early to Talk to Children About Racial Justice, Expert Says” (NECN, April 21, 2021):

As the nation continues to digest the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, at least one expert has mixed feelings about it.

Dr. Phillipe Copeland, assistant professor at BU School of Social Work and assistant director of narrative at the University’s Center for Antiracist Research, said while the verdict is just the first step in a long road toward change, as violence still continues.

The violence creates the need for parents to start conversations with their children about basic human decency and how we treat each other.

‘Just the way that we talk about Black parents in America having to have, quote unquote, “the talk” with our children about how to avoid becoming the next George Floyd, we need to be having a conversation with our children about how to avoid becoming the next violent police officer.

‘And we can’t wait until later to have those conversations. And we can’t wait until later to build the moral muscles, the social connection, the value and regard, deep regard, for the lives of others, regardless of these made-up concepts like race, etc., that people use as an excuse to abuse and neglect other human beings.

‘And that can start right away because that’s really at the root of a lot of this. And if you don’t get to the root, you always end up with the fruits,’ Copeland said.

Despite his mixed emotions following the verdict, Dr. Copeland says he is also hopeful.

‘I do find hope right now because I see that there are people, including very young people, who are actively trying to learn to live in a different way, because part of the reason that there’s so much of this senseless dying is because there’s a lot of senseless living,’ he says.

It is time to change, Dr. Copeland says, and the good news is that some people, including kids, are doing it, together.

‘You know, our past doesn’t have to be the future. We have choices to make. And there are opportunities, I think, for folks to move in this moment to connect with other caring people who are trying to learn to live in a different way,’ he says.”

Read the full story and watch the interview here on NECN.

NBC10 Boston, which published the Mom2Mom segment as “Antiracist Expert: ‘We Can’t Wait Until Later to Build Moral Muscles’” (April 21, 2021), writes:

Dr. Copeland has previously written that “A world without racism requires building the will and skill necessary to achieve it … This includes creating, sharing and applying knowledge, developing critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and moral stamina, and engaging in mindful, principled, competent action.”

Copeland engages in all of this work from inside and outside the walls of BUSSW. He is assistant director of narrative for BU’s Center for Antiracist Research and author of “Let’s Get Free: Social Work and the Movement for Black Lives,” which appeared in the peer-reviewed Journal of Forensic Social Work in 2016. He also serves as co-leader of the Smart Decarceration Education Working Group for the Grand Challenges for Social Work, an initiative of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Related: “Minneapolis Star Tribune: Prof. Copeland Weighs in on ‘Conviction of Derek Chauvin’”