I said that, yes, cops are meant to help us all, but some cops aren’t good cops and the bad ones really aren’t helpful to people who look like us.”.

How conversations with kids about race and racism play out can be intensely personal for parents.

Many white parents in particular believe children are too young for such discussions at age 10 or 11, said Andrew Grant-Thomas, co-founder of Embrace Race, a nonprofit that provides resources for parents and educators.

He said research shows that the more parents talk to children about race, the more those children “tend to be less overwhelmed by the politics.”.

Of her white classmates, Samirah said: “I feel like they know what racism is but not to the full extent of the meaning of it.

“I never feel that she’s too young to know or to understand,” Horton said.

Val Whiting, who is African American and lives in suburban Seattle, said her 19-year-old son, the eldest of two teen boys, has had plenty of practice handling racism in their predominantly white neighborhood, from racial slurs on the soccer field to a car full of young people shouting the “N-word” before speeding off.

When his daughter was born, Kendi found few books on race and racism for the very young.

“The data points to the fact that children as young as 5 or 6 months begin recognizing race, and children as young as 2 to 3 years old start recognizing or even believing in racist ideas,” Kendi said

“Typically parents don’t even know how to begin to have these conversations with these very, very young people, let alone recognizing the importance of having these conversations.”