Episode 14: Vanessa

Vanessa Sturgeon is a CEO, a wife, and a mom of three boys living in Portland.  Her family is white, upper class, but still a bit non-traditional as they adopted their youngest, Jackson, from the Congo when he was 3.  She reached out to me when my podcast started and asked if she could come on and try to educate parents on how to talk to their kids about race.  Despite living in one of the more progressive cities on the West Coast, her family was experiencing racism on a level that even she was surprised by.  Her earnest intent was to help parents navigate having these difficult conversations with their kids.  

The conversation that follows was recorded on March 6th.  One week before our country sheltered in place, and three months before Black Lives Matter would start a revolution.  The conversation is timely to say the least.  

We are two white women who claim our privilege in this conversation, and my hope in putting this interview out into the world is to share my own hesitation and discomfort in broaching the subject of racism with our children.  I’ve asked myself so many times in the last couple of weeks what I can do to support Black Lives Matter, and this conversation with Vanessa, where she is so honest in educating me is one of the ways I’m hoping I can contribute through my kids.  I’m attempting to lead by example that having uncomfortable conversations is really, really good.  

As I’ve said before, my commitment remains to keep growing by having non-judgmental, uncomfortable conversations.  Vanessa made herself open to educating the people around her about her experience and I am so grateful.  My hope is that you can take something away and have a difficult conversation with your own children.