What I have to teach my Black Child that a White Child never has to worry about.

http://www.alternet.org/what-i-have-teach-my-black-child-white-parent-would-never-have-worry-about

I want my son to be brave, to have the heart to stand up to injustice. But I cannot teach him to be brave if I have to teach him to be fearful and meek in his interactions with authority. I cannot teach my son justice if I have to instruct him to always cower before the power of the state for the sake of his life.
In Cleveland, a 12-year-old boy named Tamir Rice was shot and  died on Sundayafter brandishing a toy gun near police officers at a playground. A mother has to bury her 12-year-old in Cleveland during Thanksgiving because he did a stupid kid thing: he brought a toy gun to school and waved it around. When I was in elementary school, kids who brought toy guns onto school property were taken to the principal’s office, their parents were called, and they would face possible suspension. Apparently, now people call the police, and those police might draw and shoot before even talking to the child.
In my head, the list of things I need to teach my son, as he grows older, grows longer with each shooting.
We have to teach our baby the golden rule; to be polite and respectful; to not talk to strangers. To teach him to be loving, kind, and respectful. We want him to learn and know he can be anything he wants to be in this world.
But we also have to tell him that,  if a guy follows you after you buy a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea, run back into the store and stay there. We have to tell him not to play his music too loud – but also that,  if he does and someone asks him to turn it down, to do it, even if that person is mean, because anything is better than dying over his stereo volume.