Watch These 12-Year-Olds Talk About Race More Candidly Than Most Adults Do

Over the past year, high-profile issues of racial violence have flooded the news. These stories have left parents and teachers with the difficult task of discussing racism with their kids and students, and adults have come up with some creative ways to approach these tough issues.

Last year #FergusonSyllabus became a popular Twitter hashtag for teachers to share tools and methods they used to discuss the police killings of black men and boys like Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Around the same time, They Are Children asked American kids to send handwritten cards to Central American child refugees facing deportation. The outcome was an outpour of empathy and compassion.

Recently, New York Public Radio (WNYC) decided to go straight to kids themselves and asked a group of 12-year-olds, “What are you?” for the radio series “Being 12.” Their answers revealed the array of complex experiences that pre-teens face every day based on their race.

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