Lauren Francis-Sharma - The Lily "I thought the pandemic would give my kids a break from the reality of being black in America. I was wrong."

The Lily | June 4, 2020

“A few weeks ago, I started writing an essay about the pandemic gifting me ‘the chance to shield my children just a bit from the terror of living in this world.’

I was so naive.

I’m not a parent who feels their children should know all truths. I was raised by two conservative Trinidadian immigrants and my ability to dodge anything pertaining to sex or violence, is expert, perhaps even genetic. I grew up in Baltimore, in a neighborhood called Northwood, where children rode bikes, played dodgeball and fell over each other on Twister mats in basements. Though my childhood wasn’t perfect, it was filled with lots of carefree days and laughter. I’ve made it my business to shield my two daughters from as much ugly as possible. Protector-in-chief, I am. Don’t mess with my children and we’re cool. So over the years I’ve found lots of ways to convince myself that I’m in control of the media they consume. I have content filters on our Netflix and cable accounts, I’ve set up parental controls on their phones and iPads, I screen all movies before my 13-year-old can watch them, sometimes sneaking off to see a flick before deciding if I should take her on the weekend.”

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