One is never too young to learn about the horrors of the world – and actress Sandra Bullock is making sure her 5-year-old son gets started plenty early with lessons on racism, sexism, and homophobia.
In an interview with BET to promote her upcoming film Our Brand is Crisis, Bullock revealed that she has “absolutely” already schooled her adopted son Louis, who is African-American, to prepare for racism in American society.
“It’s an open conversation we have,” Bullock said. “He fully understands what [racism] means. He doesn’t understand why people judge each other based on the color of their skin, but he knows they do. He also knows that there’s sexism, that there’s homophobia. He knows a lot for a five-and-three-quarter-year-old.”
According to Us magazine, Bullock began the process of adopting Louis from New Orleans in 2010 with her then-husband Jesse James. When Bullock and James divorced over the latter’s alleged infidelity, Bullock decided to raise Louis as a single parent.
“I think if you don’t start the conversation early on, you’re doing them a disservice,” the actress added.
“I want him to know the truth, but I also want him to know the good in the world as well. Those are hard conversations to have. It’s not a conversation that any parent wants to have with their child, that you’ll be judged by the color of your skin rather than the content of your character. But it exists, and I want him to be safe and I want him to be aware. Once he leaves that house and I’m not with him, it’s his life, and how he approaches it is his decision. But I want to know that I did the best I could as his mom to educate him on the ugliness in the world, and also the beauty.”
Our Brand is Crisis is in theaters October 30.
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