Soldiers in the Field

Yesterday I was speaking with a woman whom I work with; she is white.  I was talking to her about a post that my son's best friend's grandmother(also white) had put on my facebook page.  I was showing her this post because this woman did what every woke white person in America did.  She didn't try to explain it, fix it, or defend it.  "I hate that he has to go through this, and I have blessed that my son has him for a friend" that was it.  That statement alone helped me through my day, but I once again digress.  So as I was showing her this post, I made a statement, " With everything that is going on......" before I could finish my statement she broke down crying.  I am trying to keep it all in, but barely doing so, and she breaks.  She looks at me and says, "what do I tell my grandson's,"how do I explain this to them."  It hits me that Black mothers are not the only ones in this war.  Anyone with children or grandchildren of color, if not living in denial, are part of this war. She asks the question that every Black mother has asked as they children became aware of the world we have brought our children.  "What do I tell them?"  This is a question I never anticipated a White woman to ask, but it is a necessary question because more than half of her grandchildren are boys and black.  "What do I tell them?"  The world has not equipped her to have this discussion, but she understands that it has to happen.  "What do I tell them?"  We are no longer a white grandmother, and a Black grandmother is speaking on the atrocities that are bombarding our children.  We are just grandmothers. "What do I tell them?"