Statues are being torn down. Movies are being pulled. Companies are changing products. All in wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. But how will all these changes affect the next generation?

12-year-old Kai may say it best. He comes from an interracial family. His father is black and his mother is white. He's been watching what's going on in the world and wants to talk about it. And what he has to say needs to be heard.

"My life matters, my history matters and my history is black and white. These statues are part of my history and I wish people wouldn't put their effort into taking them down but instead focus on building up parts of our history that are not acknowledged, and it's time they are."

Kai wants to see statues of the slave owners. "It's our history whether we like it or not. I want to see my history. I want to know a slave owner built this and I want to know he couldn't have done it without those slaves."

But he also wants to see statues acknowledging the slaves our country was built on. "I want black lives matter to help us build on the history that hasn't been acknowledged.

It's not just the statues either. Kai feels the same about taking away movies. "I don't want films to stop showing black people as maids and slaves because if we stop doing this our history will disappear."

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Kai doesn't want to see his history erased. "I want more not less. I want to see white people that contributed to science and I want to see the black people that contributed too. That's the bit we are missing. The statues of people that look like my dad, that look like me, have contributed to history and are yet to be acknowledged."

Conversations need to be had. "We need to talk about it. We need to be honest about it. I want us to use this moment and make an impact while people are listening," says Kai.

History matters and Kai hopes we can all learn from it. "It's time we all educate ourselves and make a promise to do better."

Well said young man!

A very adult response from a child these changes will affect in the future.  And if this is the future of our younger generation, there is hope the world may just become a better place.



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