On Tuesday October 11, at 10pm EST, ESPN will present “A Conversation with The President: Sports, Race and Achievement”. In conversation with students from North Carolina A&T State University, President Barack Obama will discuss a variety of issues including the “My Brother’s Keeper” Initiative (which addresses opportunity gaps for boys and young men of color), athletes and social activism, the legacy and current role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, lessons in leadership, and more. We only have a few more months to hear from President Obama while he is in office, and it will be great to hear him talk about issues which are vitally important to him and to us all.
Be sure to watch this with your sons! If this is too late for them on a school night, or if they have too much work to do to take the break, then record it so you can watch it together later this week or on the weekend. After watching it, take some time to discuss some of the issues raised during the program. What are their thoughts about these conversations about police and communities of color? How are they feeling about the actions and comments being made by Colin Kaepernick and other athletes? What kind of conversations are they having with their classmates at school? Encouraging your sons to speak their minds on these topics with you at home will give them more confidence to do so in other settings. It will also give you valuable insight on their perspectives. If you and/or your sons want to share any of your observations about the show or your discussions on Twitter, use #UndefeatedConvo and #MyBrothersKeeper. And of course, share your comments with us here at GCP as well.
**UPDATE**: In case you missed it, you can watch the program here.