Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren Akins took the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests across the US as an opportunity to take a stand against racism.
The country singer and his wife, both 30, shared moving Instagram posts on Sunday addressing the need to to fight hatred and discrimination while focusing on the safety of their 4-year-old daughter Willa, whom they adopted from Uganda.
The couple paired their dual statements with posts quoting Romans 12:9: ‘Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.’
The good fight: Country singer Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren Akins, both 30, shared moving posts to Instagram on Sunday about the need to fight racism; pictured in November
Lauren admitted at the beginning of her post that she was ‘nervous’ writing about racism because of ‘how some people believe that I as a white mother am undeserving or incapable of raising a black daughter.’
‘I believe that shaming comes from people who choose to see only my white skin and her brown skin and refuse to see our hearts and love for each other,’ she continued.
Though she feared social media shaming, she thought it was more important that Will know ‘that I am HER mother who stands up not only for her, but for every single person who shares her beautiful brown skin.’
‘I want to be her mother who raises her to know what it means to have brown skin and to be proud of it. I want to be her mother who doesn’t listen to the shaming of skin colors but instead listens to the Spirit of God who knitted every skin color together in their mother’s womb for His glory,’ she continued.
‘Because the truth is: I AM HER mother who FIGHTS for her. I am her mother who celebrates not only WHO she and her two sisters are, but WHOSE they are and exactly who God created them to be.’
Candid: Lauren Akins took to her Instagram on Sunday
Standing up: Though she feared social media shaming, she thought it was more important that Will know ‘that I am HER mother who stands up not only for her, but for every single person who shares her beautiful brown skin’
Akins continued, adding that ‘to not speak up against injustice and fight for change’ would be ‘disobedient to God.’
‘I believe if I stay silent I am betraying my brothers and sisters. I believe if I stay silent I am betraying my daughter,’ she continued.
She urged others to speak up ‘loudly for injustices whether or not we share the same skin color, language, beliefs…the list goes on.’
‘I want my children to cling to the good. Love, peace, kindness, joy. I want them to BE the good,’ she added. ‘Injustice is evil. It breaks the heart of God. I pray He breaks every one of our hearts over this injustice until He returns.’
Guided by faith: Akins continued, adding that ‘to not speak up against injustice and fight for change’ would be ‘disobedient to God’
Doing their part: She urged others to speak up ‘loudly for injustices whether or not we share the same skin color, language, beliefs…the list goes on’
Taking his time: In his own post, Thomas said he ‘struggled’ to find the right words to speak about his family, which also includes two other daughters, Ada, two, and Lennon, three months
In his own post, Thomas said he ‘struggled’ to find the right words to speak about his family, which also includes two other daughters, Ada, two, and Lennon, three months.
‘As the father of a black daughter and also two white daughters — I have struggled with what to say today,’ he wrote.
‘We have navigated forms of racism directly and while there is mostly overwhelming support and love for our family, sometimes there is just the opposite. Because of that fear, it can be a lot easier to choose silence, but today I’m choosing to speak.’
‘I have no clue what it feels like to be profiled by authorities, treated negatively or have my life threatened because of the color of my skin. When I witnessed the horrific murder of George and think about the mistreatment of other black men and women in America, I am heartbroken and angry,’ he continued.
‘I get scared when I think about my daughters and what kind of world they will be growing up in and how my JOB as a father is to show them how to lead with love in the face of hate. To know their worth and value as not only women but human beings,’ he said.
Devastating: ‘When I witnessed the horrific murder of George and think about the mistreatment of other black men and women in America, I am heartbroken and angry,’ Rhett wrote
Fix their hearts: The proudly religious singer wrote that he prayed ‘for a change of heart of those hearts who have been overcome by hatred and hardened’
The proudly religious singer wrote that he prayed ‘for a change of heart of those hearts who have been overcome by hatred and hardened.’
‘I pray for a deeper understanding for myself and awareness of the experience of mistreatment that those of another skin color go through. I pray for the families of those who have lost their lives to violence or experienced trauma at the hand of racial oppression and injustice,’ he wrote.
‘What can we do? I ask myself this question every day. We each have to be part of the solution and we have to continue to educate ourselves, continue to support both financially and with service those organizations doing good work in our communities to overcome injustice and hatred in our country. And if you’re like me, continue to pray.’
The Life Changes singer concluded his statement with a straightforward summation of his values.
‘Let me be clear — I stand with you, I stand with George and his family and all those who have faced racism. I stand with my wife and my daughters. We will be fighting this fight for the rest of our lives.Rest In Peace, George. We are not letting this go,’ he wrote.
Long-gestating romance: Thomas and Lauren have known each other since kindergarten, but it was only in 2011 that they reconnected and started dating. They got engaged six months later and married in October 2012; pictured in November in LA
Thomas and Lauren’s love story stretches all the way back to when they were in kindergarten, where they first met.
The two would fall out of touch, and it wasn’t until 2011 that they reconnected.
Within six months they were engaged, and they tied the knot in October 2012.
After dealing with fertility struggles, the couple considered adoption. They were charmed by a six-month-old baby named Willa during a 2016 trip to Uganda, and after multiple trips back and forth for a year, they adopted her at 18 months.
Lauren and Thomas got their fertility miracle in the midst of the adoption process, so their daughter Ada was born in August 2017, just a few months after they adopted Willa, and their daughter Lennon followed in February of this year.