Protests have erupted across the U.S. after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in custody last Monday after being aggressively restrained by a white Minneapolis police offer.
And as footage of the riots dominates news coverage across the world, footy WAG Rebecca Judd has used the opportunity to educate her two eldest children about racism.
Speaking on KIIS FM’s 3pm Pick-Up on Monday, Rebecca said it was the ‘saddest, toughest conversation’, but she felt it was necessary to inform them about white privilege and inequality.
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‘They lost a little bit of their innocence’: As footage of the U.S. riots dominates news coverage, Rebecca Judd used the opportunity to educate her two eldest children about racism
Rebecca and her co-host Katie ‘Monty’ Dimond said at the start of the segment they were anxious about discussing Floyd’s death as ‘privileged white women’.
While they were worried about saying the wrong thing, they also felt a duty as radio broadcasters to address what was going on in America.
They invited U.S. activist Anice Chenault, a spokesperson for Showing Up For Racial Justice, on the show to provide tips on being an ally for the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
‘We need white people to acknowledge the impact of white privilege and the fact that our systems are built for and by white people,’ Chenault said.
Mother: Rebecca and her husband, retired AFL star Chris Judd, share four children, son Oscar, eight, daughter Billie, six, and three-year-old twins Tom and Darcy (all pictured)
‘Australia has a similar colonial history to the United States and racism is alive and well there.’
Chenault then encouraged people to educate themselves about white privilege, talk about it, and follow leaders of colour towards liberation.
She added that it’s possible for parents to discuss racism with their children in an age-appropriate manner.
Police brutality: Floyd, 46, died on Monday, May 25 after he was arrested by four Minneapolis police officers for allegedly using a fake $20 bill. He was brought to the ground and white cop Derek Chauvin (pictured) pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes
‘Oh, mum, my skin is so white. I’m really lucky, aren’t I’: Rebecca said she was taken aback by her daughter’s ‘heartbreaking’ reaction to footage of Floyd being restrained on the news
Rebecca said she’d had ‘the saddest, toughest conversations’ with her son Oscar, eight, and daughter Billie, six, after they saw footage of Floyd being restrained on the news.
‘I did it in an age appropriate way, but I feel like they lost a little bit of their innocence, because to them everyone is created equal,’ she said.
The former model said she was taken aback by her daughter’s reaction.
‘Billie said to me: “Oh, mum, my skin is so white. I’m really lucky, aren’t I?” That’s heartbreaking,’ she said.
‘Mum, my skin is so white. I’m really lucky, aren’t I?’ Bec said it was ‘heartbreaking’ for her six-year-old daughter Billie (pictured) to understand the situation and racism at such a young age
Demonstrations: Anti-police brutality protests have erupted in at least 75 cities across the U.S. after the death in custody of unarmed black man George Floyd (pictured)
George Floyd, 46, died last Monday after he was arrested by four Minneapolis police officers for allegedly using a fake $20 bill.
He was brought to the ground and white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes.
Floyd, who was unarmed and handcuffed, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe and later died in custody.
The horrific assault was caught on video and sent shockwaves across the world.
Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
He, along with the three other officers who arrested Floyd, have been fired from the force following outrage over the African American’s death.
Unrest: Over the past week, hundreds of protests have unfolded in at least 75 cities across the United States in an unprecedented display of civil unrest following the death of George Floyd. Pictured: protesters vandalising a car in Washington D.C., on May 31