Watch a 9-year-old’s conversation with his dad about growing up black in the South.

Kids ask a lot of questions. There are the easy ones, of course — Why does the sun shine? Why can’t I have dessert right now? — but not every childhood curiosity is so cut-and-dried. There are some answers that are just too complicated or subjects that are too scary for parents to broach. And…

Kids ask a lot of questions.

There are the easy ones, of course — Why does the sun shine? Why can’t I have dessert right now? — but not every childhood curiosity is so cut-and-dried.

There are some answers that are just too complicated or subjects that are too scary for parents to broach. And then, of course, there are the things that parents are still struggling with because they don’t have the answers yet themselves.


If you could go back and do it again, what would you ask when you were younger? The answer probably depends on your circumstances.

Consider the case of Albert Sykes from Mississippi. Like any father of three, Sykes wants his kids to have the best lives they can. But he’s also well aware of the realities of the world.

That’s why Sykes sat down with his son Aidan to have an honest conversation about life: the decisions he’s made for his family so far, his dreams for their future, and — well, let’s just say that 9-year-old Aidan didn’t shy away from the hard-hitting topics about growing up black in Mississippi.

Watch the moving father-son conversation below:

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