There is nothing more painful as an African American parent, then to have to explain to your child why someone would mistreat them for something that they can't change; something that has to do with the color of their skin. It's a constant conversation that you have with them, in age-appropriate ways. Eventually, they learn that it is going to happen, because we live in a society where these things happen. The question is, how will you deal with it? In my house, we tend not to look at it in a Martin Luther King kind of way, where you sit and you go and take it. We tend to deal with it in a Malcom kind of way, where we let them know that if someone attacks you, in that kind of way, by calling them the "N" word or doing something to mentally or physically harm you because of the color of your skin; we don't necessarily want you to hit them back, but we understand if you do. There are parents who do not agree with that, and that's okay. That's the way we deal with it in our house. Most importantly, across the board, no matter how you approach it, is sitting your kid down and address it. Help your kid to understand, that this is going to happen. When it does, you have to have a plan of action of how you will deal with it. As a parent, you can figure out about how you are going to deal with it, by thinking about it and talking to your child about your plan of action; how you are going to deal with it.