What Madison Parents Are Saying to Their Kids This Week
- ffjdane
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
How we're talking about the murder of Corey Ruiz
On what happened:
The police killed someone on Willy St. Corey was part of our community, our neighbor, a father, and a friend. What happened to him is not okay and we have a responsibility to speak out and be part of changing things.
Corey was a Black man. In our country, police have killed many Black people when they could have done things in a different way and it’s not fair.
On why:
Why did the cop kill Corey?
No one deserves to be killed by police. Sometimes people will say that the officer shot him because the officer was in danger but we know there are other ways he could have held him or stopped the danger without killing him.
On justified anger:
Why are people saying ____?
People are really sad and really angry about what happened. Right now is an important time for us to listen and try to understand how people are feeling. Especially for our Black neighbors, what happened to Corey is part of a pattern of harm to their community and we can be part of surrounding them with love as they express their pain. Feeling angry and shouting or crying reminds us that we are human and we care about other humans.
On what to do:
What can we do?
We can show up to vigils and protests to show how many people in Madison care about Corey’s life and want an end to racial violence from police. We can write letters or draw pictures to send to the police department and city leaders to ask them to take action. We will keep learning about how racism shows up in our community and say “this is wrong” whenever we see it.
On what we want:
How can we change things?
In our family we believe that safety comes from caring for our community and making sure everyone gets their needs met. We believe we can solve problems without hurting people, without guns and without putting people in cages. We know that police don’t keep us safe - but that just, thriving communities DO.
Instead of putting more money into police, we want to defund the police - take money away from a system that continues to hurt Black and brown people and put that money into things that take care of our communities such as education, childcare, health care, food, housing. We want investment in Black people and Black futures!
What our kids are saying:
“We love Corey because he was part of our human family.” - C, age 7
“We need to care for people, not kill people. That’s not right.” - L, age 4
“Everyone should be here protesting because police are hurting Black people! I think kids should protest because it’s important that we help change things. We don’t need police we need people who actually help people! -R, age 8
Sometimes reading a book together with your young person can help open a conversation.
Here are a few of our recommendations of picture books we have read with our kids that explore police violence, youth grappling with the killing and coming into their own power through protest and solidarity. All these titles are available through Madison Public Library.
Want to sharpen your own analysis?
Here are some of our recommendations for books that have helped us in our ongoing political education about police, policing, and abolition:
