Watch the Gaines Family Talk Race With Emmanuel Acho | Video
Watch Chip and Joanna Gaines Learn Why They Shouldn't Teach Their Kids to Be Colour Blind
Chip and Joanna Gaines are making sure their family is properly educated about racial injustice. The former Fixer Upper stars and their five kids — Drake, 15, Ella, 13, Duke, 12, Emmie, 10, and Crew, 23 months — appeared on the latest episode of Emmanuel Acho's "Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man" web series, and together the group had a poignant discussion about the concept of colour-blindness, the necessity of confronting racism in America, and what the future holds in the fight for racial equality.
To start, Joanna admitted that up until very recently, she and Chip had been "proud" that they taught their kids to be "colour-blind" when it comes to interacting with people of different races. She asked for Emmanuel's opinion on this lesson, and he explained why parents should actually be doing the opposite. "I think it's best that we raise our kids to see colour because there's a beauty in colour, and there's a beauty in culture."
"I think there's a strength, there's a beauty in seeing colour."
To further illustrate his point, Emmanuel shared a story about how his sister was attacked by a dog when she was younger, which has impacted how he sees all dog breeds to this day. "Now as a 29-year-old man, I can't decipher between a dog that's a threat and a dog that's just a pet because I didn't grow up with any animals. If we don't expose our children to different colours . . . then it will be the same thing as a white kid who becomes an adult and won't be able to decipher the difference between a Black man that is a threat and a Black man that's just Black." He reiterated, "I think there's a strength, there's a beauty in seeing colour."
Next, Chip brought up the topic of racism and asked how we can overcome it when so many people in America deny its existence in the first place. To that, Emmanuel replied: "In America, we have to remember history is meant to be remembered, but history isn't always meant to be celebrated. We have racism so ingrained into our culture, we don't even realise we're blind to it." He used yet another spot-on analogy to depict this blindness by referencing a visually impaired woman he met on a mission trip to Nigeria. The woman was in denial about her need for glasses, but once she finally received a pair, her eyes were opened to a whole new world. "I would argue that that's the same issue we have in America. My white brothers and sisters, until they put their glasses on, they can't see all the dimensions of life."
After discussing the progress that still needs to be made in America, Chip and Jo's youngest daughter, Emmie, posed a powerful question for Emmanuel: "Are you afraid of white people?" To that, he responded, "I'm not afraid of white people; I'm cautious of white people." He likened Black and white people to water and electricity to depict why: both are necessary for life, but "if those two have a negative interaction, it could be lethal," he said.
To hear the rest of the Gaines family's open dialogue with Emmanuel, watch the entire 10-minute video above, and be sure to check out Emmanuel's previous episode with Matthew McConaughey for more insight.
