In this new-yet-age-old moment we’re having in 2020 where BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices are finally getting the platform they've always deserved to express themselves, it’s been heartening to see celebrities open up about how they
are speaking to
their children about these issues. Charlize Theron is one of those parents—the actress has two Black adopted daughters, Jackson (8) and August (5)—and she spoke to Jimmy Fallon (who is back in studio!) on
The Tonight Show (weeknights 11:35ET on CTV2) about the difficult convos she’s had with them in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.With her two sleepy puppers Leo and Cleo monopolizing her lap,
The Old Guard star said from her home via video-chat, “The day I became a parent I just vowed that I would always tell them the truth in a way that they could handle. I feel that this is such an important moment for them, for all of us.”
“They have an awareness,” she continued, “I think we forget how aware sometimes our kids are. And I wanted them to know what this was all about, what happened to George Floyd and to so many other Black bodies that have died from this violence. I wanted them to have an awareness of how unfair and how unjust all of this is. And I know that there's a part in telling them some of that ugliness about the world that would make them grow up a little bit faster than maybe they should have or would have normally during this period. But I think this is too important of a moment to not be completely transparent.”While
all parents have a responsibility to give their kids ongoing "anti-racism talks," Theron's conversations with her daughters are even more crucial as a white woman who has to teach her Black daughters about not only their own history, which is separate from hers, but how to survive, thrive and resist in a world where most of the systems are stacked against them.Charlize admitted she was getting emotional in retelling the heartbreak her children felt in learning we live in a world where such violencec could happen—and does happen—every day. Like so many Black women before them, however, Charlize revealed her children are “little warriors” who decided to become part of the solution.“They really wanted to be proactive,” she explained. “They really wanted to know, what can we do? And so they became very active in protesting and wanting to make signs and wanting to actually go on protests, and so […] they've really grown from it. They've become little warriors in their own right. I can take no credit for it.”[video_embed id='1973107']RELATED: Michael B. Jordan wants Hollywood to 'commit to Black hiring' [/video_embed]She may not take credit, but their mother is a great example at the very least, having always been a warrior for her home country South Africa. She spoke a bit about her charity
CTAOP (Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Program) which supports young people in Africa, usually through HIV/AIDS prevention, but with COVID-19 also spreading through the densely populated areas of SA, that has also become her focus.“I've always wanted to help in some way,” she said after explaining that there are only 11 ICU beds for every 1 million people in the country, “because South Africa is an incredible country. It really is, and the people are just resilient and they're warriors, and I'm proud to be from there.”Watch
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon weeknights at 11:35ET on CTV2.[video_embed id='1994307']BEFORE YOU GO: Kid Cudi opens up about anxiety [/video_embed]
