((PKG: INTERRACIAL COUPLE)) ((TRT: 9:52)) ((Banner: Breaking Expectations)) ((Reporter/Camera: Deepak Dobhal)) ((Map: Lincoln, Nebraska)) ((Main Characters: 1 Male, 1 Female)) ((NATS)) ((Courtesy: Ron Taylor)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) We were at the Union at the university. That's basically a place where people come and relax and you check your emails and your class schedules. And I just happened to see this head of curly hair and I had to get closer to her. And the closer I got, the better she looked. And I had to introduce myself. So, here we are 20 years later. ((NATS)) ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) I have three kiddos. Isaac is our oldest. Ian is our middle child. Isabella is our youngest. She's seven-and-a-half. We homeschool them. We have for the last five-and-a-half years. ((NATS)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) Our children, they do have the best of both world s in having a Black father and a white mother. In life, they don't have to think about choosing a side. I’m originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines which is in the eastern Caribbean. ((Courtesy: Ron Taylor)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) I was evacuated due to a volcano in 1979. I was seven years old at that time. Came to United States, lived in New York City for few years. And I also was in the military myself. The only questions that the kids have asked us about race is, “Dad, why is your skin darker than Mom's?” And, so, I went ahead and took a DNA test and I explained all that to them. Okay. Daddy is 50 percent Nigerian. Daddy is 25 percent from Sierra Leone. Daddy is 11 percent Scottish. Daddy has four percent Native American. Daddy has three percent Asian. So, I break it down for them. As far as what we're teaching them, it's what's appropriate for their age. We don't put them in that environment where they can be harmed or anyone can share their negativity with them. So, we protect our children. They're still trying to learn how to do their multiplication tables, you know. So, the issue of slavery and systemic racism, you know, that's not at their level at this point. ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) But we're not clueless that it's there. And in due time, as those discussions come into play, he's like you're old enough, you're mature enough, it's time for you to learn this. And it may come up because our child has a question, or it may come up because of something they're exposed to. ((NATS)) ((Courtesy: Ron Taylor)) ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) Couple months ago, there was protests right her e in our neighborhood. They chose South Lincoln neighborhoods, where we live, because they felt that they needed to expose South Lincoln. So, the kids got to see that first-hand right here at the end of our street and what that looked like and it was a peaceful protest. But then when they see something on the news that's violent and people are literally hurting each other and causing vandalism, that's not a peaceful protest. That's literally riots. And so, I've talked to them about knowing that we live in Nebraska and in some regards their exposure looks very, very different than if we lived on the East or the West Coast. ((NATS)) ((Video Courtesy: Ron Taylor)) ((Popup Banner: George Floyd, an African American man, was killed in police custody. His death led to widespread protests against racial injustice in the US.)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) We explained to them about George Floyd and what happened and that's when I showed them the video. ((Courtesy: Reuters)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) And then we all went through the steps of, okay, who was wrong at this point, who was right? Not the color of their skin, but, you know, who did something wrong at point A? Who did something wrong on point B? So, we went from A to Z. ((Courtesy: Reuters)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) Ultimately, once you're in handcuffs, the police have you apprehended. Your job is to put someone in handcuffs, take him to jail, and then the judge will take care of the rest of the process. ((Courtesy: Reuters)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) Due process happens in the court, not on the street. ((NATS)) ((Video Courtesy: AP)) ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) To actually participate in a protest, I don't know that I have enough information to make an educated statem ent on that. But when I look at those things, I say where did this come from? Who started this? What is their goal? Who's funding it? What is the purpose of this? So, I ask a lot of those questions, which is why, I mean, I myself, I'm not going to go intentionally be a part of that if I don't align with that. But that has nothing to do with my view on race. And so, to intertwine that would be mangled. ((NATS)) ((Courtesy: AP)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) The political side of some of these matters have been cloudy. It's something that people that want to manipulate the process and cause confusion as opposed to dealing with the issue. ((NATS)) ((Courtesy: AP)) ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) Of course there's empathy, empathy for those going through that is generated from ((Courtesy: AP)) ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) sincerity and heartbreak and recognizing, hey, I have no idea what it felt like to be [Civil Rights icon] Rosa Parks that day, but do I need to teach and train the childrenhow to be strong, courageous people like her or how to be a Dr. Martin Luther King and speak up and be able to use his voice? That's not just history. That's who do you want to be today? So, yes, I empathize with that because I care and I want our kids to be able to live their life in that way. ((NATS)) ((Courtesy: AP)) ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) Much of what people are seeing and hearing today is based on the hate. And when hate is represented, it doesn't matter what form you're seeing it in, it's a matter of the heart. These are interpersonal relational conflicts that have been stirred up. In some people it just started. Some people that was inbred in them from the day they were born. And heart issues can only be resolved within someone's most inner thoughts. We can't go around and fix other people's heart. ((NATS)) ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) My job is to figure out how to keep the five of us and this family focused on who holds our tomorrow? Where do we go from here? Because if this is our last conversation and the world ends today, is what we've shared and reflected and discussed upon without our children, something in which they can then make an educated decision without us? ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) When you use faith as your foundation in your discussions as a family, it's really simple actually to integrate that into the relationships that you choose to expose them to. So, instead of shielding them from life, we've just chosen the tribe of people that we want to associate with. ((NATS)) ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) Their exposure is so diverse. We were talking yesterday about who their friends are and where they're from. And I'm like, I feel like we could pull the whole United Nations to the park for a gathering if you really look at color as who we're exposing our children to. It's not a selection pool. It's just who we have grown to love and who the Lord's brought in our path to be friends with. ((NATS)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) Our goal is to, you know, not pigeonhole their thinking. We want them to be whole brain thinkers. We want them to think beyond someone's color of their skin or their eyes or their hair. Because if we solve one problem, there's always going to be a next. And we're always going to find something to talk about with someone and to jud ge. ((NATS)) ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) Based on what we're experiencing now and the divisions that we have in our society, I have to be above that. If I were to dwell on what I look like and what somebody thinks what I look like, I won't be successful as I am right now. ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) Hmm. I think you look good. I am just saying like, I don’t know. ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) But, you know, we shouldn't deny that there's something going on and it's bad. ((Rachel Taylor, Homeschooling Mother)) Yeah. ((Ron Taylor, Production Manager)) You know, we need to focus on how can we make it better? ((NATS))