Kelly Rowland says she's nervous about raising a black son in America

Kelly Rowland Expresses Anxiety About Raising A Black Son In America

Via HuffingtonPost

Singer Kelly Rowland is acutely aware of the pressures of raising a black son in America, especially when the names of slain black children and teens like Tamir Rice and Michael Brown constantly dominate headlines.

Rowland sat down with HuffPost Live’s Marc Lamont Hill on Friday and explained how she is grappling with that racial climate now that she has welcomed her own son Titan into the world.

“I remember being pregnant and I remember, of course, finding out that it was a boy, and I had a moment in the mirror where I had a mild anxiety attack because … it was so many things going on, of course,” she said. “It got me to thinking and I had a little anxiety attack because I was like, ‘I have to raise a great man, and he has to know his identity.'”

The “Motivation” singer hopes to teach Titan valuable lessons that he can look to for guidance, she said:

I’m breathing hard just thinking about it and my heart is racing because you know, you want to make sure that you instill in them values and morals and their self-worth, and that to me is so important. And I don’t want him to get it from the rest of the world. He needs to get it from home so that when he goes into the world he has a great sense of self respect and identity and he knows who he is and he has respect for others as well.

Kelly gives credit to her husband, Tim Witherspoon, for being the type of strong black man capable of instilling their son with pride and knowledge of self.

“His parents did such a great job of raising him. … I’m just so thankful that I have him because he even has things that he wants to apply to our son and things that he had to learn as a young black man,” she said.

There is no doubt that there are lots of expectant black mothers across the country (if not the world) who are having the same anxiety Kelly has experienced. Unfortunately, many of them won’t have a Tim Witherspoon to help them raise kings and Titans.

Image via Essence