My mom was a 60s hippie kid who really latched on to Civil Rights, and was adamant about basic human rights and things of that nature. I can't really remember specifics of the conversations she had with me, but I know her early lessons to me were along the lines of, we're all human, you and I are insanely lucky to have been born here, to be white, some people were born in disadvantageous situations that we can never fully understand, and thru no fault of their own, have empathy and always stand up for the underdog (for lack of a better term). That sort of thing.

I vaguely remember her talking about police harassment of Black people around the time of the Rodney King beating, but again I don't really remember specifics. I just know that that's where I'd first heard about police brutality.

One specific anecdote I *do* remember was when I was about 11 or 12, and she pointed out to me that in the show "Friends" (which I never liked to begin with) they live in New York City and there's not a single Black person in that show. Like not even an extra. That was a "pay attention to this sort of thing" moment that she pointed out to me. Representation, even if she didn't use that word.