A tragedy has occurred in Baltimore. One among many. But that tragedy is not the destruction of property or the loss of a business’s income. That tragedy is the death of a young black man at the hands of people who were meant to protect him.

Many Baltimore area schools are closed today, so there are plenty of kids who have free time to wonder at the events going on in their own neighborhoods and in neighborhoods that they’ve never heard of or visited before. But the conversations that grown-ups around the city are having with all of these kids will most likely be completely different based on the color of their skin and the locations of their lives.

But we all need to be honest with our kids and tell them that the country that they live in (and the system that they live under) doesn’t represent all people the same. It doesn’t serve all people the same. In fact, it does a disservice to many of the people (kids included) who, again, it is meant to help.

When I was a child, I was never told that by virtue of my skin color and middle class birth, I was born into privilege. I just thought it was life. I thought practically everybody lived in places with trees and regular trash pick ups and good enough schools and no abandoned houses and safe streets and friendly neighbors. I thought that police officers were helpful and I was taught at an early age that they were people I should go to if I was ever lost or in need of aid.

Now that I have seen a little more of the world, I realize that my general education and my self-education were incomplete back then (and I daresay, they both continue to be). This is an omission that I don’t wish to repeat for my own children. Yes, we want to teach kids that everyone is a person and should be valued as such. But we also need to let them know that not everyone in our country really believes that. That some folks, deep down, think that my white child has more value than a child with darker skin.

Racism is not a thing of the past. Racism is not a word that should be omitted from talks with our kids. Racism is a reality. Economic inequality is a reality. Humans being devalued for very little reason is a reality. Police brutality is a reality. Many of our kids already know this because they experience it on a regular basis. But there are many who are like me when I was growing up- blissfully ignorant that I didn’t actually live in the land of equality and freedom for all.

Even if all kids aren’t treated the same, they all deserve to know the truth.