In not-so-distant United States history, Black parents were told by law that our children were not ours and were not human; that we and they were someone else’s property.Of course, Black parents never accepted this. But the fight to force this nation to recognize our humanity and to recognize that we do not solely exist to perform labor for others has been a defining feature in the experiences of all Black people and Black parents. Our children are not objects that can be manipulated and thrown away.I often have to remind people that the United States is a relatively young country. We are very much still experiencing the consequences of being a nation that was built on the premise that solely white elite men were entitled to freedom and democratic participation. For much of our history, white women were only entitled to reproducing the power of white men. Black and Indigenous people were not fully human nor were we allowed to vote, protect themselves or each other. Anyone outside of the gender binary did not have the right to exist. These limited beliefs are where our current national systems stem from.Emmett Till was murdered only 71 years ago and the 16th St. Baptist Church Bombing killed four Black girls only 63 years ago. It sadly has not been long enough for us to somehow have healed from the horrors of lynchings, beatings, and various other forms of violence that we’ve expected to forget.Nor has it been long enough for those who committed these atrocities (or who are related to those who did) to have fully found their moral awakening without having ever admitted to their wrongs. The systems that allowed and continue, in many cases, to allow for violence against Black children have not sufficiently changed because our nation hasn’t taken the necessary steps to change them. Instead, we have been told bad things never happened or, if they did, that they happened long ago.Therefore, when the horror continues and a tragedy results in the loss of young Black life, the burden falls especially hard on Black parents to prove that their children are not the ones to blame. Black parents’ most precious loved ones are taken from them, sometimes by those who still believe Black people are property or playthings. They are not only left to grieve unimaginable grief, but also to fight for the attention their children’s cases deserve.Black parents also must convince the rest of the world that their children didn’t provoke the attack; so many of them are gaslit about the conditions of the society we still find ourselves in. Even worse, they’re punished for seeking justice.Most recently, there are three names that come to my heart and mind: Kohen Wiley, Nolan Wells, and Tasia Fortune. Their parents have been fighting for the truth to be told and for their children’s lives to be honored, and they have faced backlash as a result.Kohen Wiley was a 1-year-old who was shot by law enforcement on June 14 in a Walmart parking lot. The police said they were responding to a shoplifting call regarding a box of diapers. His mother, Vellesiya Wiley, disputed the police account that the officers felt they were endangered and claimed that she lifted up her child to show them there was a baby in the vehicle as they approached with guns already drawn, even though she had paid for the diapers. Vellesiya and Kohen’s father, Davion Williams, have hired esteemed civil rights lawyer Ben Crump to represent them. Vellesiya has released video statements detailing the final moments of her son’s life, and both parents continue to remind everyone of their son’s humanity. They have mobilized protests and they are demanding that body camera and surveillance footage be released.Nolan Wells was an 18-year-old student athlete who died on the Fourth of July following a boating trip with white friends. Initially, local authorities stated that it appeared to be an accidental drowning. Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, Nolan’s parents, questioned this and hired the same legal representation as Vellesiya and Davion; they commissioned an independent autopsy and subpoenaed tech giants to retrieve data that had been deleted from Nolan’s phone. Tasia Fortune was a 29-year-old mother of four who was found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned house on Aug. 3. While some speculated that it was a suicide, Christy Spivey, her mother, has publicly stated that her daughter was not suicidal and she has vowed to fight until her daughter gets justice, speaking to the press, pushing for legal action, and demanding accountability.It’s well documented that Nolan Wells’s mother has faced harassment and threats by those who wish to silence their fight — and there’s no doubt that all of the aforementioned parents are battling painful pushback as well.What these parents have been forced to face is torturous. It’s clear that their children were failed by a nation of people, policies, and systems that disregard the sanctity of Black life. So, why must Black parents continue to be forced to prove what we already know to be true?These burdens cannot be carried by Black parents alone. We deserve the protection in return; we deserve to be parented in the ways we have been willing to parent everyone else.What would it look like for everyone watching these Black parents — in awe of their strength and their fights for justice — to show up for them instead? To take away some of the burden? To do the labor?It would mean standing with Black parents and protecting Black children at all costs, recognizing the attacks that are waged against our children as a result of the policies baked into the DNA of our nation and actively, in everything you do, preventing such attacks from happening. If the attacks do happen, it looks like linking arms with Black parents, believing them, and showing them that this burden does not fall on them alone.We have also always known we cannot become the nation we hope to be until our humanity is recognized and protected. By believing Black parents, we can finally achieve the necessary clarity that will lead us to our full realization of our democratic ideals.We are not fully healed; we have a long way to go. But the only way we will get there is by trusting that those who have been forced to see through the lies all along deserve universal support.