Tiffany Haddish said she's not sure if she wants children because of racism: 'Why would I put someone through that?'
- Tiffany Haddish recently said she was unsure if she wanted to have children due to racism.
- "Knowing that they're gonna be hunted or killed. Like, why would I put someone through that?" Haddish said during an appearance on Carmelo Anthony's YouTube series.
- Racism affects Black people's mortality through police brutality and inequities in healthcare, education, employment, and more.
Comedian Tiffany Haddish recently revealed that she's unsure if motherhood is in her future, and racism has played a role in her uncertainty.
During an appearance on former NBA player Carmelo Anthony's YouTube series "What's in Your Glass," Haddish, 40, said that people often ask her when she's having children.
"There's a part of me that would like to do that, and I always make up these excuses like, 'Oh, I need a million dollars in the bank before I do that, I need this, I need that,'" Haddish told Anthony.
But she said racism is the biggest factor that has made her question whether motherhood is in the cards.
"But really, it's that I would hate to give birth to someone that looks like me … Knowing that they're gonna be hunted or killed. Like, why would I put someone through that?" Haddish said.
Haddish's comments come amidst nationwide protests and calls for racial justice that erupted after George Floyd was killed at the hands of three Minneapolis, Minnesota police officers on May 25.
Racism in the US is lethal, directly and indirectly
Following Floyd's death, Minneapolis officials declared racism a public health emergency.
"Racism in all its forms causes persistent discrimination and disparate outcomes in many areas of life, including housing, education, health, employment, public safety and criminal justice; exacerbated further by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis," the resolution read.
Since then, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, and Indianapolis have made similar declarations, highlighting the systemic problems that can be life-or-death for Black people.
As Insider reporter Rhea Mahbubani previously wrote, implicit racial bias often leads police officers to wrongfully injuring or killing Black people, even if those officers undergo bias-specific trainings.
And police violence can also lead to lasting mental health problems for Black people that contribute to higher mortality.
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- 4 ways mental health professionals are better trained than police to de-escalate a crisis without violence