When it comes to race relations, sometimes, we've got to know how to pray, think through, process, prepare. And other times, we've got to know how to push, how to do something. And I'm afraid that neither of these two skills -- preparing, pushing -- are prevalent in our society today.

There's a time for conciliation, there's a time for confrontation, but it's never a time to freeze up like a deer in the headlights, and it's never a time to lash out in heedless, thoughtless anger.

Racial socialization can help young people negotiate 60-second encounters, but it's going to take more than a chat. It requires a racial literacy. Now, how do parents have these conversations, and what is a racial literacy?

A racial literacy involves the ability to read, recast and resolve a racially stressful encounter. Reading involves recognizing when a racial moment happens and noticing our stress reactions to it. Recasting involves taking mindfulness and reducing my tsunami interpretation of this moment and reducing it to a mountain-climbing experience, one that is -- from impossible situation to one that is much more doable and challenging.

Read the full article on racial literacy by Howard C. Stevenson at TED