Korie and Willie Robertson are not holding anything back as they dive into important, challenging conversations about race in their new Facebook Watch series, At Home With The Robertsons.
In the show’s premiere episode (which dropped Monday), the couple sit down with their bi-racial son Will (who they adopted when he was 5 weeks old) to talk racism in America and how their experience on A&E’s Duck Dynasty made them “think about” race for the first time. Speaking with Love and Hip Hop’s Yandy and Mendeecees Harris, the momma of five recalled seeing “ugly” comments about Will once the reality show debuted, saying:
“People were like, ‘Wait, who’s the Black kid? Who does he belong to?’ We’re like, ‘Our son?’”
Ugh 
. Willie shared similar thoughts, adding:
“When Duck Dynasty hit, when we were on television and you had all these racist people on there making all kind of ugly comments. For us, it was weird because then now he can see that.”
Even though he didn’t have social media at the time (since he was just 10 when the show first aired), the young boy was still exposed to the comments, once even asking to respond to the haters in the comment section of his mom’s Instagram!
But now at 19 years old, the student reflected that prior to the racist commentary during the show’s heyday, he hadn’t noticed a difference in his family:
“I was one of the only Black kids in my grade. My friends were white. I would look at myself in the mirror and be like, ‘Oh, I’m just a little bit darker.’”
That all changed with age:
“As I got older, I started realizing that, ‘Oh gosh, I’m a lot different.’”
Within the 20 minute episode, the family also discussed police violence, a conversation likely spurred on by last summer’s nationwide Black Lives Matter movement and the many instances of grotesque police brutality that followed suit. While sadly far too many Black children have had to have “the police talk” about how to react when around authorities because of longstanding implicit biases, Willie and Korie admitted they never spoke with their son about it.
The CEO of Duck Commander expressed:
“You know, I haven’t, because I’ve never once worried about that.”
Yandy vulnerably explained why it was so important that the white parents do have that conversation with their child, saying of her husband:
“You haven’t had to think about that, but these are conversations that has to have with his sons. We can cut off the beard. We can not get tattoos. We can prevent those things from happening, but you can’t wash off your skin.”
Mendeecees added:
“As a Black male, I experience some things more often than has.”
This conversation was obviously powerful for the Southern family, and hopefully for viewers everywhere! The 47-year-old momma concluded the episode sharing her hopes for Will:
“I hate it that there are still people that are racist in the world. I think it’s a terrible thing and I just hope and pray that one day we will live in a world where racism just does not exist, where no one is judged for the color of their skin. But unfortunately, we do live in that world right now, that there are some people who still feel that way, and we’ve taught Will how to deal with that and we hope he’s prepared.”
It’s an incredibly candid, informative watch! And don’t worry, it’s not all serious. The outdoorsy fam even teaches the VH1 stars how to duck call! Ch-ch-check it out (below)!
Should You Talk To Your Black Son About The Police?
On the premiere episode of At Home With The Robertsons, Willie & Korie invite Love and Hip Hop's Yandy and Mendeecees Harris to discuss racism and raising a black son in America. Plus, Will, Willie and Korie's bi-racial son, shares his experiences growing up in a white family.
Posted by Willie Robertson on Thursday, April 1, 2021
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