Instagram
"I believe if I stay silent I am betraying my daughter."
Country singer Thomas Rhett and wife Lauren Akins took a stand against racism for their daughter, Willa Gray, and voiced solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
The two adopted their 4-year-old from Uganda in 2017, before welcoming Ada James, 2, and Lennon Love, 3 months.
"As the father of a black daughter and also two white daughters - I have struggled with what to say today," he began in a lengthy post on Sunday. "We have navigated forms of racism directly and while there is mostly overwhelming support and love for our family, sometimes there is just the opposite. Because of that fear, it can be a lot easier to choose silence, but today I'm choosing to speak."
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Admitting he has no idea what it's like to be discriminated against because of the color of his skin, he said he's "heartbroken and angry" over the "horrific murder" of George Floyd. "I get scared when I think about my daughters and what kind of world they will be growing up in and how my JOB as a father is to show them how to lead with love in the face of hate," he added, "to know their worth and value as not only women but human beings."
He went on to call it "unacceptable" that Black band and crew members on his team sometimes feel unsafe on the road. "I pray for a deeper understanding for myself and awareness of the experience of mistreatment that those of another skin color go through," he continued. "I pray for the families of those who have lost their lives to violence or experienced trauma at the hand of racial oppression and injustice."
Rhett told his followers -- all 4.2 million of them -- to educate themselves, offer financial support to organizations who need it and "continue to pray."
"If there is any question on where I stand let me be clear - I stand with you, I stand with George and his family and all those who have faced racism," he concluded. "I stand with my wife and my daughters. We will be fighting this fight for the rest of our lives. Rest In Peace, George. We are not letting this go."
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
In a lengthy post of her own, Akin echoed her husband's sentiments, beginning by saying she was "nervous" about posting because some believe she's "undeserving or incapable of raising a black daughter" as a white mother.
"I believe that shaming comes from people who choose to see only my white skin and her brown skin and refuse to see our hearts and love for each other," she wrote. "That shaming has created such anxiety in me that I am afraid to share my heart on social media. But as her mother, I want her to be VERY sure that I am HER mother who stands up not only for her, but for every single person who shares her beautiful brown skin."
"I want to be her mother who raises her to know what it means to have brown skin and to be proud of it," Akins continued. "I want to be her mother who doesn't listen to the shaming of skin colors but instead listens to the Spirit of God who knitted every skin color together in their mother's womb for His glory. Because the truth is: I AM HER mother who FIGHTS for her. I am her mother who celebrates not only WHO she and her two sisters are, but WHOSE they are and exactly who God created them to be."
She added, "I believe if I stay silent I am betraying my daughter. I believe if I stay silent I am betraying the heart of God. Don't stay silent. Fight."
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
