Mom dresses 5-year-old as Black trailblazers so she'll 'learn to love all of herself'
A Michigan mother is hoping to instill confidence in her child by helping her dress as people who have broke barriers in honor of Black History Month.
Taylor Trotter, of Grand Rapids, and her 5-year-old daughter Paisley have made it an annual project for Paisley to portray an influential person of color every day in the month of February.
"I'm white and she's biracial and I need to make a conscious effort for her to love all of who she is," Trotter told "Good Morning America." "I need her to love how God created her and for her to love all of herself and not just what came from me."
Trotter said the pair's Black History Month photo idea was sparked after Paisley asked to dress up for Halloween as civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, who made history as one of the first Black students to attend an all-white school in 1960, when she was a toddler.
From there, Paisley dressed as basketball player LeBron James, abolitionist and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth, trailblazing actress Viola Davis and Vice President Kamala Harris -- the first woman and woman of color to hold the office.
Paisley recently dressed as Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors -- the three Black women who founded the Black Lives Matter movement.
Trotter said she posts Paisley's looks on Instagram, all while educating her about each important figure.
"[In] the first part of the caption I write the history and what this person has done," Trotter explained. "The second part is to Paisley and what characteristics I hope she takes from these leaders."
In an age-appropriate way, Trotter said that Paisley also learned the stories behind the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd -- both cases that sparked demonstrations across the nation against police brutality.
"Being white, I started to see the world in a different way," Trotter said. "I'm sending her out in the world where [people] are not going to see her as a half-white woman or a half-Black woman. I need to do what I can to protect her and give her the tools and resources and confidence to prepare her for the world and how people may perceive her and be able to navigate that so we can say, 'This is what we can do about it and how we can handle it.'"
Kelly Jackson, vice president of the Critical Mixed Race Studies Association and an associate professor at Arizona State University whose research focuses multi-racial identity development, told "GMA" that children aren't exposed to enough in books and in the classroom on Black figures.
"What this mother is doing is what all parents should be doing, which is not only the performative action of [having her child] dress up as Black and mixed Black people, but also engaging in conversation about historical figures and recognizing what we are exposed to with systemic racism," said Jackson, who identifies as mixed -- Black and white -- and is raising a daughter.
Jackson said it's important for parents of all backgrounds to discuss representation with their children.
"It prepares them to handle discrimination and racism they might encounter because she is multi-racial -- something called mono-racism ... [where a person is] discriminated against or picked on to teach just one race," Jackson added.
"It helps externalize these issues and teach how it's really not them, it's how society views race," Jackson said.
Trotter said many parents have reacted positively to her posts, and she's hoping it's a teaching moment for all.
