Gizelle Bryant Opens Up About Raising Her Daughters to Fight Racial Inequality

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As a philanthropist and the daughter of famed Civil Rights activist Curtis Graves, Gizelle Bryant is raising her children to continue to fight for social justice. The Real Housewives of Potomac cast member is a mom of three girls; 15-year-old Grace and 14-year-old twins, Angel and Adore, whose father, Jamal Bryant is a pastor and activist. During an episode of The Daily Dish podcast, which you can listen to below, the mom of three opened up about how her daughters are continuing the family’s legacy.  

Gizelle explained that the girls were “adamant” that the family attended a protest together, noting, “When we got home, they were mad at me because I didn’t get on the microphone and give a speech. And I was like, ‘What?’ You know, they understand my platform. And they want me to use my platform as much as I do for this, for this subject. I mean they really want me to explain to everyone about injustice and inequality.” 

While protests around the world continue to set conversations around inequality and systemic racism at the forefront, Gizelle said her daughters have been involved throughout childhood.

“These conversations of racial inequality are not foreign to them. You know? These are conversations that we have with them on a regular basis at the dinner table. So they get it,” she explained, adding that although she is still unable to watch the video of George Floyd’s murder, her daughters saw it as a call to action. “They too were like, that’s it. Enough. We’re going out here and we’re protesting and we’re marching.” 

When asked what she feels is the most important thing to teach her daughters as Black children, Gizelle noted that inequality requires them to work harder than white children just to get the same opportunities. 

“I’ve raised these girls to be strong and be smart. And to understand that—and I think every Black mother has said this to their child—in order for you to succeed in this country, unfortunately, you have to be twice as good. You have to be twice as fast, you have to be twice as smart as the white person standing next to you. Or you cannot advance,” said Gizelle. “Hopefully one day that won’t be the case. But right now, my kids know that they have to be better, smarter, stronger in order for them to make it in this country.” 

For the latest reporting on the Black Lives Matter movement from NBC News and MSNBC’s worldwide team of correspondents, including a live blog with minute-to-minute updates, visit NBCNews.com and NBCBLK.