"The Talk"

America is currently gripped by the case of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old in a hooded sweatshirt who was stalked and then shot dead by a vigilante as he was walking home from a shop in Florida. Bizarrely enough, the boy's self-confessed killer, George Zimmerman, has not been arrested because the state has a so-called "stand your ground" law that allows the use of weapons in self defence, even outside the home.

Leaving aside the details of the case, which are still coming to light a month after Trayvon's death, it was in conjunction with this that I discovered a rite-of-passage that black parents across the US feel obliged to go through with their adolescent sons.

"The Talk", as it is known, is not a discussion about how babies are made. "The Talk" is a reaction to the fact that racial profiling is a reality in 21st-century America - an allegedly post-racial society which now even has a black president. It is an acceptance that African-American teenage boys throughout this "great nation" are routinely considered a potential threat.

As such, black parents have to explain to their children how they should dress and behave to avoid being seen as "acting suspiciously", the term George Zimmerman used when telling the cops why he was following Trayvon Martin against their advice.

As one of my wife's colleagues confirmed, black parents tell their teenage boys not to hang around on street corners, but go to friends' houses instead. They tell them to put the hoods of their hoodies down when going into shops, to always be polite to police officers and never raise their voice or get angry towards them, no matter how they are treated, and to keep their hands visible at all times.

Slavery may be long gone in America, but, sad as it may seem, kids of one specific ethnicity have to be taught by their own parents to be subservient to authority figures, even in the face of blatant injustice, simply because of who they are.

I am a big fan of hoodies. I frequently go out to my local shop at night wearing one. Yet nobody has ever confronted or followed me, let alone dialled 911 or accused me of appearing threatening or suspicious. I will never have to have "The Talk" with my son or caution him against playing outside with his friends. There is no need.

Why? Because we are white.

Census

All households in America got their census forms this week. Not only is it the shortest census in US history - at just ten questions - but it has a number of interesting quirks:

Firstly, the accompanying letter asks us to return the form by 1 April 2010, yet all questions relate to who stayed - past tense - at the address on 1 April 2010.

Secondly, and extremely tellingly, having enquired about the name, sex and date of birth (and age!) of each resident, you are asked about whether they are of Hispanic origin, with the opportunity to stipulate Latino, Spanish, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Argentinian, Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran or Spaniard. The rest of us may answer "No".

Only thereafter are you asked about your ethnicity from a list that includes Negro and ends with the wonderfully vague "Some other race".

Most amusingly of all, the final question is "Does person X sometimes live or stay somewhere else? If yes, mark all that apply". The list of alternative abodes includes college housing, the military, a second residence, a nursing home and "jail or prison", which makes me wonder whether people might think, "Uncle Jeb is always in trouble with the police. Better put him down as 'Sometimes in prison'".