Sandra Bullock is not the first white person to adopt a black baby, not by a long shot. But her public discussion of a difficulty she has with her son says a lot about how far we have to go in this country to be rid of the scourge of racism.

Sandra Bullock is famous, wealthy, and can pretty much do anything she wants. But she still has to have a conversation with her son about the racism he will inevitably face as he grows up.

“It’s an open conversation we have. He fully understands what that means,” Bullock says. “He doesn’t understand why people judge each other based on color of the skin, but he knows they do.”

Why Sandra Bullock’s son is already learning about racism: https://t.co/QIUZ4enR8A pic.twitter.com/bEhMdEmc1p

— VOGUE.CO.UK (@BritishVogue) October 20, 2015

Of course, racism isn’t the only fact of life that Bullock talks to her son about.

“He also knows that there’s sexism, he knows that there’s homophobia – he knows a lot for a 5¾-year-old, but I think if you don’t start the conversation very early on, you’re doing them a disservice,” Bullock says. “I want him to know the truth, but I also want him to know the good in the world as well, but those are hard conversations to have.”

Sandra Bullock sees it as her responsibility to let her son know what he might face as he grows up.

“It’s not a conversation any parent wants to have with their child, that you’ll be judged by the color of your skin rather than the content of your character, but it exists and I want him to be safe and I want him to be aware,” she says. “I want to know that I did the best I could as his mom to educate him on the ugliness in the world and also the beauty.”

fyi my mom hopes sandra bullock is happy

— ilana glazer (@ilazer) October 18, 2015