My son, for example, bashes Biden for sponsoring the 1994 crime bill that many blame for accelerating mass incarceration, locking up a disproportionate number of black men and women.

I come back with memories of how Biden was joined in that effort by numerous other lawmakers, including prominent black Democratic lawmakers and other community leaders who were alarmed by the drug wars and other violence that seemed to rage out of control at the time.

My son bashes Biden for working with southern segregationist Democrats years ago on the Senate Judiciary Committee. I come back with the unexciting reality that, to get things done in Congress, you sometimes have to work with those with whom you disagree.

And my son bashes Biden for opposing school busing policies that were imposed on his Delaware constituency years ago. I come back with memories of how a lot of black people were lukewarm or flatly opposed to having their children bused across town in efforts that too often led to resegregation, instead of using money to improve everybody’s schools.

Column: Answers to my woke son about Joe Biden – Chicago Tribune

hmmmm