Raising Anti-Racist Children
“We must talk about race with young kids. Racism thrives in silence.
When we refuse to talk about race at an early age, children absorb our silence as shame. We’re taught that if we have nothing nice to say – say nothing at all. Well – white folks are aggressively silent when it comes to race! Does that mean that being Brown or Black is something to be ashamed of?
Kids pick up when we refuse to acknowledge racial difference – and how we treat people of color. Why are we surprised then, to see nice, well-behaved children reflect unconscious bias against people of color, then grow into adults who blame people of color for violence and harm against them?”
LA Johnson/NPR
“I’ve avoided talking about race with my kids mainly because I’ve thought that racial bias is learned by direct instruction and imitation—and that if I don’t talk about race or act in explicitly racist ways, my kids won’t pick up prejudices. ”
begin with yourself before you begin with your child
7 Things to Do When Your Kid Points Out Someone’s Differences
Talking With Children About Racism, Police Brutality and Protests
6 Things White Parents Can Do to Raise Racially Conscious Children
Talking Race With Young Children (NPR podcast)
Helping Kids Process Violence, Trauma, and Race in a World of Nonstop News (webinar)
How do I make sure I'm not raising the next Amy Cooper? (webinar)
How White Parents Should Talk to Their Young Kids About Race
Book lists for Children:
Using Children's Literature to Open Doors on Historical and Current Events (& Webinar)
31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance
8 Must-Read Children’s Books for National Hispanic Heritage Month
Books about diversity often center the struggle and challenges of Black children, Indigenous children, Brown children, and other children of color. While it is important to talk to your children about these unfair realities, it’s equally important to have books that allow children of color to have a joyful and exciting adventure or just a normal child’s day. Stories that de-center whiteness as the sole normative childhood experience are crucial.
Welcome, Precious by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Antiracist Baby By Ibram X. Kendi & Ashley Lukashevsky
My Hair is a Garden, words and pictures by Cozbi A Cabrera
