Trusted Resources for Talking to Children and Families About Social Justice
In response to George Floyd's death at the hands of the police, I feel strongly that my job is to listen and learn. I also feel a responsibility to act, though. Right now, I think I can be of most use by sharing resources online, and in the groups I facilitate. I've found the links posted here to be helpful - they are resources for parents, educators, and caregivers on talking to children and families about social justice. I will update this list as I become aware of other resources. If you have trusted resources to share, I welcome you to leave them in the comments on this post.
Definitions of Terms
The Children’s Community School unpacks the term social justice here and outlines a set of action steps to work toward social justice. Thank you to the Children’s Community School for your work in this area and for your clear and unequivocal. non-discrimination, inclusion, and diversity statement.
Thank you again to the Children’s Community School for your clear and unequivocal gender inclusion policy.
White paper on anti-bias education for young children from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Ten important documentaries about race, racial prejudices and privilege within our society.: 10 Documentaries To Watch About Race Instead Of Asking A Person of Color To Explain Things for You.
Resources For Becoming Antiracist
The National Museum of African American History & Culture at the Smithsonian Institute defines terms and offers resources for being antiracist at the individual, interpersonal and institutional level in an article entitled Being Antiracist.
Talking To Children About Race: Resources for White Parents
How to Talk to White Children About Race, Protest, and George Floyd, from Momentous Institute: “White parents must talk to their children about race in order to create a world where these conversations are no longer necessary. Here are a few suggestions on how to explain what is happening in today's headlines.”
Raising Race Conscious Children is a comprehensive resource to support adults in their conversations about race with young children.
From NPR, a conversation with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum who compares racism to"smog that kids, youth, and adults just breathe — “So we end up showing up in racist ways, even when we come from families where equality was the presumed value.” Dr. Tatum discusses the consequence of silence with suggestions on how best to engage in conversation with kids about race and anti-racism.
Twenty minute lesson from NPR for parents on Talking Race With Young Children.
From the ADL’s anti-bias educational resource effort for parents, educators, and caregivers background information and specific talking points for a family conversation about George Floyd, Racism, and Law Enforcement.
Anti-Racism for Kids 101: Starting to Talk About Race: If you’re nervous about talking about race with your kids, these books about racial diversity will give you an easy place to start destigmatizing difference & celebrating racial diversity.
Resource page from Common Sense Media with ten ideas for how to use media to start and continue conversations about race and racism with your kids.
The Conscious Kid on Instagram is an excellent follow.
Embrace Race: A website with resources to help parents raise children who are thoughtful, informed and brave about race.
Race Conscious / Antiracist Parenting Resources: A compilation of resources created for white parents and educators. A note from the authors: “The younger your kids are when you start, the better. There’s a lot of work to do.”
Resources for White Kids To Talk To Their Parents About Race
Explaining Black Lives Matter to Your Parents.
Resources For Educators
Mindful Educator’s Bookshelf: Anti-Racism Edition: A primer for educators and parents seeking a deeper understanding of the function of racism in American public school systems and ways to engage anti-bias and anti-racist curriculum.
Early Childhood: Anti-Bias Leaders in Early Childhood Education.
Open Source Anti-Racist Lesson Plans & Resources for Educators An actively growing & changing document for the free and open distribution of lesson plans, reading material, and documents to help educators in crafting a world we wish to see. The authors encourage readers to use freely and distribute widely.
Anti-Bias Education - Teaching for Change is a website based on the book Anti-bias Education for Children and for Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards. Their book and website offer practical guidance to early childhood educators (including parents) for confronting and eliminating barriers of prejudice, misinformation, and bias about specific aspects of personal and social identity; most importantly, it includes tips for adults and children to respect each other, themselves, and all people.
Infographics
From the Children’s Community School, thank you this strong, powerful graphic. And thank you Jennifer Cohen Harper and Little Flower Yoga for pointing me toward this resource. The CCC encourages people to share this graphic with families and educators. You can download it here.
The infographic below is from the article Being Antiracist that’s posted on the website of The National Museum of African American History & Culture at the Smithsonian Institute. Infographic © NMAAHC. Data source: “Multicultural Education vs Anti-Racist Education: The Debate in Canada,” Social Education 58(6), 1994, pp. 354-358. National Council for the Social Studies.
About Critical Race Theory
Critical race theory is an academic framework that examines how race intersects with systems of power and privilege, focusing on the impact of racism in societal structures.
For more on Critical Race Theory (or CRT) see:
What is Critical Race Theory (CRT), by Georgie Williams posted on Perlego
What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why is it Under Attack? by Stephen Sawchuk in Education Week