With so many incredible resources being shared, you may find yourself wondering where to begin when it comes to raising good humans in a racially unjust country. Same here! We are no experts on the subject but we want to do better every day. Here are the four beliefs we will center our work around, four big ideas that will guide our family as we strive to be part of the change.
1.The world is a big place made up of different countries and cultures.
First thing’s first, children need to understand that the world is much bigger than where they live. Start with your home and expand out, all the way out. Start with your home, your neighborhood, your town, then move onto your state, country, and continent. Use the tools below to help incorporate this concept into everyday life.
Books: Zoom by Istvan Banyai and Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers.
Maps and globes: Hang maps around your home and reference them often–current events, storybook settings, animal habitats, and so on. Keep a kid-friendly atlas around as well, we are always leafing through Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska. Our go-to globes are from Hugg-A-Planet as they are soft enough to use as pillows.
Multicultural music: Music often fills the rooms in our home and while we play a solid mix of American, European, and Latin American groups (and genres), I know we could make a more intentional effort to integrate additional music from all around the world. Putumayo Kids and All Around This World seem like a good place to start.
Television programs: Our children quite enjoy Wild Kratts, the educational adventure show that follows the duo to animal habitats around the globe. Similarly, we are hoping to introduce Let’s Go Luna and Mouk soon–both shows take viewers on an exploration of different countries and cultures.
2.People come in different shapes, sizes, and colors.
Now that you’ve established Earth as the home all of us share it’s time to spend more time focusing on the individual people that inhabit it. Children need multiple levels of exposure to representations of people that look different than them. Use the tools below to help incorporate this concept into everyday life.
Books: Whoever You Are by Mem Fox and This Is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe. Take a good look at your bookshelves and note how many books feature characters of color then use this list of titles that celebrate diversity to expand your collection.
Toys: From baby dolls, to legos, to puzzles and games, be sure that people from different races are depicted throughout your children’s selection of toys.
3.There is a bad pattern of black people being treated badly in this country.
Real talk: Tiffany Lane, a friend from college, is a phenomenal educator who recently shared her approach to addressing racism with her own son here. She did an excellent job breaking this concept down for young learners, especially with the following key steps:
- Begin by introducing/reviewing what a pattern is, ask your child to make a simple pattern using simple household items e.g. spoon, fork, spoon, fork.
- Let children know that bad patterns exist. Perhaps ask them for a possible example.
- Walk them through the “birthday pattern” using toys (the following toys are just examples), ask the children to listen and see if they can figure out the pattern. Take out a dinosaur and explain that they are having a birthday party but dinosaur says “the only creatures that are coming to my birthday party are creatures that have tails.” Bring out a few examples of possible guests e.g. rabbit, horse, frog and ask if each one can attend.
- Repeat with a horse and explain that “the only creatures that are coming to my birthday party are creatures that have tails.”
- Ask children what will happen according to the pattern when rabbit wants to have their birthday party.
- Start from here to introduce racism. Lay down several forks and explain that there has been an unfair pattern of being mean to black people. Emphasize that these events have happened over and over again, forming a pattern that’s lasted for a really long time.
- Now discuss recent events, including the death of George Floyd, within the context of this pattern.
- Finally share the good news. That a pattern can be broken. Lay down a spoon and begin the conversation about feelings turned into actions.
Books: Checkout this video where another awesome teacher reads aloud Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester. And review this list of 7 highly recommended children’s books about race.
Podcasts: We are extremely late to join the Podcast train but I was thrilled to come across the following two resources to help navigate us to the most impactful family-friendly episodes.
4.We can break this bad pattern but we need to speak up and take action.
Keep talking about race: 100 Race-Conscious Things You Can Say to Your Child to Advance Racial Justice.
Expose children to different ways people choose to speak up and take action: music, poetry (two additional favorites of mine are Cleo Wade and Rupi Kaur), visual art, protests and so on.
Introduce children to real life activists: Making Our Voices Heard: Books About Activism for Kids.
Last but not least–give children the time and space to explore what activism looks, sounds, and feels like to them. The work is going to look different for each and every one of us but every step counts, every voice matters. Together, we can raise good humans that will build a world where activism replaces racism.
Disclaimer: There are a few Amazon links for books and products listed above. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. In the spirit of supporting Black-owned businesses, before purchasing books from Amazon I encourage you to seek out a Black-owned bookstore who can fulfill your order. Perhaps start with any of the following: Brave + Kind Bookshop, Ashay by the Bay, Eye See Me.
