Racial Justice For Children

What age to start having conversations with your child about race and how to do it
(Interview Video)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/age-children-learn-racism-71034177
We need to talk with our children about race and equity starting at a young age if we hope to see real progress against racism. In this video, psychologist Dr. Donald Grant shares key reasons for why parents need to have these conversations with their children starting as early as 5 years old, and how to do it in a developmentally appropriate and relevant way.
Make sure to listen to 4:54 in the video, where Dr. Donald Grant provides a helpful script as an example for how parents can kick off the conversation about equity with their 5-year-old, and where to go from there.

CNN and ‘Sesame Street’ to host a town hall addressing racism
(Video)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/06/app-news-section/cnn-sesame-street-race-town-hall-app-june-6-2020-app/index.html
CNN and Sesame Street join forces to engage children in safe conversations about race and racism by hosting a town hall meeting. Watch the entire town hall recording now.

Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup
(Article)
https://www.prettygooddesign.org/blog/Blog%20Post%20Title%20One-5new4
As we adults try to make sense of the world unfolding around us, we can take proactive steps in helping our children learn about race and equity. Here are some resources for all ages to start with.

Talking To Children About Racial Bias
(Article)
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellness/Building-Resilience/Pages/Talking-to-Children-About-Racial-Bias.aspx
This article explores how to talk to children about race and racial bias at different ages, as well as how children of different ages are thinking and learning about race from society. Additionally there is a section with steps for how parents can confront their own racial bias as well.

PBS LearningMedia Resources: Race, Racism, Protests, Civil Rights, Current Events and more.
(Resource List)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ewBfyWvNfhblSiNXXhWbKuZpq9JbU6-gEPwnlJf60_s/edit
A categorized list of resources targeted to older children about race, racism, history, and other intersecting topics.

Talking Race With Young Children
(Article)
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716700866/talking-race-with-young-children
An NPR audio clip about how to have difficult conversations about race with your children and a short list of things to remember when talking with your children about race.

Books That Promote Diversity and Inclusion
(Article)
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/books-that-promote-diversity-and-inclusion
Stories are a great way to learn about others and to put ourselves in their shoes. This list of children’s books from Common Sense Media is made up of stories with characters of color that can help build empathy for others and promote diversity and inclusion.

Talking to Kids About Racism and Justice: a list for parents, caregivers, and educators
(Resource List)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s0lCA3FlulVhK6DFE2d3uYCipc6ApY8Gn2rMwm6fYqw/preview?pru=AAABcqSXzFE*2Jd0hnxSyo4P75t_u0_4mQ
A curated Google doc by the Oakland Public Library as part of their ‘Listen, Learn, Participate: a #BlackLivesMatter Resource Series’. Books are organized by grade level and highlight local authors and multilingual reading options.

How to Talk to Kids About Race: Books and Resources That Can Help
(Article)
https://www.readbrightly.com/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-race-books-and-resources-that-can-help/
Discussions about race can be complex. This article outlines simple and effective first steps to talking to your children about race and racism, and complies a list of books categorized by type and age range to help get you started.

Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News
(Article)
https://childmind.org/article/racism-and-violence-how-to-help-kids-handle-the-news/
Presented by the Child mind Institute, this article provides parents and caregivers guidelines on how to talk to children about tough subjects. Spanish-language version also available.

Why Teaching Black Lives Matter Matters: Part I
(Article)
https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2017/why-teaching-black-lives-matter-matters-part-i
Part one of a short series of articles for educators who are confronting racism, social injustice, and implicit bias in their classrooms.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Releases “Talking About Race” Web Portal
(Web Portal)
https://nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/national-museum-african-american-history-and-culture-releases-talking-about-race-web
A comprehensive and accessible, web portal of resources about how to talk about race. The many resources are helpfully categorized for you depending on if you are an Educator, caregiver, or a person concerned with equity.

Why I teach my 2-year-old about race
(Article)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2015/10/05/why-i-teach-my-2-year-old-about-race/
This article discusses introducing race in a meaningful way to young children with references to research that confirms children’s understanding of race early on in their developmental stages.

Supporting kids of color amid racialized violence
(Article)
https://medium.com/@melissagiraud/how-to-support-kids-of-color-amid-racialized-violence-8bfe17cfb0c0
EmbraceRace co-founders, Andrew Grant Thomas and Melissa Giraud, along with child psychologist, Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith, and educator, Dr. Sandra Chapman, answer questions from parents and caregivers on how to support their children during times of racialized violence. Audio of this conversation is also available.

Talking to children after racial incidents
(Article)
https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/talking-children-after-racial-incidents
The University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Educations interviews Howard Stevenson, a clinical psychologist, about how to prepare for discussions about race with children.