America is in the midst of another civil rights movement, and children are noticing. Many families are looking for resources to help their children understand why people are protesting, the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, and what it means for them. There are many amazing places families can turn for advice. Here is a collection that can serve as a jumping off place, with some resources that are helpful for families with children of all ages, followed by resources that are tailored to younger children and resources that are more appropriate for older children.
Resources for all families:
National Geographic published a terrific article on how to get started talking with children about race, full of helpful links for more information.
EmbraceRace provides tons of resources to help families with children of all ages to raise resilient, inclusive, socially conscious children.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture has created a web portal that’s full of amazing resources for families to start talking about race.
The American Psychological Association has compiled a wide-array of resources for parents they’ve called RESilience, focusing on the healthy development of children’s racial and ethnic socialization.
Teaching Tolerance provides plentiful resources aimed at teachers and educators to incorporate social justice and anti-bias in classrooms. Parents will also find lots of these resources useful, especially in this time of distance learning and homeschooling.
Frugal Bookstore is a local Boston bookstore (shop local!) with a wonderfully curated collection highlighting diverse books:
Resources that are best for parents with young children:
The Raising Luminaries blog provides great tips for parents backed up with booklists, each focused on current event topics. Their Anti-Racism for Kids 101 post has specific topics to discuss and ways to explain difficult concepts to young children to help them understand racism:
Check out this interview with comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell about how he talks with his young children about race.
Raising Race Conscious Children is a blog coordinated by a mom who is also a sociologist and educator. The blog focuses on how to teach young children about race, including some posts with specific language parents could use with little ones.
Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College and author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, presented an amazing TEDx talk about discussing race with her son when he was in preschool.
Resources that are best for parents with older children:
An elementary teacher specializing in racial equity created a lesson plan responding to George Floyd’s death, with suggested readings and viewing materials and writing activities.
This list of Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources was designed to meet someone where they are on their anti-racist journey and provide resources to move forward. It seems designed for adults, but older children could probably handle many of these resources.
Books Available from the Winchester Public Library: