# data[].attributes.body
Cnn and Sesame Street

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CNN and 'Sesame Street' to host a town hall addressing racism | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As anger and heartbreak have swept across America over the killing of yet another black man at the hands of police, CNN and Sesame Street are refocusing their second town hall to address racism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Should we tell the children? How?

Those are among the many questions parents are asking after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Many white parents wonder whether to talk with their kids at all, while parents of color swallow their grief and fear to have "the talk" once again.

These deaths are part of a more complex story, one some parents have been telling for generations, and others have long felt they've had the luxury to ignore. Experts in child psychology and race-based stress say these conversations are essential for all parents to have, and they underscore that there are developmentally appropriate ways to talk to children of all ages about racism and police brutality.
George Floyd protests: How did we get here?
"Silence will not protect you or them," said Beverly Daniel Tatum, a psychologist and author of "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race." " Avoiding the topic is not a solution."

Racism persists, experts say, because many parents avoid difficult conversations.

"One of the most important things to remember is that you may not have all the answers, and that is OK," said Erlanger Turner, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at Pepperdine University who studies mental health among racial communities.

USA TODAY spoke with Tatum andTurner about how to talk with children about racial violence:

Why is it important to talk with children about what happened to George Floyd and other incidents of police brutality or racism in the news?

Beverly Daniel Tatum: Even young children may see or hear about highly publicized incidents like the George Floyd case - perhaps overhearing the TV or the radio - and may ask questions. Or if parents are upset by the news, the child may perceive the parent's distress and ask why Mom or Dad is upset. In either case, an age-appropriate explanation is better than silence. Older children with Internet access may see online images on their own. Initiating an age-appropriate conversation can give children a helpful frame for understanding difficult realities. If parents are silent, children will draw their own often faulty conclusions about what is happening and why.

Erlanger Turner: Many adults are hurt and angered by these events, and their children may notice changes in their mood. It is helpful to have a healthy conversation around what happened and also talk about ways to cope when you witness social injustice.

Does COVID-19 warrant avoiding these conversations, given many children are already struggling with fear, anxiety and uncertainty?
'This report is ... a joke':House Democrats blast CDC over racial disparity data amid coronavirus
BDT: No. Not talking about upsetting events only fuels fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Being able to talk about something with a supportive adult can reduce fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Parents may avoid the conversation because they don't know what to say, but it is a mistake to think that their silence is helpful.

ET: I don't think that anxiety and fear about COVID-19 should stop a parent from talking about police brutality. This issue has been increasing in concern over the last few years as the number of black and brown people killed by police continue to rise. I think if you do talk with your child don't leave them in a high state of worry. Make sure to end the conversation by engaging in a pleasant activity after the difficult discussion so they won't stay worried or afraid.

How do parents start these conversations and how does that change depending on the age of their children?

ET: I think the first place to start a conversation around racism and police brutality is with honesty. Take ownership of your feelings and be comfortable sharing those feelings with your child. Then you can begin to allow them to share what they may already know about racial differences. I think that it is always good to allow children to share their opinion and understanding before you offer information.

For younger children conversations about racism should be limited to basic facts about how people are treated differently due to the color of their skin but also acknowledge that not everyone treats people differently based on race. For older teens, parents can consider exposure to news or social media posts as discussion points about this issue.

BDT: Regardless of the age of the child, it is important to balance acknowledging the reality of racism, or unfairness, with messages about the possibility of change, and the community of allies who are working together to make things better.

If a child of color asks if a police officer is going to kill them, what do you say?

BDT: The answer will depend on the age of the child. If it is a young child, a parent can be reassuring. "No, honey, you don't have to worry about that. Police officers don't want to hurt you."

In response to an older child, it can be reassuring to say something like: "I know that it is scary to think that something like that might happen, and I really don't want you to worry about anything like that. I know that most police officers want to help people, and most police officers never fire their guns. But sometimes they do get nervous and make mistakes. So it is important for you to know what to do if a police officer ever stops you..."

Black parents often refer to this as "the talk" they have to have with their adolescent sons to increase the odds they will survive an encounter with a police officer if and when they are stopped.

ET: That is a tough question. Depending on the age of the child, they may have some awareness of youth that have been killed by police. Obviously you don't want to respond in a way that is going to make children be more fearful for their safety. In my opinion, I think that you should let children know that most police officers work to protect them and their community.

If a child says they are afraid or angry, what do you say?

BDT: Acknowledge the child's feelings. The parent may have similar feelings. "I know it's upsetting to hear about and see these things happening. It upsets me too when bad things like this happen. Racism is very unfair. But it makes me feel better to know there are lots of people who want to change things." Being able to offer specific examples of community change agents would be useful. Being able to talk about what family members are doing to speak up against unfairness is especially useful. Actions always speak louder than words.

ET: If a child tells you that they are angry, that is appropriate. Don't force them to hide their emotional expression. However, be sure to help them identify ways to express their anger in a healthy manner which may include journaling or exercising to release the energy from their body.
Bear witness, record, de-escalate: How race may affect what bystanders are called to do in cases like George Floyd's
If a child is afraid for one of their friends, what do you say?

BDT: "I can see that you are worried about your friend. What do you think we could do that might help him or her?" Depending on the situation, this could be an opportunity to talk about what it means to be an ally, and how to stand in solidarity with another person.

ET: If a child is afraid for one of their friends, talk with them about those emotions. Allow the child to express why they may be afraid and help them identify how they can check on their friend's safety to ease their anxiety or fear. Part of what increases anxiety is the fear of the unknown. If you have a plan of action it will reduce some of those fears.

How can parents talk about law enforcement in a way that is honest but also doesn't discourage children from seeking help from law enforcement when appropriate?

BDT: Most police officers become police officers because they want to help people. And there are times when we would really want a police officer to help us - give some examples - if there's been a car accident, or if someone took something that belonged to us, etc. But sometimes a police officer does something bad, like today. When that happens, we might start to think that all police officers are like that. But it's important to remember that that is not true.

ET: I think that it is very important to talk with the children about law enforcement. For example, you can talk with them about how they protect rules in society such as making sure that people don't drive too fast so they won't harm themselves or others. Providing clear examples about the ways that law enforcement helps society will allow the child to better understand. You can also be honest about situations such as police brutality and let children know that some police officers break laws. If you have a trusted officer in your community it may be good to also allow the child to talk with them in person to reduce their fear.

Should these conversations be different depending on the race of the child?

BDT: Children of color are likely to experience racist encounters as they get older. They need to be helped to understand their own worth and feel affirmed in their identity as young people of color despite the negative messages they may get from others. Parents of color want to raise self-confident and empowered children who are not demoralized by other people's racism. This requires lots of conversation about racism and how to resist it in an ongoing way throughout their children's lives.

White children are often racially isolated as a consequence of segregated schools and neighborhoods, and consequently limited in their understanding of people different from themselves. White parents who want to interrupt the cycle of racism must learn to talk to their children about it and model their own anti-racist activity.
George Floyd video adds to trauma:'When is the last time you saw a white person killed online?'
ET: According to research, white parents often don't talk with their children about race or may emphasize "not seeing color." The concept of colorblindness or "not seeing color" is more harmful than helpful and does not honor an individual's identity. ... For white families, research suggests ... conversations should focus on raising anti-racist children and encouraging more friendships with children from others races.

Many of these deaths garner attention because footage of it goes viral. What should we say if our child asks to see it?

BDT: There are many adults who don't want to see such footage. I would not show it to a child at all. Once an image is in your head, it is very difficult to get it out. That said, it is reasonable to describe what happened and talk about why it was wrong. It is also likely that children with Internet access can view the footage without an adult's permission or assistance. Talking about it after the fact will help children process their feelings.

ET: You should not show your children these videos as it may increase the likelihood of them experiencing symptoms of trauma or having nightmares. What we know from research on witnessing disasters is that individuals may be at a higher risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder even through indirect exposure to these events.

What do we say if, in the course of this conversation, a child says something racist?
George Floyd protests: Anger floods U.S. cities
BDT: Inquire about it with curiosity, not judgment. "I'm wondering why you said that ..." After hearing more about what the child is thinking, you can offer correction by providing new information. "You know, a lot of people might think that is true, but I don't because...."
You may also be interested in: Alia E. Dastagir is a recipient of a Rosalynn Carter fellowship for mental health journalism. Follow her on Twitter: @alia_e
ET: I think the first thing to do is to not get defensive. You want to foster open communication with your child. However, I think you should explore why they have that opinion, where did they learn it from, and tell them why what they said was wrong. It might be helpful for you as a parent to think about ways that you may have unconsciously expressed racist attitudes.

How can parents explain the uprisings in a way that doesn't condone violence but also doesn't minimize the sense of injustice fueling them?

BDT: Children understand the concept of unfairness as well as the experience of frustration. Years and years of unfairness - racism - results in intense anger and frustration. The conversation can then be about what we must do to fix the continuing unfairness.

ET: I think it is important for parents to be honest. Share your hurt, anger, or disappointment with your child. You should also talk about different ways to protest social injustice such as calling your local politicians office or even visit their office to talk with them about policy change to reduce injustice.

Resources for parents

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Should we tell the children? How? Those are among the many questions parents are asking after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Many white parents wonder whether to talk with their kids at all, while parents of color swallow their grief and fear to have "the talk" once again.

# data[].attributes.headline
Talking with children about racism, police brutality, and protests

# data[].attributes.subject
Talking with children about racism, police brutality, and protests

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Talking With Kids About Racism, Police Brutality

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If we want to raise compassionate kids and responsible citizens in a democracy, we need to talk about these issues. Here’s an age by age guide for these talks.

# data[].attributes.body
How to talk to your children about protests and racism

Resources for Talking to Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
how to talk to your children about protests and racism - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to talk to your children about protests and racism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Protecting your children from the disturbing images of riots and police brutality is a battle in today's smartphone-addicted society. Here are expert tips on how to help your child navigate the trauma of today's protests while tackling the underlying cause: racism.

# data[].attributes.headline
How to talk to kids about race and racism

# data[].attributes.subject
How to talk to kids about race and racism

# data[].attributes.headline
How to talk to children about difficult news

# data[].attributes.subject
How to talk to children about difficult news

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Children's lives are touched by trauma on a regular basis, no matter how much parents or teachers try to keep the "bad things" away. Instead of shielding children from the dangers, violence or tragedies around us, adults should talk to kids about what is happening.

The conversation may not seem easy, but taking a proactive stance, discussing difficult events in age-appropriate language can help a child feel safer and more secure.

As much as adults may try to avoid difficult topics, children often learn or know when something sad or scary happens. If adults don't talk to them about it, a child may overestimate what is wrong or misunderstand adults' silence. So, be the first to bring up the difficult topic. When parents tackle difficult conversations, they let their children know that they are available and supportive.

Guide the conversation

Think about what you want to say. It's OK to practice in your head, to a mirror or with another adult. Some advanced planning may make the discussion easier. You won't have to think about it off the top of your head.

Find a quiet moment. Perhaps this is after dinner or while making the next day's lunch. This is time and place where your children can be the center of your attention.

Find out what they know. For example, there was a shooting at a school or a bomb set off in another country. Ask them "What have you heard about this?" And then listen. Listen. Listen. And listen more.

Share your feelings with your child. It is OK to acknowledge your feelings with your children. They see you are human. They also get a chance to see that even though upset, you can pull yourself together and continue on. Parents hear it often: Be a role model. This applies to emotions, too.

Tell the truth. Lay out the facts at a level they can understand. You do not need to give graphic details.

For young children, you may need to have the conversation about what death means (no longer feel anything, not hungry, thirsty, scared, or hurting; we will never see them again, but can hold their memories in our hearts and heads).

Say, "I don't know." Sometimes the answer to the question is "I don't know." "Why did the bad people do this?" "I don't know" fits.

Above all, reassure. At the end of the conversation, reassure your children that you will do everything you know how to do to keep them safe and to watch out for them. Reassure them that you will be available to answer any questions or talk about this topic again in the future. Reassure them that they are loved.

Take care of yourself

Talking about and experiencing difficult news and tragedies can be exhausting. Don't forget to take care of yourself:

Turn off the news.

Take a break.

Engage in physical activity.

Do something that will lift your spirits and those of your family.

Seek professional help

These tips and strategies can help you guide your children through the current crisis. If you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed or your child shows persistent signs of stress or agitation, you may want to consider talking to someone who could help. A licensed mental health professional such as a psychologist can assist you in developing an appropriate strategy for moving forward. To find a psychologist in your area, visit the Psychologist Locator.

Additional resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to talk to children about difficult news

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Children's lives are touched by trauma on a regular basis, no matter how much parents or teachers try to keep the "bad things" away. Instead of shielding children from the dangers, violence or tragedies around us, adults should talk to kids about what is happening.

# data[].attributes.headline
Anti-racism for kids 101: Starting to talk about race

# data[].attributes.subject
Anti-racism for kids 101: Starting to talk about race

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
National Museum of African American History and Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Research shows that many people feel they do not have the information needed to discuss race in a way that is candid, safe and respectful of other viewpoints and experiences.

"The portal offers a wealth of resources to inform and guide discussions-videos, role-playing exercises, targeted questions and more, said Crew." "We hope that people will use this site to become more comfortable about engaging in honest dialogue and self-reflection."

Talking About Race builds upon decades of work by the museum's educators. It is the result of extensive research, studies, consultations, and educational resources from these fields: history, education, psychology and human development. It includes published research from leading experts, activists, historians, and thought leaders on race, equity, and inclusion, including Brené Brown, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Robin DiAngelo, Julie Olsen Edwards, Jerry Kang, Ibram X Kendi, Enid Lee, Audre Lorde, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Tim Wise.

Phase one of the portal features eight foundational subjects including:

Being Anti-Racist: a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily.

Bias: the inclination or prejudice toward or against something or someone.

Community Building: connecting and engaging with others doing anti-racism work and exploring issues of race.

Historical Foundations of Race: how race, white privilege, and anti-blackness are woven into the very fabric of American society.

Race and Racial Identity: how societies use race to establish and justify systems of power, privilege, disenfranchisement, and oppression.

Self-Care: caring for one's mental, emotional, and physical health to sustain the work of dismantling racism.

Social Identities and Systems of Oppression: systems built around the ideology that some groups are superior to others.

Whiteness: an ideology that reinforces power at the expense of others.

Explore Talking About Race at nmaahc.si.edu/talkingaboutrace. The portal is free and does not require a registration or sign-up to use. Talking About Race is generously supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies.
Download Images for Media Use Social Media Toolkit
About the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Since opening September 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has welcomed more than 7 million visitors. Occupying a prominent location next to the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the nearly 400,000 square-foot museum is the nation's largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history. For more information about the museum, visit, follow @NMAAHC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or call Smithsonian information at (202) 633-1000.

# # #

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
National Museum of African American History and Culture Releases "Talking About Race" Web Portal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture today launched Talking About Race, a new online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our children's book lists have been SUPER popular, not least of all in the past week. We hope you find this list useful. Please share this resource forward using the share buttons on the side or bottom of the page. Also, this is one of hundreds of resources we offer and we want to invite you to explore others. Also, if you're looking to support these authors and illustrators by buying their books, we recommend that you go through Bookshop because that allows you to support local, independent bookstores near you. Another great alternative, support Black-owned bookstores such as these. EmbraceRace is not affiliated with Bookshop.

Research from Harvard University suggests that children as young as three years old, when exposed to racism and prejudice, tend to embrace and accept it, even though they might not understand the feelings. By age 5, white children are strongly biased towards whiteness. To counter this bias, experts recommend acknowledging and naming race and racism with children as early and as often as possible. Children's books are one of the most effective and practical tools for initiating these critical conversations; and they can also be used to model what it means to resist and dismantle oppression.​

Beyond addressing issues of race and racism, this children's reading list focuses on taking action. It highlights resistance, resilience and activism; and seeks to empower youth to participate in the ongoing movement for racial justice. These books showcase the diverse ways people of all ages and races have engaged in anti-racist activism, and highlight how race intersects with other issues, such as capitalism, class and colonization. The majority of books center activists of color, whose lives and bodies have been on the front lines of racial justice work, yet whose stories often go untold. The essential work of white activists is also included - to underscore that anti-racist work is not the responsibility of people of color; and exemplify the ways white allies have stood up against racial injustice. This list was curated by critical literacy organizations, The Conscious Kid and American Indians in Children's Literature.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our children's book lists have been SUPER popular, not least of all in the past week. We hope you find this list useful. Please share this resource forward using the share buttons on the side or bottom of the page. Also, this is one of hundreds of resources we offer and we want to invite you to explore others.

# data[].attributes.headline
Your kids aren’t too young to talk about race

# data[].attributes.subject
Your kids aren’t too young to talk about race

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup - Pretty Good

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Your kids aren't too young to talk about race. Here are a few resources to get your started.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A White Families' Guide For Talking About Racism - Education With An Apron

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
click ANY image in this post to be taken to the product. White families, if you're here, we hope it's because you're ready to start having important conversations with your children about racism and actively planning what your family can do to help. We aren't here as teachers for this post.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story about Racial Injustice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The story follows two families-one White and one Black-as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community.

# data[].attributes.headline
Talking to Children After Racial Incidents (

# data[].attributes.subject
Talking to Children After Racial Incidents (

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Parents have a natural instinct to teach and protect their children. Police-involved killings, the shooting of Dallas officers, peaceful protests that turn violent - incidents that are often traumatic for adults - can make these two instincts feel in conflict.

Do we try to explain the strife our child sees on television? Or should we try to shield her from such "grown up" problems?

Howard Stevenson, a clinical psychologist at Penn GSE, studies racial literacy and racial trauma. He works with educators and families to help them understand the emotions that racial incidents can bring about, and how to reduce their negative effects on health and well being.

We asked Stevenson what ideas he had for adults who are searching for a way to discuss racial incidents with their children.
Why is this a conversation parents and guardians need to have?
Stevenson: We can't hide our children from the world. Your child is probably already more aware of race, class, and gender differences than you realize. This can be a time to teach your child about social justice, while also helping process how painful these events can be for them, and for you.
Why talk about social justice?
Stevenson: Adults often have a romanticized view of childhood that ignores how much children actually know. Our research, for example, has found elementary children are acutely aware of racial attitudes. Talking about injustice allows children to make sense of the things that don't go right in the world.

At some point, your child will be treated differently. Or one of her friends will be. They will be exposed to or have a sense of unfairness or injustice that is rightfully upsetting.

Explain that: "I'd like for you to be able to talk about it if someone treats you unfairly because of the color of your skin, or because you are a girl, or because of your religion, or because of a disability."

Right now, as chaotic as things might seem, is a good time to begin having these conversations with your child. It opens the door to you saying, "Here's what we are going to do. Here's how we can face this. You might feel helpless, which is natural and OK. I want to talk to you about this so you can feel strong."
Why talk about race?
Stevenson: We tell our kids not to approach strangers promising them candy. That's a scary situation for a child to imagine. Why do we do it? So children will be prepared for what to do.

Talking about race in America can be scary. People don't want to be seen as a racist or someone trying to start a conflict. But the less prepared we are to think about race and talk about race, the scarier those conversations are when they occur. And children need tools for how to feel and speak about these issues.
Remember "Affection, Correction, and Protection"
Stevenson: Think of this as a three-step plan for conversations about race and social justice:

1. Embrace your child's difference. Make it clear how much you care about her, how her difference is a gift, not a liability, and how not everyone will view it as a positive.

2. Correct misperceptions the world has about people who are diverse. We certainly know the adult world is filled with misinformation after a racist incident makes news. Kids hear that too. Help them better understand that no one is less human than another.

3. Monitor your child's emotions before, during, and after the conversation. Say, "this is an ongoing conversation." You're going to keep talking about these issues and they should too. When another incident makes headlines, follow up.

Reason it out
Stevenson: Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. Rather than simply give them rules ("Don't talk to strangers") give them reasons ("I would be afraid that a stranger would misunderstand you.")

Explain the reasons and emotions of why you are having this talk with a child. Explain that you want them to be able to talk about what makes them afraid, because that will make them strong.

It's OK if they're upset by what's happening in the world. You are too. Any reaction, as long as it's not violent or retaliatory, is OK.
How can you partner with other parents?
Stevenson: Every parent feels isolated having these hard conversations with their children. When you have the chance, practice having a hard conversation with your partner or a friend before you have to have it with your child.

Remember that other parents are struggling in the same ways that you are. Reach out to like-minded parents in your life at church, at your kids' games, waiting to pick them up from camp. What are we trying to say? What do we think they need to hear? What feelings am I having? Can I model how to share those feelings? If we can't communicate that, maybe someone else can. Who is that?
Avoid either/or
Stevenson: There's a reason many simple stories are told in terms of good guys and bad guys: It's easy to grasp. But this either/or construction doesn't help children reflect on the complexities in the world. Everyone has a family and loved ones.

A useful lesson is to teach a child how to refute an over-simplified either/or characterization. For example, why can't it be true that all Black, White, or Brown people act a certain way?

Many instances of injustice happen because a person dehumanizes someone else. It's much easier to be cruel or unfair if you are thinking of someone as not human. Ask your child to think, what if that person were my sibling? What feelings would I have?

Or ask, how would you like to be seen if a stranger comes up to you? That's how I'd like you to think about other people.
Listen
Stevenson: Don't assume you are the only one with wisdom to bring to the conversation. Children teach us too.

The more you listen for what your child already knows, what they are concerned about, what they are afraid of, the more you'll be able to help them speak and feel confidently about matters of social justice. And keep listening, because your child will need you to keep that conversation going.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Talking to children after racial incidents

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Parents have a natural instinct to teach and protect their children. Police-involved killings, the shooting of Dallas officers, peaceful protests that turn violent - incidents that are often traumatic for adults - can make these two instincts feel in conflict.Do we try to explain the strife our child sees on television?

# data[].attributes.headline
Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice (Teaching Tolerance)  

# data[].attributes.subject
Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice (Teaching Tolerance)  

# data[].attributes.headline
“George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children?”

# data[].attributes.subject
“George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children?”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Should we tell the children? How?

Those are among the many questions parents are asking after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Many white parents wonder whether to talk with their kids at all, while parents of color swallow their grief and fear to have "the talk" once again.

These deaths are part of a more complex story, one some parents have been telling for generations, and others have long felt they've had the luxury to ignore. Experts in child psychology and race-based stress say these conversations are essential for all parents to have, and they underscore that there are developmentally appropriate ways to talk to children of all ages about racism and police brutality.
George Floyd protests: How did we get here?
"Silence will not protect you or them," said Beverly Daniel Tatum, a psychologist and author of "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race." " Avoiding the topic is not a solution."

Racism persists, experts say, because many parents avoid difficult conversations.

"One of the most important things to remember is that you may not have all the answers, and that is OK," said Erlanger Turner, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at Pepperdine University who studies mental health among racial communities.

USA TODAY spoke with Tatum andTurner about how to talk with children about racial violence:

Why is it important to talk with children about what happened to George Floyd and other incidents of police brutality or racism in the news?

Beverly Daniel Tatum: Even young children may see or hear about highly publicized incidents like the George Floyd case - perhaps overhearing the TV or the radio - and may ask questions. Or if parents are upset by the news, the child may perceive the parent's distress and ask why Mom or Dad is upset. In either case, an age-appropriate explanation is better than silence. Older children with Internet access may see online images on their own. Initiating an age-appropriate conversation can give children a helpful frame for understanding difficult realities. If parents are silent, children will draw their own often faulty conclusions about what is happening and why.

Erlanger Turner: Many adults are hurt and angered by these events, and their children may notice changes in their mood. It is helpful to have a healthy conversation around what happened and also talk about ways to cope when you witness social injustice.

Does COVID-19 warrant avoiding these conversations, given many children are already struggling with fear, anxiety and uncertainty?
'This report is ... a joke':House Democrats blast CDC over racial disparity data amid coronavirus
BDT: No. Not talking about upsetting events only fuels fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Being able to talk about something with a supportive adult can reduce fear, anxiety and uncertainty. Parents may avoid the conversation because they don't know what to say, but it is a mistake to think that their silence is helpful.

ET: I don't think that anxiety and fear about COVID-19 should stop a parent from talking about police brutality. This issue has been increasing in concern over the last few years as the number of black and brown people killed by police continue to rise. I think if you do talk with your child don't leave them in a high state of worry. Make sure to end the conversation by engaging in a pleasant activity after the difficult discussion so they won't stay worried or afraid.

How do parents start these conversations and how does that change depending on the age of their children?

ET: I think the first place to start a conversation around racism and police brutality is with honesty. Take ownership of your feelings and be comfortable sharing those feelings with your child. Then you can begin to allow them to share what they may already know about racial differences. I think that it is always good to allow children to share their opinion and understanding before you offer information.

For younger children conversations about racism should be limited to basic facts about how people are treated differently due to the color of their skin but also acknowledge that not everyone treats people differently based on race. For older teens, parents can consider exposure to news or social media posts as discussion points about this issue.

BDT: Regardless of the age of the child, it is important to balance acknowledging the reality of racism, or unfairness, with messages about the possibility of change, and the community of allies who are working together to make things better.

If a child of color asks if a police officer is going to kill them, what do you say?

BDT: The answer will depend on the age of the child. If it is a young child, a parent can be reassuring. "No, honey, you don't have to worry about that. Police officers don't want to hurt you."

In response to an older child, it can be reassuring to say something like: "I know that it is scary to think that something like that might happen, and I really don't want you to worry about anything like that. I know that most police officers want to help people, and most police officers never fire their guns. But sometimes they do get nervous and make mistakes. So it is important for you to know what to do if a police officer ever stops you..."

Black parents often refer to this as "the talk" they have to have with their adolescent sons to increase the odds they will survive an encounter with a police officer if and when they are stopped.

ET: That is a tough question. Depending on the age of the child, they may have some awareness of youth that have been killed by police. Obviously you don't want to respond in a way that is going to make children be more fearful for their safety. In my opinion, I think that you should let children know that most police officers work to protect them and their community.

If a child says they are afraid or angry, what do you say?

BDT: Acknowledge the child's feelings. The parent may have similar feelings. "I know it's upsetting to hear about and see these things happening. It upsets me too when bad things like this happen. Racism is very unfair. But it makes me feel better to know there are lots of people who want to change things." Being able to offer specific examples of community change agents would be useful. Being able to talk about what family members are doing to speak up against unfairness is especially useful. Actions always speak louder than words.

ET: If a child tells you that they are angry, that is appropriate. Don't force them to hide their emotional expression. However, be sure to help them identify ways to express their anger in a healthy manner which may include journaling or exercising to release the energy from their body.
Bear witness, record, de-escalate: How race may affect what bystanders are called to do in cases like George Floyd's
If a child is afraid for one of their friends, what do you say?

BDT: "I can see that you are worried about your friend. What do you think we could do that might help him or her?" Depending on the situation, this could be an opportunity to talk about what it means to be an ally, and how to stand in solidarity with another person.

ET: If a child is afraid for one of their friends, talk with them about those emotions. Allow the child to express why they may be afraid and help them identify how they can check on their friend's safety to ease their anxiety or fear. Part of what increases anxiety is the fear of the unknown. If you have a plan of action it will reduce some of those fears.

How can parents talk about law enforcement in a way that is honest but also doesn't discourage children from seeking help from law enforcement when appropriate?

BDT: Most police officers become police officers because they want to help people. And there are times when we would really want a police officer to help us - give some examples - if there's been a car accident, or if someone took something that belonged to us, etc. But sometimes a police officer does something bad, like today. When that happens, we might start to think that all police officers are like that. But it's important to remember that that is not true.

ET: I think that it is very important to talk with the children about law enforcement. For example, you can talk with them about how they protect rules in society such as making sure that people don't drive too fast so they won't harm themselves or others. Providing clear examples about the ways that law enforcement helps society will allow the child to better understand. You can also be honest about situations such as police brutality and let children know that some police officers break laws. If you have a trusted officer in your community it may be good to also allow the child to talk with them in person to reduce their fear.

Should these conversations be different depending on the race of the child?

BDT: Children of color are likely to experience racist encounters as they get older. They need to be helped to understand their own worth and feel affirmed in their identity as young people of color despite the negative messages they may get from others. Parents of color want to raise self-confident and empowered children who are not demoralized by other people's racism. This requires lots of conversation about racism and how to resist it in an ongoing way throughout their children's lives.

White children are often racially isolated as a consequence of segregated schools and neighborhoods, and consequently limited in their understanding of people different from themselves. White parents who want to interrupt the cycle of racism must learn to talk to their children about it and model their own anti-racist activity.
George Floyd video adds to trauma:'When is the last time you saw a white person killed online?'
ET: According to research, white parents often don't talk with their children about race or may emphasize "not seeing color." The concept of colorblindness or "not seeing color" is more harmful than helpful and does not honor an individual's identity. ... For white families, research suggests ... conversations should focus on raising anti-racist children and encouraging more friendships with children from others races.

Many of these deaths garner attention because footage of it goes viral. What should we say if our child asks to see it?

BDT: There are many adults who don't want to see such footage. I would not show it to a child at all. Once an image is in your head, it is very difficult to get it out. That said, it is reasonable to describe what happened and talk about why it was wrong. It is also likely that children with Internet access can view the footage without an adult's permission or assistance. Talking about it after the fact will help children process their feelings.

ET: You should not show your children these videos as it may increase the likelihood of them experiencing symptoms of trauma or having nightmares. What we know from research on witnessing disasters is that individuals may be at a higher risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder even through indirect exposure to these events.

What do we say if, in the course of this conversation, a child says something racist?
George Floyd protests: Anger floods U.S. cities
BDT: Inquire about it with curiosity, not judgment. "I'm wondering why you said that ..." After hearing more about what the child is thinking, you can offer correction by providing new information. "You know, a lot of people might think that is true, but I don't because...."
You may also be interested in: Alia E. Dastagir is a recipient of a Rosalynn Carter fellowship for mental health journalism. Follow her on Twitter: @alia_e
ET: I think the first thing to do is to not get defensive. You want to foster open communication with your child. However, I think you should explore why they have that opinion, where did they learn it from, and tell them why what they said was wrong. It might be helpful for you as a parent to think about ways that you may have unconsciously expressed racist attitudes.

How can parents explain the uprisings in a way that doesn't condone violence but also doesn't minimize the sense of injustice fueling them?

BDT: Children understand the concept of unfairness as well as the experience of frustration. Years and years of unfairness - racism - results in intense anger and frustration. The conversation can then be about what we must do to fix the continuing unfairness.

ET: I think it is important for parents to be honest. Share your hurt, anger, or disappointment with your child. You should also talk about different ways to protest social injustice such as calling your local politicians office or even visit their office to talk with them about policy change to reduce injustice.

Resources for parents

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Should we tell the children? How? Those are among the many questions parents are asking after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Many white parents wonder whether to talk with their kids at all, while parents of color swallow their grief and fear to have "the talk" once again.

# data[].attributes.headline
“Tallking to Kids About Race, Early and Often”

# data[].attributes.subject
“Tallking to Kids About Race, Early and Often”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Talking to Kids About Racism, Early and Often (Published 2020)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These books can help start the conversation.

# data[].attributes.headline
75 things White people can do for racial justice 

# data[].attributes.subject
75 things White people can do for racial justice 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
106 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Note 1: This article was last updated on February 5, 2022.
Note 2: Our work is to fix what we broke and left broken. The work isn’t done…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From suggested social media language you can use to advocate for change, to educational guides to keep you up to speed on the latest, the resources below can help you start or continue your journey to take action against injustice.

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The New Era of Public Safety initiative offers groundbreaking tools to create accountability and increase trust, fairness, justice, and mutual respect between police departments and the communities of color they serve. The report and toolkit offer policy solutions to equip communities and police departments with best practices and recommendations for adopting 21st century policing models, including tools for advocacy.

Center for Policing Equity
Center for Policing Equity (CPE) produces analyses identifying and reducing the causes of racial disparities in public safety and advocates for large-scale and meaningful change. Using evidence-based approaches to social justice, CPE uses data to create levers for social, cultural and policy change.

Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter provides a number of toolkits for individuals related to healing action, healing justice, conflict resolution, and more.

Everyday Democracy
Everyday Democracy provides a number of resources for individuals by issue, including around community policing.

National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
NICJR partners with cities and agencies across the country to support efforts focused on reimagining public safety; placing community at the center and transforming policing. Utilizing the organization's successful criminal justice reform model to Reduce-Improve-and Invest, NICJR is guiding newly formed police reform commission efforts in California, including the Oakland Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and the Fresno Commission on Police Reform to establish robust recommendations and implement a sustainable framework to reduce the footprint of law enforcement, significantly improve policing, and reinvest into communities and community based services and supports. They have a number of resources around this work.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice and National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives partnered together on the "Future of Public Safety" series, which resulted in this report. In the series, we brought together 38 individuals representing a diverse range of voices for "dialogue across differences." Through everyone's points of healthy disagreement, we identified nine core points of consensus that guided our work and are the framework for the roadmap we provide communities.

These third party external links are being provided as a convenience and for educational and informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Obama Foundation, and the Obama Foundation bears no responsibility for the accuracy or legality of the content of the external site or subsequent links from an external site.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We work to help leaders change their world-and the world needs changing. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the loss of far too many Black lives to list, have left our nation heartbroken and outraged. Find ways you can meet anguish with action.

# data[].attributes.headline
Being an ally does not mean having all of the answers

# data[].attributes.subject
Being an ally does not mean having all of the answers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Bloom - Building Mindful, Well and Equitable Schools and Businesses!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
‌How we treat each other matters. When people don't feel included, respected, and understood, they don't feel well. Recent events exhibiting police brutality and excessive force around the nation have shown us that we have to be the change we want to see.

Anti-racist and anti-bias education helps our entire society and the world evolve. Schools and families are an integral part of our collective evolution. It's important to remember that racism and bias occur on the individual and structural level and do not only occur through physical violence.

Racism, Classism, Ageism, Sexism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, etc are viruses that we have the immediate power to eliminate. It starts with each one of us. Tips and resources are below and abound.
Being an Ally Doesn't Mean Having All of the Answers. Here's what it can mean:
-Being willing to be open, empathetic, and have uncomfortable conversations about social justice.

-Calling out injustice when you see it. Even when it's your family, co-workers, and friends.

-Using one's privilege to help someone in need.

-Mentoring someone with limited access to education, resources, or professional networks.

-Changing Policies That Are Unjust

-Asking questions, listening, and educating yourself to be your best version.

-Using Mindfulness on A Daily Basis to Support Anti-Racist & Anti-Bias Lifestyles

Here are some tips to engage in online and in-person conversations about social justice and the equitable treatment of Black people in America and abroad and all people.

Hold yourself and others accountable without judgement

Participate authentically in conversations as a lifelong learner

Respectfully ask questions for clarification

Operate with an open heart, mind, and spirit

Embrace conflict without the need to control it or others

Cultivate honest and respectful discussions based on mutual respect

Be mindful of personal body language when communicating concerns

Listen to others

Share your story

Make an action plan for future steps you can take

Here are some anti-racist and anti-bias resources for adults and children: Podcasts Articles
Books

News:
https://www.instagram.com/jessicayellin/?hl=en
If you're reading this you should already consider yourself an ally. You're doing the work. Write down what you want next and reach out to friends and family to make a plan to become the best ally you can be. Anti-racism is a human rights issue not a black issue. Civil Rights are Human Rights. Do not loose faith that we are the heroes we have been looking for.

I would suggest that schools and businesses also take the lead and put Pre K-12, College, and Workplace Wellness, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion programs in place. This can help us see each other's humanity form an early age. Kindness Has To Be Our New Norm.

‌If you're interested in bringing online Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Self-Discovery, Self Care, and Mindfulness workshops to your school, nonprofit, or business feel free to reach out at Stephanie.akoumany@justbloom.io .

Check out Bloom's blog at http://justbloom.io and The Blooming is a Habit Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for Life-changing Conversations on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Wellness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Being An Ally Doesn't Mean Having All The Answers. How to Make Empathy & Equity A Habit.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
‌How we treat each other matters. When people don't feel included, respected, and understood, they don't feel well. Recent events exhibiting police brutality and excessive force around the nation have shown us that we have to be the change we want to see. Anti-racist and anti-bias education helps our entire

# data[].attributes.headline
LA Times Op-Ed: Don’t understand the protests? 

# data[].attributes.subject
LA Times Op-Ed: Don’t understand the protests? 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

What was your first reaction when you saw the video of the white cop kneeling on George Floyd's neck while Floyd croaked, "I can't breathe"?

If you're white, you probably muttered a horrified, "Oh, my God" while shaking your head at the cruel injustice. If you're black, you probably leapt to your feet, cursed, maybe threw something (certainly wanted to throw something), while shouting, "Not @#$%! again!" Then you remember the two white vigilantes accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery as he jogged through their neighborhood in February, and how if it wasn't for that video emerging a few weeks ago, they would have gotten away with it. And how those Minneapolis cops claimed Floyd was resisting arrest but a store's video showed he wasn't. And how the cop on Floyd's neck wasn't an enraged redneck stereotype, but a sworn officer who looked calm and entitled and devoid of pity: the banality of evil incarnate.

Maybe you also are thinking about the Karen in Central Park who called 911 claiming the black man who asked her to put a leash on her dog was threatening her. Or the black Yale University grad student napping in the common room of her dorm who was reported by a white student. Because you realize it's not just a supposed "black criminal" who is targeted, it's the whole spectrum of black faces from Yonkers to Yale.

You start to wonder if it should be all black people who wear body cams, not the cops.

What do you see when you see angry black protesters amassing outside police stations with raised fists? If you're white, you may be thinking, "They certainly aren't social distancing." Then you notice the black faces looting Target and you think, "Well, that just hurts their cause." Then you see the police station on fire and you wag a finger saying, "That's putting the cause backward."

You're not wrong - but you're not right, either. The black community is used to the institutional racism inherent in education, the justice system and jobs. And even though we do all the conventional things to raise public and political awareness - write articulate and insightful pieces in the Atlantic, explain the continued devastation on CNN, support candidates who promise change - the needle hardly budges.

But COVID-19 has been slamming the consequences of all that home as we die at a significantly higher rate than whites, are the first to lose our jobs, and watch helplessly as Republicans try to keep us from voting. Just as the slimy underbelly of institutional racism is being exposed, it feels like hunting season is open on blacks. If there was any doubt, President Trump's recent tweets confirm the national zeitgeist as he calls protesters "thugs" and looters fair game to be shot.

Yes, protests often are used as an excuse for some to take advantage, just as when fans celebrating a hometown sports team championship burn cars and destroy storefronts. I don't want to see stores looted or even buildings burn. But African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible - even if you're choking on it - until you let the sun in. Then you see it's everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it's always still in the air.

So, maybe the black community's main concern right now isn't whether protesters are standing three or six feet apart or whether a few desperate souls steal some T-shirts or even set a police station on fire, but whether their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers will be murdered by cops or wannabe cops just for going on a walk, a jog, a drive. Or whether being black means sheltering at home for the rest of their lives because the racism virus infecting the country is more deadly than COVID-19.

What you should see when you see black protesters in the age of Trump and coronavirus is people pushed to the edge, not because they want bars and nail salons open, but because they want to live. To breathe.

Worst of all, is that we are expected to justify our outraged behavior every time the cauldron bubbles over. Almost 70 years ago, Langston Hughes asked in his poem "Harlem": "What happens to a dream deferred? /... Maybe it sags / like a heavy load. / Or does it explode?"

Fifty years ago, Marvin Gaye sang in "Inner City Blues": "Make me wanna holler / The way they do my life." And today, despite the impassioned speeches of well-meaning leaders, white and black, they want to silence our voice, steal our breath.

So what you see when you see black protesters depends on whether you're living in that burning building or watching it on TV with a bowl of corn chips in your lap waiting for "NCIS" to start.

What I want to see is not a rush to judgment, but a rush to justice.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the N.B.A.'s all-time leading scorer, is the author of 16 books, including, most recently, "Mycroft & Sherlock -The Empty Birdcage" www.kareemabduljabbar.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Op-Ed: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Don't understand the protests? What you're seeing is people pushed to the edge

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The main concern of black people right now isn't whether they're standing three or six feet apart, but whether their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers will be murdered by cops.

# data[].attributes.headline
Your Black colleagues may look like they’re okay; chances are they are not

# data[].attributes.subject
Your Black colleagues may look like they’re okay; chances are they are not

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The likelihood that your Black colleague lost a family member to COVID-19 is painfully high. The chances that your Black colleague was triggered by the viral video of Amy Cooper because a white woman used her race and privilege and weaponized it against him is incredibly likely. The possibility that your Black colleague is afraid to go for a run, or terrified when her husband leaves the house, or just simply enraged by the incessant lies this country keeps telling us about equal liberties is so high you'll need a ladder to get it down.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dear White People, Your Black Colleagues Aren't Okay

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The likelihood that your Black colleague lost a family member to COVID-19 is painfully high. The chances that your Black colleague was triggered by the viral video of Amy Cooper because a white woman used her race and privilege and weaponized it against him is incredibly likely.

# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding Race and Privilege (National Association of School Psychologists)

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding Race and Privilege (National Association of School Psychologists)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Across the nation, children of all backgrounds are experiencing a time in which discussions about race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and culture are at the forefront of their everyday lives. Many people avoid these discussions because they fear that conversations about race, bias, and racism lead to feelings of anger, guilt, discomfort, sadness, and at times disrespect. The current state of our Union, however, no longer allows for these tough conversations to be ignored. While uncomfortable for some, school psychologists are in a position to lead or at least participate in these conversations. By using their knowledge and expertise of systems-level change, school psychologists can facilitate the dialogue to bring about positive, productive outcomes.

This document is part of a series of resources developed by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) in response to recent acts of racial violence and the increasingly uncivil discourse occurring across our country. It is important for school psychologists and other educators to understand the historical and contemporary conditions that have resulted in many of these violent acts, as well as others' reactions (including violence) to these events. NASP seeks to help schools and families engage in constructive dialogue about privilege, prejudice, power, and the ways that all of us can work together to shift the conversation from hate and violence toward understanding and respect to ultimately bring about positive change and unity to our communities.

Background Information

In today's American society, each of us has an identity that shapes how we see ourselves and others. Not only do our social norms and cultural underpinnings influence our experiences, they also set the course for how we view the world. Differences in identity-and related struggles for place and power-are woven throughout our history and social and political culture. In fact, while diversity is a hallmark and strength of our nation, the path toward common ground, mutual respect, and equity has been rocky for nearly every religious, racial, and ethnic group that has become part of the American fabric along the way. The same is true for groups identified by specific experiences and characteristics, such as gender, sexual orientation, and disability. In many respects, though, the disconnect in identity and experience between White Americans and those of nonmajority backgrounds is deeply intertwined in our most difficult challenges, such as poverty, disenfranchisement, isolation, inequity, and violence, and it isn't fully possible to address these issues without also addressing this reality.

The Role of Privilege

For many members of the majority culture (i.e., those who identify as White) in the United States, being made aware of one's classification as linked to privilege is likely not a common or welcomed experience. Indeed, many people have never been asked or required to reflect on their own privileged status, and in regards to racial identity, doing so might feel uncomfortable or even discordant with the common narrative regarding social and political changes over the years. For example, White Americans may attach the concepts of progress toward equality or being "color blind" as mitigating privilege. As a result, many White Americans either may not be aware of or may avoid considering how simply being White confers special status or experiences, potentially to the detriment of others. While many Americans may not view themselves as privileged because of their economic or social status, the advantage of being in the majority racial group is real, even if often hidden.

Consider simple life activities such as shopping in a store without the fear of being followed or buying or renting a home in an area that you can afford without consideration of your race. This fundamental disconnect might both motivate and exacerbate the racial/cultural divide in the United States due to a lack of awareness of how privilege contributes to the realities of racism. Peggy McIntosh (1990), in her essay "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack", wrote, "I realized that I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but also had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, White privilege, which puts me at an advantage." Importantly, although privilege is often associated only with wealth and/or economic status, it applies far more broadly. Privilege can be assigned to populations within a group, such as athletes, individuals perceived as attractive, individuals who attain higher levels of education, or membership in certain religious groups. Loosely defined, privilege includes the following aspects.

Unearned advantages that are highly valued but restricted to certain groups. Unearned advantages are those that someone receives by identifying or being born into a specific group. It is important to note that the groups who have received these advantages have not earned them due to their own hard work but rather their affiliation (e.g., being born into a wealthy family provides privileges that others do not have, such as accessing education as well as mental health and medical services; White Americans are more likely to walk into a mall without the suspicion of stealing). Equally important to note is the reality that while some benefit from unearned advantages, others are victims of unearned disadvantage. Unearned entitlements are things of value that all people should have; however, they are often restricted to certain groups because of the values of the majority culture that influence political and social decisions. The example below illustrates this concept.
Example: John (a boy) is perceived to understand science better than Jane (a girl). Although John and Jane are both in the same science class and have the same grades on their assignments and exams, because he's a boy, John's perceived superior understanding of science can become advantageous if he (rather than Jane) is encouraged to join science clubs. Over time, John's participation in various science clubs may lead to receiving better grades in science and improve his chances of being accepted into more rigorous and competitive classes and programs in the future.
Privilege oppresses certain groups. As explained by Wildman and Davis (1995),
Members of the privileged group gain many benefits by their affiliation with the dominant side of the power system. Privileged advantage in societal relationships benefits the holder of privilege, who may receive deference, special knowledge, or a higher comfort level to guide societal interaction. Privilege is not visible to its holder; it is merely there, a part of the world, a way of life, simply the way things are. Others have a lack, an absence, a deficiency.

Privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of group membership and not based on what a person or group has done or failed to do (Johnson, 2006). For those who routinely benefit from privilege, the challenge is to not quickly deny its existence. It is important to recognize that privilege is a part of the reality that helps some while it impedes others' experiences. For example, although being female or a person of color does not necessarily directly determine an outcome, these characteristics can easily and quickly make these individuals less likely to be hired, recognized, or rewarded in a variety of situations.

Privilege is problematic (a) when it skews our personal interactions and judgments and (b) when it contributes to or blinds us to systemic barriers for those who do not possess a certain privilege, thereby creating or perpetuating inequity. In American culture, certain groups have the privilege of operating within settings-through no effort on their part-that are more conducive for their success, while others-through no fault of their own-find themselves in settings that make success more difficult (Miranda, Boland, & Hemmeler, 2009). Again, this concept refers to any advantage that is unearned, exclusive, and socially conferred. For example, with White privilege, White people are generally assumed to be law abiding until they show that they are not. On the other hand, people of color, in particular African Americans and Latinos, are routinely assumed to be criminals or potential criminals until they show that they are not (Johnson, 2006).

The Effect of Privilege in Schools

In schools, privilege-based bias plays out in many ways but perhaps most acutely in discipline. Macintosh (2014) refers to the disproportionate disciplinary outcomes in schools and the importance of evaluating implicit bias in the context of vulnerable decision points that are highly susceptible to individuals' unconscious bias. Unconscious bias at its core speaks to lack of awareness of-or literally not thinking about-internal biases when engaging in disciplinary practice. Such unconscious bias is likely the result of individuals' past experiences, including lack of exposure to certain students (i.e., ethnic minorities). When adults who are working with young people make fast decisions, the data suggest an increase in the likelihood of disproportionate disciplinary practices that unfortunately continue to perpetuate the stigma of perceived criminal behavior from African American and Latino students.

As practitioners continue to develop and grow in their own self-awareness, the potential to change the current outcomes seen in disciplinary practices is promising. Lindsey, Robins, and Terrell (2009) suggest that culturally competent educational leaders should engage in the following:

Assess one's own culture

Value diversity

Manage the dynamics of difference

Adapt to diversity

Institutionalize cultural knowledge

These practices allow culturally competent educational leaders to recognize their own cultural values, norms, and expectations, while allowing them to collaborate with students, staff, and families from other cultures. These interactions support the management of conflicts that may arise as a result of cultural differences. Adapting to diversity suggests embedding equitable practices in classroom management, instructional practices, and social-emotional learning. Finally, institutionalizing cultural knowledge speaks to informing school policies that are equitable and supportive of all students.

Self-Reflection Questions

Wildman & Davis (1995) explain that "the lives we lead affect what we are able to see and hear in the world around us." As such, an important first step to understanding the concept of group-based privilege and how it can shape peoples' perspectives, experiences, and interactions is to examine our own experience. We can be the beneficiary of privilege without recognizing or consciously perpetuating it. Learning to see one's own privilege as well as that of groups and systems can create an important pathway to self-discovery. Some questions to consider are listed below.

1. When was the last time you had to think about your ethnicity, race, gender identity, ability level, religion, and/or sexual orientation? What provoked you to think about it or acknowledge it?

2. When watching TV or a movie, how likely are you to watch shows whose characters reflect your ethnicity, race, gender, ability level, religion, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation?

3. When using social media, how diverse is your feed? How diverse are your friends and followers? How diverse are those that you follow?

4. How do you respond when others make negative statements towards individuals of a different ethnicity, race, gender, ability level, religion, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity than yourself?

5. How often do you go to social settings where the majority of individuals are of a different ethnicity, race, gender, ability level, religion, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity than yourself?

6. How diverse is the community in which you live?

7. How do you feel when you are in a community that is different than your neighborhood?

8. How would you make your neighborhood more inclusive and sensitive?

9. If you recognized your privilege, what did you do with this realization?

Suggestions for Talking to Others About Privilege

Engaging in thoughtful discussion with people of other backgrounds is essential to understanding privilege. Prior to the discussion, ask participants to read Peggy McIntosh's article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," or "Waking Up White" by Debby Irving.
Start by discussing how privilege looks in our society and which groups have privilege and which do not.

The first discussion should be about privilege, in general, in America and the reasons some groups have privilege and others do not. This lays a foundation before personalizing the discussion and may help participants be less defensive.

Next, ask participants to discuss examples of how they are privileged and how they are not privileged. Listen to the ways in which a person legitimately does and does not have privilege and validate any frustrations that are expressed, especially before offering your opinion or perspective. The discussion about areas in which participants have not experienced privilege is where the most empathy may be found.

Be sure to listen twice as much as you speak.

Stress that privilege is relative to each individual's lived experience.

The degree to which individuals experience privilege must be framed within the context of their own race, gender, ability level, religion, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity coupled with the communities in which they live, work, and play as well as the persons with whom they interact.
Recognize that having privilege does not require feeling guilty for your privilege.

Because each of us likely has an element of privilege within our make-up (ethnicity, gender, ability level, religion, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity), individuals need not feel guilty for their privilege.

Rather, the focus should be to use our privileged positions to challenge the systems in which we live. Specifically, challenge yourself and others to refuse to live in a system of unchecked privilege. For example, challenging school staff members to walk the route their students take to school each day is a small but meaningful step toward helping them to identify and understand their privilege in relation to the students they serve.

Determine and offer ways to challenge systems of privilege and oppression in your own life.

If someone mentions an oppressive pattern that relates to privilege (e.g., "Men always dominate conversations and talk over women because they are taught that their voices are more valuable."), consider how you will not participate in this pattern. For example, you might say less or be aware of how often you are speaking and begin to listen more while others are speaking.

Conclusion

Understanding and engaging in self-reflection and discussions about privilege is an essential step to addressing individual and systemic inequities in our society. We must be aware of and honest about our personal perspectives and how these may or may not contribute to biases that in turn may contribute, even unintentionally, to prejudice, inequity, isolation, poverty, and violence. Schools present an ideal context for helping to guide conversations and learning opportunities for students. (See NASP's lesson plan for middle and high school students, "Talking About Race and Privilege" for additional specific guidance.)

Resources
Related NASP Resources
"NASP Statement Regarding Recent Acts of Violence": http://www.nasponline.org/about-school-psychology/media-room/press-releases/nasp-statement-regarding-recent-acts-of-violence

"Racism, prejudice, and discrimination," NASP position statement: http://www.nasponline.org/x26830.xml

"Talking about race and privilege: Lesson plan for middle and high school students," lesson plan: http://www.nasponline.org/resources/social-justice
Online
"10 children's books that help White kids understand what children of color are up against," Romper blog post: https://www.romper.com/p/10-childrens-books-that-help-white-kids-understand-what-children-of-color-are-up-against-15238

"Confronting White Privilege," Teaching Tolerance article, http://www.tolerance.org/magazine /number-42-fall-2012/feature/confronting-white-privilege

"For White teachers in the times of #Blacklivesmatter," Practical Theory blog post: http://practicaltheory.org/blog/2016/07/07/for-white-teachers-in-the-time-of-blacklivesmatter/

"Resources for discussing police violence, race, and racism with children," Education Week blog post: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rulesforengagement/2016/07/resources_for_discussing_police_violence_and_addressing_trauma_with_students.html?cmp=eml-contshr-shr

The Pathology of Privilege: Racism, White Denial & the Costs of Inequality, Media Education Foundation video: http://shop.mediaed.org/tim-wise-on-white-privilege-p137.aspx

"White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack," monograph by Peggy McIntosh: https://www.deanza.edu/faculty/lewisjulie/White Priviledge Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.pdf
Books
Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools, Second Edition by Glenn E. Singleton

Waking Up White by Debby Irving

"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Questions About Race, 5th Anniversary Revised Edition by Beverly Daniel Tatum

References

Johnson, A. G. (2006). Privilege, power, and difference (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Linsey, R. B., & Terrell, K. N. (2009). Cultural proficiency: A manual for school leaders (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Miranda, A., Boland, A., & Hemmler, M. (2009). Understanding privilege in America. In J. M. Jones (Ed.), The psychology of multiculturalism in the schools: A primer for practice, training, and research (pp. 67-82). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

McIntosh, K. (2016). How can we reduce racial disproportionality in school discipline? [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from: http://www.pbis.org/Common/Cms/files/pbisresources /IB intro 45 min 2016-2-9h.pptx

Tomes, Y. I. (2013). Cross-cultural interactions and understanding. Poughkeepsie, NY: NOVA.

Wildman, S. M., & Davis, A. D. (1995). Language and silence: Making systems of privilege visible. Santa Clara Law Review, 35(3), 881-906. Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu /lawreview/vol35/iss3/4/

© 2016, National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814, 301-657-0270, www.nasponline.org

Please cite this document as:

National Association of School Psychologists. (2016). Understanding Race and Privilege [handout]. Bethesda, MD: Author.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Across the nation, children of all backgrounds are experiencing a time in which discussions about race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and culture are at the forefront of their...

# data[].attributes.headline
Common Sense Social and Cultural Literacy Resources for Classrooms 

# data[].attributes.subject
Common Sense Social and Cultural Literacy Resources for Classrooms 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A best-of-the-best collection of resources for social justice- and equity-focused educators.

Teaching and learning happen within cultural, political, and social circumstances. As much as we want to deny it, we all have biases based on our life experiences. Each of us -- teachers and students alike -- enter classrooms from different perspectives and points of view. We must learn to negotiate those differences to better understand each other and our worlds, and to advocate for a better, more equitable future. To do so, we need to build a set of social and cultural literacies via multicultural education, social justice education, and culturally responsive pedagogy that help us navigate difficult conversations, acknowledge and challenge bias and prejudice, create inclusive classroom spaces, and fight for social justice.

In this collection, you'll find hand-picked, regularly updated resources to help you better understand and practice these important social and cultural literacies. At the top, there are featured resources as well as more comprehensive curricula. Then you'll find lessons, videos, downloadables, and games organized by a few key topic areas like facilitating tough conversations, understanding bias and prejudice, and getting students civically engaged.

Jump down to a section
Social and Cultural Literacy Curricula
Challenging or Difficult Conversations
Bias and Prejudice
Civic Engagement, Activism, and Social Justice
Inclusive Communities
Research on Social and Cultural Literacy
Social and Cultural Literacy Organizations to Explore for More
= one of our favorite resources

Social and Cultural Literacy Courses and Curricula

The providers below offer more comprehensive resources for media literacy, from courses (from just a few hours to weeks) to a curriculum linked to a scope and sequence and standards.

Black Lives Matter at School: These teaching materials, including an in-depth curriculum resource guide, will help you bring the principles and commitments of the Black Lives Matter movement into your classroom.

Deep Dive: Educating for Democracy (by the Teaching Channel): Developed in partnership with UC Riverside's Civic Engagement Research Group, this series of videos (featuring real students and teachers) and associated lesson materials is backed by research and sure to inspire.

Digital Civics Toolki t (by the Civic Engagement Research Group): Created by the same researchers behind Deep Dive: Educating for Democracy, this toolkit offers easy-to-implement conversation starters (among other resources) for activating students' passion for civics and democracy. For more, check out our review.

Talking About Race (by the National Museum of African American History & Culture): This toolkit provides in-depth resources for caregivers, educators, and individuals to reflect on race, power, and privilege, all in the interest of having constructive, equity-oriented conversations.

The Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards: A Professional Development Facilitator Guide (by Teaching Tolerance): This downloadable not only features a set of social justice standards schools can use to make anti-bias education a priority in their communities, but also a great PD guide for getting your educators and administrators on board with weaving these practices into daily teaching and learning practice.

Challenging or Difficult Conversations

Controversial and difficult conversations are unavoidable in classrooms, especially those grappling with important cultural, social, and political issues. Fortunately, these conversations are often a lot scarier in theory than in practice given the incredible research and resources available for handling them effectively.

Websites, articles, feeds, and newsletters

Facilitating Challenging Conversations in the Classroom (by the Teaching Center at Washington University in St. Louis): This article features best practices for prepping classrooms to have tough conversations about cultural and political issues. There are also recommendations for how to set up ground rules.

Lesson plans and activities

Building Classroom Community: Lessons for the First Day of School (by Facing History): Framed as a back-to-school toolkit, these five lessons will help prep classrooms to have meaningful, respectful conversations about identity and more.

Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education: Classroom Culture (by Teaching Tolerance): These PD activities and reflections for educators help teachers make their classrooms more open and respectful, leading to better discussions and outcomes for all students.

"Where I'm From" Poem (by Remix at the University of Notre Dame): Use this poetry lesson to get students reflecting on -- and sharing -- who they are. Along the way students also get some experience using Audacity, an audio recording and editing tool.

Videos

Handouts, infographics, and posters

Games, apps, and tools

Help students build collaboration and communication skills using the tools on these lists.

Bias and Prejudice

We all carry biases, and it's important to reflect on them and work to expand our perspectives, experiences, and communities so we act and think with less prejudice and take aim together at systems of oppression.

Websites, articles, feeds, and newsletters

8 Ways Teachers Can Address White Supremacy in the Classroom (by Common Sense Education): Take these steps to make sure your classroom is actively anti-racist.

Anti-Racism Resources for All Ages (by Nicole A. Cooke): An excellent collection of videos, books, articles, and lessons on anti-racism, activism, and critical race theory curated by Dr. Nicole A. Cooke of the University of South Carolina.

Anti-Racist Resources: This comprehensive, crowd-sourced Google doc (created in the wake of the Charlottesville, Virginia, white supremacist rally) is a must-bookmark resource for any educator committed to combating bias and bigotry in their classroom and community.

Five Ways to Reduce Racial Bias in Your Children (by Greater Good magazine): Trustworthy practical tips from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center.

Research-Based Advice on Teaching Children Not to Be Racist (by the Atlantic): Two researchers offer proven and age-appropriate strategies for reducing bias and prejudice in the early grades.

S ocial Justice Books (by Teaching for Change): A highly recommended resource for preschool and elementary school educators, this list of books intersects with all kinds of important cultural and social issues and will help students build perspective.

Lesson plans and activities

Anti-Bias Tools & Strategies (by ADL): A collection of ADL's articles ranging from teaching strategies to historical info to topical and definitional overviews, all aimed at anti-bias education.

Real Fake News: Exploring Actual Examples of Newspaper Bias (by Common Sense Education): Have students go beyond the buzzword, and explore inaccurate or outright false reporting about Black people, driven by bias, prejudice, and racism.

Reflecting on George Floyd's Death and Police Violence Towards Black Americans (by Facing History): Use this reflective activity to get every member of your classroom -- including you -- to reflect on police violence, racism, protest, and paths to justice.

Teaching About Race, Racism, and Police Violence (Teaching Tolerance): This combination of articles, lessons, professional development, and more is a great starting point for classroom discussions about police violence and its role in systemic racism.

Videos

Handouts, infographics, and posters

Games, apps, and tools

Civic Engagement, Activism, and Social Justice

When studying tough topics like injustice and oppression, it's important to connect people -- especially young people -- to outlets for their frustration, rage, and political goals. This is where activism comes in: It can channel these feelings toward meaningful ways to build community and create social change.

Websites, articles, feeds, and newsletters

10 Organizations That Empower Latinxs in America (by Cultura Collectiva): A good overview of Latinx-focused organizations for students looking to advocate for the rights and futures of Latinx people worldwide.

10 Ways Youth Can Engage in Activism (by ADL): Share these methods with students to give them an outlet for their political passions.

28 Organizations That Empower Black Communities (by the Huffington Post): While this is far from comprehensive, this list has a lot of great organizations for Black activists, and some are led by young people.

International Indigenous Youth Council: Started during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock, this organization fights to protect the natural world and indigenous culture while encouraging young people to become leaders in their communities.

March for Our Lives: Formed in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, March for Our Lives has mobilized young people to end the epidemic of gun violence.

National LGBT-Supportive Organizations (U.S.) (by LGBT Youth Allies): An excellent roundup of LGBTQ organizations, usefully broken into those that focus on young people and those that have broader missions.

Sunrise Movement: This youth-led climate change organization has been making headlines the past two years, most notably for being behind the push for a Green New Deal.

Lesson plans and activities

Activism Online (by Teaching Tolerance): A great introduction to both the possibilities and limitations of online activism.

Democracy & Civic Engagement (by Facing History): There are dozens of lessons -- across all grade levels -- available at Facing History that help students understand past struggles for justice and encourage them to imagine possible futures.

Social Media for Social Action (by Teaching Tolerance): Get students thinking more deeply about how social media can be leveraged for activism and change, but also about the negative effects inherent in the medium.

Transformational action through Art Build (by NEA EdJustice): This article shows how several school communities brought their schools and communities together to create and showcase activist art. There's also checklist of tasks you can use to organize your own Art Build event.

Vote by Design (by Stanford d.school): This non-partisan, free curriculum aims to get students civically engaged by having them think about and discuss the qualities they want in a President.

Videos

Handouts, infographics, and posters

Games, apps, and tools

Inclusive Communities

To be good citizens -- and digital citizens -- we must actively work against toxic ideas and communities rife with conspiratorial thinking, cynicism, and hate. Instead, we must create spaces where everyone is welcome and ideas and points of view are discussed constructively.

Websites, articles, feeds, and newsletters

Increasing Inclusivity in the Classroom (by the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University): This is one of the best roundups of mostly academic research and best practices for inclusive teaching and facilitation.

A Look at Implicit Bias and Microaggressions (by Edutopia): Bias manifests in many subtle, unconscious ways, and this list of resources will help you recognize small steps you can take to forge a more inclusive classroom.

Lesson plans and activities

Awareness Activities (by the Critical Multicultural Pavilion): These icebreakers and reflective activities help classrooms map and discuss their identities, differences, and commonalities.

Constructively Engaging in Digital Communities (by Teaching Tolerance): An in-depth lesson that ends with students developing classroom guidelines for effective community participation.

Countering Hate Speech Online (by Common Sense Education): Get students to explore the relationship between hate speech and xenophobia and how they can combat it in digital spaces.

Part of a Community Online (by Teaching Tolerance): Introduce young kids to the idea of emotionally supportive and empathic community-building.

Participating in Digital Communities (by Teaching Tolerance): Get students to make a commitment to creating inclusive communities and to practicing how to respond to bias and prejudice.

Responding to Online Hate Speech (by Common Sense Education): Help middle schoolers learn techniques to deal with hate speech when they see it or experience it.

Should Online Hate Speech Be Censored? (by Common Sense Education): Is hate speech free speech? Use this lesson to get your high school students to explore this quandary and offer an informed perspective.

Videos

Handouts, infographics, and posters

Games, apps, and tools

Research on Social and Cultural Literacy

Below you'll find some researchers and research organizations that focus on social and cultural literacy. We've also highlighted a few key pieces of their work.

Biased (by Jennifer L. Eberhardt): Dr. Eberhardt provides a highly readable mapping of the landscape of research into bias, bias's impact on our world, and ways forward.

Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain (by Zaretta Hammond): This book and study guide offers an important perspective on how to create inclusive but challenging classroom environments that are equally attuned to the way our brains work and how culture affects the way we engage with each other and the world.

Equity Literacy Institute (by Paul Gorski and others): Dig into this extensive list of equity-focused books and articles published by longtime educator and social justice advocate Paul Gorski and his collaborators.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed (by Paulo Freire): Dense but foundational book focused on how to upend top-down approaches to pedagogy and restore the revolutionary potential of education.

Social and Cultural Literacy Organizations to Explore for More
News and Media Literacy Resource Center

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social and Cultural Literacy Resources for Classrooms | Common Sense Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching and learning happen within cultural, political, and social circumstances. As much as we want to deny it, we all have biases based on our life experiences. Each of us -- teachers and students alike -- enter classrooms from different perspectives and points of view.

# data[].attributes.headline
Facing History, Facing Ourselves (Blogpost): Bearing Witness to the Death of George Floyd 

# data[].attributes.subject
Facing History, Facing Ourselves (Blogpost): Bearing Witness to the Death of George Floyd 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On May 25, 2020, a black Minnesota man, George Floyd, was killed after a white police officer suffocated him while a group of officers looked on. Floyd, like so many black people who have come before him, was stopped by the police while driving and would not make it home that night. Given the innate limitations of virtual instruction, we are currently examining what it would mean to create space for brave and supportive processing of events like this one in virtual classrooms. But even as we thoughtfully expand the tools we offer to meet this moment, we believe that⁠ learning, reflection, and action must begin immediately in our personal lives. Pausing to apprehend the gravity of Floyd's death, the historical and contemporary political contexts in which it occurred, and the tools for self-care and resistance that are available to us is paramount.

We invite you to explore the resources below as you process this tragedy and the broader histories of violence in which it is embedded:

Courtney E. Martin, author of The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream, offers concrete suggestions to parents about how to raise white children with an awareness of racism, and cultivate their sense of responsibility for challenging it within themselves and the world around them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bearing Witness: The Death of George Floyd

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On May 25, 2020, a black Minnesota man, George Floyd, was killed after a white police officer suffocated him while a group of officers looked on. Floyd, like so many black people who have come before him, was stopped by the police while driving and would not make it home that night.

# data[].attributes.headline
Washington Post: Teaching for Black Lives Handbook

# data[].attributes.subject
Washington Post: Teaching for Black Lives Handbook

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On July 10, 2018, I wrote about a book that had just been published titled " Teaching for Black Lives," a collection of writings that helps educators humanize blacks in curriculum, teaching and policy and connect lessons to young people's lives. At that time, President Trump was busy normalizing racism with repeated comments in which he disparaged people of color. Now, with the country in turmoil after the death of yet another unarmed black man at the hands of police, let's take a new look at the book.

This is how the introduction starts, as relevant today as ever:

Black students' minds and bodies are under attack. Fifteen-year-old Black student Coby Burren was in geography class at Pearland High School near Houston in the fall of 2015. As he read the assigned page of his textbook, he noticed something that deeply disturbed him: A map of the United States with a caption that said the Atlantic slave trade brought "millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations." Coby took a picture of his textbook and texted it to his mother, adding, "We was real hard workers wasn't we," along with a sarcastic emoji. Not only had the McGraw-Hill textbook replaced the word "slave" with "workers," they also placed the chapter on the enslavement of Africans in the chapter of the book titled "Patterns of Immigration" - as if Africans came to the United States looking for a better life. ...From the North to the South, corporate curriculum lies to our students, conceals pain and injustice, masks racism, and demeans our Black students. But it's not only the curriculum that is traumatizing students.

Last week, a 42-year-old father of two named George Floyd died in Minneapolis, handcuffed, with his arms behind his back, on the ground, with an officer's knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes, almost one-third of that time he was non-responsive, according to court documents. That officer has been charged with third-degree murder but three other officers with him - two of whom were also holding down Floyd - have not been charged.

Protests against police brutality and endemic racism have erupted in cities around the country, with some saboteurs breaking the peace of the demonstrations with violence. Police and the National Guard have flooded streets in a number of urban areas.

"Teaching for Black Lives," edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian and Wayne Au, is designed to show how educators "can and should make their classrooms and schools sites of resistance to white supremacy and anti-blackness, as well as sites for knowing the hope and beauty in blackness." But the truth is that the book can educate anybody who picks it up and reads it.

Here, with permission, is the introduction to "Teaching for Black Lives" and two chapters from the book.

Watson, social studies coordinator for the secondary program in teacher education at Lewis & Clark College, is an editor at Rethinking Schools, a national publisher of educational materials. She is also a member of the organization's executive board. She began her professional career as a GED instructor for young mothers in Portland and then taught social studies at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Ore., where she developed and taught the first African-American history course and helped create and implement a school-within-a-school program for freshmen and sophomores. Watson is also a co-editor of "Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice."

Hagopian, an editor for Rethinking Schools, teaches ethnic studies at Seattle's Garfield High School, where he is also co-adviser to the Black Student Union. Hagopian is a founding member of the Social Equity Educators and a contributing author to " Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation" and " 101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed U.S. History." He is also the editor of " More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing."

Au, an editor for Rethinking Schools and a former public high school social studies and language arts teacher, is a professor in the school of educational studies at the University of Washington at Bothell and the chief diversity officer there. He is editor of " Rethinking Multicultural Education: Teaching for Racial and Cultural Justice" and co-editor of "Rethinking Our Classrooms Volume 1 (Revised and Expanded Edition)." Au is also the author of many academic articles and books, including " Critical Curriculum Studies: Curriculum, Consciousness, and the Politics of Knowing."

Here's the full introduction of "Teaching for Black Lives," followed by two chapters, which I am publishing with permission.

Black students' minds and bodies are under attack.

Fifteen-year-old Black student Coby Burren was in geography class at Pearland High School near Houston in the fall of 2015. As he read the assigned page of his textbook, he noticed something that deeply disturbed him: A map of the United States with a caption that said the Atlantic slave trade brought "millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations." Coby took a picture of his textbook and texted it to his mother, adding, "We was real hard workers wasn't we," along with a sarcastic emoji. Not only had the McGraw-Hill textbook replaced the word "slave" with "workers," they also placed the chapter on the enslavement of Africans in the chapter of the book titled "Patterns of Immigration" - as if Africans came to the United States looking for a better life.

In the winter of 2017, a mother in Connecticut wrote about how she was troubled by a worksheet on slavery that her daughter had completed for school. The question asked, "How were the slaves treated in Connecticut?" Her daughter had initially written, "The slaves were treated badly and cruelly," but crossed that out and replaced it with the answer that was written in the textbook, which stated slaves were "often cared for and [the slave owners] protected them like members of the family."

From the North to the South, corporate curriculum lies to our students, conceals pain and injustice, masks racism, and demeans our Black students. But it's not only the curriculum that is traumatizing students.

In October of 2015, a Black girl in South Carolina was ripped out of her desk and thrown across the room by a police officer in the school for allegedly refusing to put away her cell phone. The video captured by a classmate of the incident went viral. The officer who brutalized the girl was not charged with a crime and instead both the girl videotaping and the girl thrown across the room were arrested and charged with "disturbing schools." In May of 2017, surveillance video revealed a police officer at Woodland Hills High School in Churchill, Pennsylvania, choked and body-slammed a Black boy in the office.

Recent data reveals that school security officers outnumber counselors in three out of five - and four out of the top 10 - of the biggest school districts in the country, including New York City, Chicago, Miami-Dade County, and Houston.

These examples reveal some of the policies that result in pushing kids out of school, making it difficult to graduate, then difficult to get a job, and finally more likely that they will end up in jail. This school-to-prison pipeline begins with a curriculum that conceals the struggles and contributions of Black people and other people of color. It is a curriculum that fails to respect young Black people as intellectuals, and ignores their cultures, communities, and concerns. In the majority of textbooks, African Americans' struggles and contributions are minimalized, portrayed as blatant stereotypes, or confined to a few roles that are acceptable to mainstream white society. This absence (or destructive presence) begins in preschool and continues throughout a Black student's schooling.

Even when teachers include African American history, they often fail to consider the methods used to teach about Black lives to Black and non-Black children. Command and control lecture and rote memorization are not effective means of teaching for Black lives. Indeed, teaching for Black lives means just the opposite: engaging students in critical self-reflection, grounding our curriculum and teaching in their lives and communities, and orienting them toward community activism and social transformation.

Teaching for Black lives means that we can't relegate Black history to certain historical time periods or events and we must include Black lives in all aspects of curriculum, including science, math, literature, and the arts. Teaching for Black lives also means considering the loneliness of learning about one's history when you might be one of a few students in class (or few teachers in a school) that this history represents.

When Black history and Black contributions are denied in the curriculum and by those who teach it, Black people are themselves denied. Consequently, students who become disinterested in a course or vocal about its shortcomings and historical erasure are often labeled defiant and pushed out of the classroom. These students may then get swept up by police officers stationed in school and be hit with criminal charges for behavior that was once handled by school administration. If the offending student is sent to administration, they are often required to implement zero-tolerance discipline policies prescribed by the school district that mandate suspension or expulsion for various infractions. When a decision to suspend a student is left up to an administrator's discretion, Black students are far more likely to be punished than their white peers. When students miss school, they fall behind in their classes and are more likely not to pass. The pipeline continues with the lack of tutoring programs, counseling services, college access programs, after-school programs, healthcare, proper nutrition, and other support services that would assist students who are falling behind. And if a student makes it through that gauntlet of perils, high-stakes end-of-course exams are waiting to deter them from graduating.

The school-to-prison pipeline is a major contributor to the overall epidemic of police violence and mass incarceration that functions as one of sharpest edges of structural racism in the United States.

The Rise of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement

A new rebellion against structural racism is under way in the form of the Black Lives Matter movement, galvanized by extrajudicial executions of Black people by the police and racist vigilantes. The murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and the ensuing national protests that followed showed the potential for a mass social movement - and the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was launched by three Black women, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi. Their demand that all Black lives have value was simple, yet visionary - especially in its call to highlight the most marginalized Black lives, including LGBTQ folks, women, and Black immigrant lives.

In August of 2014, Michael Brown was killed in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, his body left there for hours as a reminder to the Black residents in the neighborhood that their lives are meaningless to the American Empire. But this time the potential for a national uprising was actualized as thousands of mostly Black residents of Ferguson took to the streets and inspired rallies across the country and around the world. Only weeks after the non-indictment decision of Michael Brown's killer, Darren Wilson, a New York grand jury failed to indict the officer who strangled Eric Garner to death on camera, and the movement went into high gear. Student walkouts, mass marches, and urban rebellions swept the country as people's anger boiled over at the racist criminal (in)justice system.

In 2015, the African American Policy Forum coined the hashtag #SayHerName in an effort to raise awareness about state violence against women - including Black queer women and Black transgender women - and the campaign took off in the aftermath of the death of Sandra Bland, who died in jail while in police custody after being detained by an officer for a traffic stop.

Despite the ongoing protests, police killings of Black people have continued unabated, including the widely known cases of Freddie Gray, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, and Charleena Lyles, a pregnant mother who was killed in front of three of her four children. In addition to these adults, police have also killed many Black children in the past few years, including 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 12-year-old Tamir Rice, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, 13-year-old Tyre King, and 15-year-old Darius Smith.

The continuing police murders of Black people, and the refusal of the court system to punish police for these crimes, has continued to fuel an explosion of protests - from the streets to the schools. Protest even erupted on NFL fields in 2016 when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat and then took a knee during the national anthem in protest of police brutality. Following Kaepernick's lead, student athletes from middle school through college took a knee against racism.

In Seattle, on Oct. 19, 2016, the movement for Black lives burst into the struggle for equitable education when some 3,000 educators came to school wearing shirts that said "Black Lives Matter, We Stand Together," with many of them teaching lessons about the long history of the struggle against racism. This movement spread across the country with educators in Philadelphia and Rochester, New York, holding similar actions. Then, during the first school week of February 2018, educators from around the country organized the first national "Black Lives Matter at School" week of action. Educators taught lessons throughout the week that corresponded to the 13 principles of the Black Lives Matter Global Network organization and raised three demands:

1) End Zero Tolerance Discipline and implement Restorative Justice.

2) Hire More Black Teachers

3) Black History/Ethnic Studies Mandated K-12.

Teaching for Black Lives is a direct response to the movement for Black lives. We recognize that anti-Black racism constructs Black people, and Blackness generally, as not counting as human life. The chapters here in Teaching for Black Lives push back directly against this construction by not only providing educators with critical perspectives on the role of schools in perpetuating anti-Blackness, but also by offering educators concrete examples of what it looks like to humanize Black people in curriculum, teaching, and policy. Throughout the book, we demonstrate how teachers can connect the curriculum to young people's lives and root their concerns and daily experiences in what is taught and how classrooms are set up. We also highlight the hope and beauty of student activism and collective action.

The first section of Teaching for Black Lives, "Making Black Lives Matter in Our Schools," frames how police violence and the movement for Black lives can explicitly be brought to schools and classrooms by educators through organizing mass action and through curriculum. The pairing of these is purposeful: Not only is it critical that we teach about the systemic violence against Black people and the travesty of Black deaths, it is also important for students and teachers to understand their roles in organizing in support of Black life and Black communities, and against anti-Black racism.

In Section 2, "Enslavement, Civil Rights, and Black Liberation," Teaching for Black Lives takes a historical turn. Here the chapters focus on how Black history is taught in the classroom. We recognize, for instance, that the enslavement of Africans and their descendants, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement are all regularly taught in schools, but, as we alluded to at the beginning of this introduction, we also know that these subjects are too often taught in ways that further dehumanize Black people and perpetuate anti-Black racism. Thus the chapters we include in this section reframe the teaching of these histories in ways that challenge white supremacy and reject many of the popular, yet racist, myths that all too often paint Black people as non-actors in their own liberation. To that end, through textbook critique, role plays, and other classroom-based activities, several chapters in this section focus on how racism and white supremacy have operated historically, and highlight how Black people have organized in the interest of their own freedom.

However, we know that anti-Blackness isn't just historical: It is spatial too. Through gentrification and the violence of displacement, anti-Blackness terraforms Black communities into white ones, and working-class communities into spaces for wealthy elites. Anti-Black racism also starves Black communities of resources, either turning them into neoliberal marketplaces for profit - as in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, or simply allowing them to remain toxic for Black residents. Teaching for Black Lives takes this up in Section 3, "Gentrification, Displacement, and Anti-Blackness." In particular, the chapters in this section highlight how these issues can and should be taught through a critical lens of racial and economic justice.

Displacement is not just a socioeconomic process. It is real and concrete because it happens to Black bodies. Specifically, this happens in part through our schools' roles in the mass incarceration of Black people. In Section 4, "Discipline, the Schools-to-Prison Pipeline, and Mass Incarceration," the authors explore the ways that school discipline policy and practice contribute directly to the disproportionate punishment and incarceration of Black students. This section examines what it means to teach students whose family members are incarcerated, as well as how to teach about the system of mass incarceration impacting Black communities. Section 4 concludes with chapters that highlight the ways that schools can challenge mass incarceration, including some possibilities for restorative and transformative justice.

Finally, Section 5, "Teaching Blackness, Loving Blackness, and Exploring Identity," recognizes that Teaching for Black Lives encompasses more than just teaching critique and social action. It is also about teaching Black identity and the beauty of Blackness both as self-care for Black students and as a way to directly confront anti-Blackness. Here, we pivot toward looking at ways we can and should affirm Black identity in our classrooms and with our children, as we explore the varied and complex relationships between teaching, learning, and being Black. This includes respecting and affirming the language that bathes our existence, and explores the intersectionality with other identities. Here the authors celebrate Blackness and all of its hues while explicating the tensions between being seen and unseen all at once.

We do not expect Teaching for Black Lives to end police violence against Black communities, stop anti-Black racism in schools, or end the school-to-prison pipeline. We do, however, see this collection as playing an important role in highlighting the ways educators can and should make their classrooms and schools sites of resistance to white supremacy and anti-Blackness, as well as sites for knowing the hope and beauty in Blackness. The ferocity of racism in the United States against Black minds and Black bodies demands that teachers fight back. We must organize against anti-Blackness amongst our colleagues and in our communities; we must march against police brutality in the streets; and we must teach for Black lives in our classrooms. We call on others to join us in this fight.

Here are two chapters from the book. The first is "Bearing Witness Through Poetry," by Renee Watson, and the second is "How One Elementary School Sparked a Citywide Movement to Make Black Students' Lives Matter," by Hagopian and Au.

Get our Coronavirus Updates newsletter

Receive the most important pandemic developments in your inbox every day. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Analysis | 'Teaching for Black Lives' - a handbook to fight America's ferocious racism in (virtual or face-to-face) classrooms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On July 10, 2018, I wrote about a book that had just been published titled " Teaching for Black Lives," a collection of writings that helps educators humanize blacks in curriculum, teaching and policy and connect lessons to young people's lives.

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Support Students After Racial Events (for counselors)

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Support Students After Racial Events (for counselors)

# data[].attributes.headline
Author Jason Reynolds helps young people understand 

# data[].attributes.subject
Author Jason Reynolds helps young people understand 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In Washington, D.C. and other American cities, people are protesting police violence against people of color. The protesters, and many others too, are upset that black people in particular continue to die in encounters with police.

Best-selling YA author Jason Reynolds has grappled with racism personally and in his writing. The National Ambassador for Young People's Literature also recently co-authored a book for young people on fighting racism: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You.

We've asked Jason Reynolds to join Kojo For Kids to help us understand what has led to the tensions we've seen over the last week, and to talk about why racism persists and what we can do to build a less racist society.
This show is part of the "Kojo For Kids" series, a Kojo Nnamdi Show segment featuring guests of special interest to young listeners. Though Kojo has been on WAMU 88.5 for 20 years, this is the first time he has had the opportunity to reach out to an audience of kids, most of whom until recently had been in school during our live broadcast. We're excited to hear from our youngest listeners! Join us! Produced by Lauren Markoe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kojo For Kids: Jason Reynolds Talks About Racism And The Protests - The Kojo Nnamdi Show

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Let's talk about why people are angry and what can we do about racism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teaching for Change and Rethinking Schools collaborate to bring a people's history to the classroom.

A dedicated website to encourage and support teaching about Central American history all year long.

The best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching for Change and Rethinking Schools collaborate to bring a people's history to the classroom. A dedicated website to encourage and support teaching about Central American history all year long. The best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators.

# data[].attributes.headline
An article highlighting the importance of using data as a tool for change by Yeshi, Founder of Data for Black Lives

# data[].attributes.subject
An article highlighting the importance of using data as a tool for change by Yeshi, Founder of Data for Black Lives

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Data for Black Lives Statement of Solidarity with Black Minnesotans

We at Data for Black Lives are enraged by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. We join other organizations in urging Hennepin County DA to charge the officers that murdered George Floyd immediately. We believe that is necessary to support demands to defund and abolish the police. But it cannot stop there. We have to recognize that murder at the hands of law enforcement is only one form of...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Data for Black Lives Statement of Solidarity with Black Minnesotans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We at Data for Black Lives are enraged by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. We join other organizations in urging Hennepin County DA to charge the officers that murdered George Floyd immediately. We believe that is necessary to support demands to defund and abolish the police.

# data[].attributes.headline
A message to the philanthropic community from Trabian Shorters, Founder of BMe Community.

# data[].attributes.subject
A message to the philanthropic community from Trabian Shorters, Founder of BMe Community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
About this book

Jael Ealey Richardson * Matt James

The African-American football player Chuck Ealey grew up in a segregated neighborhood of Portsmouth, Ohio. Against all odds, he became an incredible quarterback. But despite his unbeaten record in high school and university, he would never play professional football in the United States.

Chuck Ealey grew up poor in a racially segregated community that was divided from the rest of town by a set of train tracks, but his mother assured him that he wouldn't stay in Portsmouth forever. Education was the way out, and a football scholarship was the way to pay for that education. So despite the racist taunts he faced at all the games he played in high school, Chuck maintained a remarkable level of dedication and determination. And when discrimination followed him to university and beyond, Chuck Ealey remained undefeated.

This inspirational story is told by Chuck Ealey's daughter, author and educator Jael Richardson, with striking and powerful illustrations by award-winning illustrator Matt James.

About the Creators

Jael Ealey Richardson

Jael Ealey Richardson is the author of The Stone Thrower: A Daughter's Lesson, a Father's Life, a memoir based on her relationship with her father, CFL quarterback Chuck Ealey. The book received a CBC Bookie Award and earned Richardson an Acclaim Award and a My People Award. Excerpts from her first play, my upside down black face, are published in the anthology T-Dot Griots. Richardson has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. She lives in Brampton where she serves as the Artistic Director for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD).

Matt James

Matt James is a painter, author/illustrator and musician whose many highly acclaimed children's books include Yellow Moon, Apple Moon by Pamela Porter (New Mexico Book Award); I Know Here by Laurel Croza (Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award) and its companion volume, From There to Here; and The Stone Thrower by Jael Ealey Richardson. Matt's illustrations for Northwest Passage, a stunning tribute to the iconic Stan Rogers song, won the Governor General's Literary Award. He also wrote and illustrated the highly acclaimed book The Funeral. Matt lives in Toronto.

Awards and Praise

Commended CBC Best Books of 2016, 2016

Commended CCBC Best Books for Children and Teens, 2016

Commended Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices List, 2017

Short-listed Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award, 2016

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The African-American football player Chuck Ealey grew up in a segregated neighborhood of Portsmouth, Ohio. Against all odds, he became an incredible quarterback. But despite his unbeaten record in high school and university, he would never play professional football in the United States.Chuck Ealey grew up poor in a ra

# data[].attributes.body
English/Spanish

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color/La historia de por qué tenemos diferentes colores de piel, 20th Anniversary Edition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color/La historia de por qué tenemos diferentes colores de piel, 20th Anniversary Edition: Kissinger, Katie: 9781605540795: Books - Amazon.ca

# data[].attributes.headline
What’s the Difference? Being Different is Amazing

# data[].attributes.subject
What’s the Difference? Being Different is Amazing

# data[].attributes.headline
A is for Activist. Written and illustrated by Innosanto Nagara, Seven Stories Press (AGES 0-3+)

# data[].attributes.subject
A is for Activist. Written and illustrated by Innosanto Nagara, Seven Stories Press (AGES 0-3+)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This bestselling ABC book is written and illustrated for the next generation of progressives: families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and everything else that activists believe in and fight for. A continuous bestseller for Triangle Square, we heard from booksellers around the country who clamored for a large format edition that would appeal to children over the age of 5. This engaging book carries huge messages as it inspires hope for the future, and calls children and parents to action.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This bestselling ABC book is written and illustrated for the next generation of progressives: families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and everything else that activists believe in and fight for.

# data[].attributes.headline
10 THINGS WHITE PEOPLE CAN DO TO WORK FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

# data[].attributes.subject
10 THINGS WHITE PEOPLE CAN DO TO WORK FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In my most recent email, ﻿ I shared some reflections on making space to be with the range of difficult emotions surfacing in response to George Floyd's murder. The depth of pain, the magnitude of the violence, are hard to bear.

I opened my inbox this morning, and was dismayed to read this short message:

"This is exactly what I needed to hear right now. As a white man, I've been feeling so helpless and guilty this week and not knowing what to do. I will definitely hang on to your email and look to it when I need a little boost."

I'm glad my email was helpful; that was part of the intention.

But if all we do is read an uplifting email or article time to time when we feel bad, then I will have failed miserably in my attempt to encourage concrete action to address the continued, untenable, and horrific violence of racism.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, called out the danger of white complacency and complicity, writing:
"I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens' Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice."
Dear white friends, let us not perpetuate the violence by standing idly by or wringing our hands in despair. Let us not freeze with fear, overwhelm, or shock.

As human beings we have the power to uproot hatred and fear from our hearts, to dispel the ignorance in our minds, and to come to each other's aid in times of need.

White supremacy and racism are older than any of us. We didn't create the illness, but it's our responsibility to be part of the cure. There is no simple answer, no "one thing" for all of us to do. But there is something for each of us to do. Each of us has a role to play in the healing of our world. Loving well means caring for one another and standing up for justice.

Stay resourced. Bear witness. Open your heart and make space to feel what's there.

There is a balance between making space to be with pain and discomfort, and action. It's essential to give ourselves time to grieve, to mourn, to grapple with the complex feelings surrounding the brutality and violence of racism. Particularly if we are white, there's a way we can allow our advocacy to protect us from processing the awful implications of our own implicit role in a societal system of racial violence and oppression.

There are no simple, easy answers. Part of the healing must include the kind of radical transformation that only comes from deep, soul-searching reflection and inner struggle.

At the same time, if all we do is reflect and tend to our emotions, we fail to act. It's equally important to show up right here and now, where and when it counts.

So if you're feeling stuck and helpless, here are ten things you can do to stand for justice, show solidarity, and take action to stop white- and state-sanctioned violence. (For more, see the resource list below.)

1. Educate yourself (or continue to do so) about whiteness, white supremacy, racism, and what it means to be anti-racist. Below is a list of resources (articles, books, films, podcasts) to help you get started or continue your journey of learning, healing and transformation.

2. Discuss Anti-racism. As you come to understand more, talk to friends, family, colleagues and neighbors about what this means and what steps you're taking to act in solidarity with communities of color. Vote in alignment with the value of being anti-racist.

3. Talk to your kids about racism. The earlier we educate children about racism the less likely they are to perpetuate racist and white-supremacist ideology. This post on Instagram shares some important facts about racism and children. This story from Ruth King's book offers some inspiration.

4. Talk to your faith leader. If you are part of a faith community, talk to your faith leader(s) about the spiritual resources for peace and justice in your tradition. Get together with others and make a direct request that your church, synagogue, temple, or place of worship organize an explicitly anti-racist action plan.

5. Get involved. Find a local or national organization that is fighting for racial justice and reflects your values and policy views. Donate, volunteer or find other ways get involved, like working to get the vote out. If you have extra financial resources give to organizations working for change on the front lines. This movement needs support both in terms of our numbers and our dollars.

6. Contact your elected officials. Get in touch with local, county, state and federal officials to urge for systemic change. Many of the organizations targeting specific issues will have recommendations for whom to contact, when, and how. The ACLU, for example, offers numbers and guidelines for calling Minnesota officials.

7. Grieve with other white people. Don't ask your Black friends for emotional support. Pouring our outrage and sadness onto Black friends places the burden of our feelings on top of theirs. Instead, grieve with other white folks so that you are available to offer support emotionally, physically, and in other ways.

8. Speak out about racism any and every time you hear a remark or witness an act with racist overtones. Silence is complicity and perpetuates violence. As Vanessa Daniel of Groundswell Fund put it: "Practice zero tolerance for anti-Blackness at any level. Say something not just sometimes but every time."

9. Take cues from Black people. Listen to Black people and be willing to take your cues from people of color in leadership. Part of white supremacy culture (and patriarchy) is believing that we know best, that we can fix it. Instead, we can recognize that oppressed groups often have a unique and more accurate view of our society than those who benefit from the unjust, unequal structures of our society. (For more on this, see Sandra Harding's feminist Standpoint Theory.)

10. Take care of your heart and stay resourced. Black people have been enslaved, murdered, and brutalized for over 400 years in this country. If you are white, or have white-skin privilege, it's our work to deal with the feelings of guilt and shame that arise in relation to this painful history. The more we take care of ourselves, the more available we are to be in this fight for justice, equity and healing for the long haul.

Suggested Reading:

Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice, by Paul Kivel

How to Be an Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism, by Robin Diangelo

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Olua

Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, by Debby Irving

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color-Blindness, by Michelle Alexander

White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, by Tim Wise

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations about Race, by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Witnessing Whiteness, by Shelly Tochluk

killing rage: Ending Racism, by bell hooks

The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin

Learning to Be White: Money, Race and God in America, by Rev. Thandeka

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson

Film

Audio:

Articles and Essays:

Organizations:

Places to Donate*

* Gratitude to Erin Anderson for compiling donation resources
Cover photo by Rob Curran on Unsplash

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Things White People Can Do to Work for Racial Justice - Oren Jay Sofer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In my most recent email, ﻿ I shared some reflections on making space to be with the range of difficult emotions surfacing in response to George Floyd's murder. The depth of pain, the magnitude of the violence, are hard to bear.

# data[].attributes.headline
Raising White Kids Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey

# data[].attributes.subject
Raising White Kids Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey

# data[].attributes.headline
Viola Desmond Won’t Be BudgedWritten by Jody Nyasha Warner and illustrated by Richard Rudnicki, Groundwood Books (AGES 5-9) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Viola Desmond Won’t Be BudgedWritten by Jody Nyasha Warner and illustrated by Richard Rudnicki, Groundwood Books (AGES 5-9) 

# data[].attributes.headline
Let’s Talk About RaceWritten by Julius Lester and illustrated by Karen Barbour, HarperCollins (AGES 4-8) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Let’s Talk About RaceWritten by Julius Lester and illustrated by Karen Barbour, HarperCollins (AGES 4-8) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"This wonderful book should be a first choice for all collections and is strongly recommended as a springboard for discussions about differences." -School Library Journal (starred review)

In this acclaimed book, the author of the Newbery Honor Book To Be a Slave shares his own story as he explores what makes each of us special. A strong choice for sharing at home or in the classroom.

Karen Barbour's dramatic, vibrant paintings speak to the heart of Lester's unique vision, truly a celebration of all of us. "This stunning picture book introduces race as just one of many chapters in a person's story" ( School Library Journal). "Lester's poignant picture book helps children learn, grow, discuss, and begin to create a future that resolves differences" ( Children's Literature).

Julius Lester said: "I write because our lives are stories. If enough of these stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"This wonderful book should be a first choice for all collections and is strongly recommended as a springboard for discussions about differences." - School Library Journal (starred review) In this acclaimed book, the author of the Newbery Honor Book To Be a Slave shares his own story as he explores what makes each of us special.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Other SideWritten by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by E. B. Lewis, G.P Putnam’s Books for Young Readers (AGES 5-8)

# data[].attributes.subject
The Other SideWritten by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by E. B. Lewis, G.P Putnam’s Books for Young Readers (AGES 5-8)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Other Side: Woodson, Jacqueline, Lewis, E. B.: 9780399231162: Books - Amazon.ca

# data[].attributes.headline
The Story of Ruby BridgesWritten by Robert Coles and illustrated by George Ford, Scholastic Press (AGES 3-10) 

# data[].attributes.subject
The Story of Ruby BridgesWritten by Robert Coles and illustrated by George Ford, Scholastic Press (AGES 3-10) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read 796 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. "Please, God, try to forgive those people. Because even if they say those bad things, They...

# data[].attributes.headline
The Story of Ruby BridgesWritten by Robert Coles and illustrated by George Ford, Scholastic Press (AGES 3-10) 

# data[].attributes.subject
The Story of Ruby BridgesWritten by Robert Coles and illustrated by George Ford, Scholastic Press (AGES 3-10) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first African American child to integrate a New Orleans school with this paperback reissue!The year is 1960, and six-year-old Ruby Bridges and her family have recently moved from Mississippi to New Orleans in search of a better life. When a judge orders Ruby to attend first grade at William Frantz Elementary, an all-white school, Ruby must face angry mobs of parents who refuse to send their children to school with her. Told with Robert Coles' powerful narrative and dramatically illustrated by George Ford, Ruby's story of courage, faith, and hope is now available in this special 50th anniversary edition with an updated afterword!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
the story of ruby bridges: special anniversary edition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Story of Ruby Bridges: Special Anniversary Edition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first African American child to integrate a New Orleans school with this paperback reissue! The year is 1960, and six-year-old Ruby Bridges and her family have recently moved from Mississippi to New Orleans in search of a better life.

# data[].attributes.headline
I am Jackie RobinsonWritten by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos, Penguin Young Readers Group (AGES 4-7) 

# data[].attributes.subject
I am Jackie RobinsonWritten by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos, Penguin Young Readers Group (AGES 4-7) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This New York Times Bestselling picture book biography series by Brad Meltzer has an inspiring message: We can all be heroes.

Jackie Robinson always loved sports, especially baseball. But he lived at a time before the Civil Rights Movement, when the rules weren't fair to African Americans. Even though Jackie was a great athlete, he wasn't allowed on the best teams just because of the color of his skin. Jackie knew that sports were best when everyone, of every color, played together. He became the first black player in Major League Baseball, and his bravery changed African-American history and led the way to equality in all sports in America.

This engaging series is the perfect way to bring American history to life for young children, providing them with the right role models, supplemementing Common Core learning in the classroom, and best of all, inspiring them to strive and dream.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This New York Times Bestselling picture book biography series by Brad Meltzer has an inspiring message: We can all be heroes. Jackie Robinson always loved sports, especially baseball. But he lived at a time before the Civil Rights Movement, when the rules weren't fair to African Americans.

# data[].attributes.headline
Baseball Saved UsWritten by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, Lee & Low Books (AGES 6-11)

# data[].attributes.subject
Baseball Saved UsWritten by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, Lee & Low Books (AGES 6-11)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Buy the Paperback Book Baseball Saved Us by at Indigo.ca, Canada's largest bookstore. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders.

# data[].attributes.headline
Baseball Saved UsWritten by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, Lee & Low Books (AGES 6-11)

# data[].attributes.subject
Baseball Saved UsWritten by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, Lee & Low Books (AGES 6-11)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Buy the Paperback Book Baseball Saved Us by at Indigo.ca, Canada's largest bookstore. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders.

# data[].attributes.headline
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara StoryWritten by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, Lee & Low Books (AGES 6-11)

# data[].attributes.subject
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara StoryWritten by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, Lee & Low Books (AGES 6-11)

# data[].attributes.headline
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story.   Written by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, Lee & Low Books (AGES 6-11)

# data[].attributes.subject
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story.   Written by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, Lee & Low Books (AGES 6-11)

# data[].attributes.headline
The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the HolocaustWritten by Karen Gray Ruelle and illustrated by Deborah Durland DeSaix, Holiday House (AGES 10+) 

# data[].attributes.subject
The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the HolocaustWritten by Karen Gray Ruelle and illustrated by Deborah Durland DeSaix, Holiday House (AGES 10+) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When the Nazis occupied Paris, no Jew was safe from arrest and deportation.

Few Parisians were willing to risk their own lives to help. Yet during that perilous time, many Jews found refuge in an unlikely place--the sprawling complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris. Not just a place of worship but a community center, this hive of activity was an ideal temporary hiding place for escaped prisoners of war and Jews of all ages, especially children.

Beautifully illustrated and thoroughly researched (both authors speak French and conducted first-person interviews and research at archives and libraries), this hopeful, non-fiction book introduces children to a little-known part of history. Perfect for children studying World War II or those seeking a heart-warming, inspiring read that highlights extraordinary heroism across faiths.

Includes a bibliography, a recommended list of books and films, and afterword from the authors that gives more details behind the story.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
the grand mosque of paris: a story of how muslims rescued jews during the holocaust

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When the Nazis occupied Paris, no Jew was safe from arrest and deportation. Few Parisians were willing to risk their own lives to help. Yet during that perilous time, many Jews found refuge in an unlikely place--the sprawling complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris.

# data[].attributes.headline
Fred Korematsu Speaks Up Written by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi and illustrated by Yutaka Houlette, Heyday Books (AGES 8+) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Fred Korematsu Speaks Up Written by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi and illustrated by Yutaka Houlette, Heyday Books (AGES 8+) 

# data[].attributes.headline
Daddy, There's A Noise Outside by Kenneth Braswell and illustrated by Joe Dent and Julie Anderson, Fathers Incorporated (AGES 6+) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Daddy, There's A Noise Outside by Kenneth Braswell and illustrated by Joe Dent and Julie Anderson, Fathers Incorporated (AGES 6+) 

# data[].attributes.headline
Shannen and the Dream for a SchoolWritten by Janet Wilson, Second Story Press (AGES 9-13) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Shannen and the Dream for a SchoolWritten by Janet Wilson, Second Story Press (AGES 9-13) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The true story of Shannen Koostachin and the people of Attawapiskat First Nation, a Northern Cree community, who have been fighting for a new school since 1979 when a fuel spill contaminated their original school building. Shannen's fight took her all the way to Parliament Hill and was taken up by children around the world. Shannen's dream continues today with the work of the Shannen's Dream organization and those everywhere who are fighting for the rights of Aboriginal children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The true story of Shannen Koostachin and the people of Attawapiskat First Nation, a Northern Cree community, who have been fighting for a new school since 1979 when a fuel spill contaminated their original school building. Shannen's fight took her all the way to Parliament Hill and was taken up by children around the world.

# data[].attributes.headline
RosaWritten by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier, Square Fish (AGES 8-10)

# data[].attributes.subject
RosaWritten by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier, Square Fish (AGES 8-10)

# data[].attributes.headline
Rosa Written by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier, Square Fish (AGES 8-10)

# data[].attributes.subject
Rosa Written by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier, Square Fish (AGES 8-10)

# data[].attributes.headline
Child of the Civil Rights MovementWritten by Paula Young Shelton and illustrated by Raul Colón, Dragonfly Books (AGES 4-8) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Child of the Civil Rights MovementWritten by Paula Young Shelton and illustrated by Raul Colón, Dragonfly Books (AGES 4-8) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In this Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year, Paula Young Shelton, daughter of Civil Rights activist Andrew Young, brings a child's unique perspective to an important chapter in America's history. Paula grew up in the deep south, in a world where whites had and blacks did not. With an activist father and a community of leaders surrounding her, including Uncle Martin (Martin Luther King), Paula watched and listened to the struggles, eventually joining with her family-and thousands of others-in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery.

Poignant, moving, and hopeful, this is an intimate look at the birth of the Civil Rights Movement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year, Paula Young Shelton, daughter of Civil Rights activist Andrew Young, brings a child's unique perspective to an important chapter in America's history. Paula grew up in the deep south, in a world where whites had and blacks did not.

# data[].attributes.headline
I Am Not a Number Written by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer and illustrated by Gillian Newland, Second Story Press (AGES 7-11)

# data[].attributes.subject
I Am Not a Number Written by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer and illustrated by Gillian Newland, Second Story Press (AGES 7-11)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
I Am Not a Number, Book by Jenny Kay Dupuis (Hardcover) | chapters.indigo.ca

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the number they have assigned to her.

# data[].attributes.headline
We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s MarchWritten by Cynthia Levinson, Scholastic (AGES 11+)

# data[].attributes.subject
We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s MarchWritten by Cynthia Levinson, Scholastic (AGES 11+)

# data[].attributes.headline
Ron’s Big Mission Written by Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden and illustrated by Don Tate, Scholastic (AGES 4-7) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Ron’s Big Mission Written by Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden and illustrated by Don Tate, Scholastic (AGES 4-7) 

# data[].attributes.headline
I Am Not a Number.  Written by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer and illustrated by Gillian Newland, Second Story Press (AGES 7-11)

# data[].attributes.subject
I Am Not a Number.  Written by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer and illustrated by Gillian Newland, Second Story Press (AGES 7-11)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
I Am Not a Number, Book by Jenny Kay Dupuis (Hardcover) | chapters.indigo.ca

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the number they have assigned to her.

# data[].attributes.headline
Secret of the Dance        Written by Andrea Spalding and Alfred Scow and illustrated by Darlene Gait, Orca Book Publishers (AGES 5+) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Secret of the Dance        Written by Andrea Spalding and Alfred Scow and illustrated by Darlene Gait, Orca Book Publishers (AGES 5+) 

# data[].attributes.headline
Black All Around. Written by Patricia Hubbell and illustrated by Don Tate, Lee & Low Books (AGES 4-8)

# data[].attributes.subject
Black All Around. Written by Patricia Hubbell and illustrated by Don Tate, Lee & Low Books (AGES 4-8)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Buy the Hardcover Book Black All Around! by Patricia Hubbell at Indigo.ca, Canada's largest bookstore. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders.

# data[].attributes.headline
Momma, Did You Hear the News?Written by Sanya Whittaker Gragg and illustrated by Kim Holt, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

# data[].attributes.subject
Momma, Did You Hear the News?Written by Sanya Whittaker Gragg and illustrated by Kim Holt, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

# data[].attributes.headline
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker.  Written by Patricia Hruby Powell and illustrated by Christian Robinson, Chronicle Books (AGES 10-13) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker.  Written by Patricia Hruby Powell and illustrated by Christian Robinson, Chronicle Books (AGES 10-13) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Coretta Scott King Book Award, Illustrator, Honor
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, Honor
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Nonfiction Honor
Parent's Choice Award
Wall Street Journal's 10 Best Children's Books of the Year List
Bologna Ragazzi Nonfiction Honor 2014

In exuberant verse and stirring pictures, Patricia Hruby Powell and Christian Robinson create an extraordinary portrait for young people of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Meticulously researched by both author and artist, Josephine's powerful story of struggle and triumph is an inspiration and a spectacle, just like the legend herself.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
josephine: the dazzling life of josephine baker

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Coretta Scott King Book Award, Illustrator, Honor Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, Honor Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Nonfiction Honor Parent's Choice Award Wall Street Journal's 10 Best Children's Books of the Year List Bologna Ragazzi Nonfiction Honor 2014 In exuberant verse and stirring pictures, Patricia Hruby Powell and Christian Robinson create an extraordinary portrait for young people of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St.

# data[].attributes.headline
A Kids Book About RacismWritten by Jelani Memory (AGES 5+)

# data[].attributes.subject
A Kids Book About RacismWritten by Jelani Memory (AGES 5+)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A clear description of what racism is, how it makes people feel when they experience it, and how to spot it when it happens.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
*blows nose* Wow. I'm becoming such a weepy reader.

Or maybe I've just been reading really good books lately.

Yeah. Let's go with that.

Anyway. This was wonderful. It jived really well with material covered in my college survey of U.S. history, so that's a plus, but even aside from how impressively immersive this was (my concept of 1958 is SO much more fleshed-out than it was before), the story was wonderful.

Kristin Levine's turn of phrase reminds me of Clare Vanderpool's at times, which I mean a...more

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
blows nose* Wow. I'm becoming such a weepy reader. Or maybe I've just been reading really good books lately. Yeah. Let's go with that. Anyway. This was wonderful. It jived really well with material covered in my college survey of U.S.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Antiracist Baby Picture Book by Ibram X. Kendi: 9780593110508 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A #1 New York Times Bestseller! Featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices! Featured on Good Morning America, NPR's Morning Edition, CBS This Morning,...

# data[].attributes.body
by Sharon M. Draper

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When the Ku Klux Klan's unwelcome reappearance rattles Stella's segregated southern town, bravery battles prejudice in this New York Times bestselling Depression-era "novel that soars" (The New York Times Book Review) that School Library Journal called "storytelling ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson

# data[].attributes.subject
Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This powerful picture book introduces young readers to a key event in the struggle for Civil Rights. Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Award.

In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world.

Frank Morrison's emotive oil-on-canvas paintings bring this historical event to life, while Monica Clark-Robinson's moving and poetic words document this remarkable time.

I couldn't play on the same playground as the white kids.

I couldn't go to their schools.

I couldn't drink from their water fountains.

There were so many things I couldn't do.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Let the Children March [Clark-Robinson, Monica, Morrison, Frank] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Let the Children March

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
* "National Book Award winner and national treasure Jacqueline Woodson teams up with two-time Pura Belpré Award recipient Rafael López to deliver an empowering message to any child who has ever felt too different. . . . Woodson and López offer a needed message of comfort to preschool and early elementary students. Woodson's lulling free verse reassures the reader that the world will 'make some space,' while López's dreamy, near-translucent mixed-media illustrations thrum with playful joy. This gentle, powerful ode to diversity and acceptance belongs with all children."-Shelf Awareness, starred review

* "A beautiful and inclusive story that encourages children to find the beauty in their own lives and share it with the world. . . . Each child feels very alone until they begin to share their stories and discover that it is nearly always possible to find someone a little like you. López's vibrant illustrations bring the characters' hidden and unspoken thoughts to light with fantastic, swirling color. Shifting hues and textures across the page convey their deep loneliness and then slowly transition into bright hopeful possibilities. Full-bleed illustrations on every page are thick with collaged patterns and textures that pair perfectly with melodic prose that begs to be read aloud. . . . There's an essential acknowledgment that everyone will experience a time when no one is quite like them, when they can't find their voice, or when they feel very alone. Woodson's superlative text sees each character turn that moment of desolation into an opportunity to be brave and find hope in what they have in common. This masterful story deserves a place in every library."- "A bright jewel-toned palette and clever details, including a literal reflection of a better future, reveal hope and pride. . . . This reassuring, lyrical book feels like a big hug from a wise aunt as she imparts the wisdom of the world in order to calm trepidatious young children: One of these things is not like the other, and that is actually what makes all the difference. A must-have book about the power of one's voice and the friendships that emerge when you are yourself." "Woodson's poetic lines give power to each child's experience. . . . López paints the book's array of children as students in the same classroom; patterns and colors on the children's clothing and the growing things around them fill the spreads with life. Woodson's gentle, lilting story and López's artistry create a stirring portrait of the courage it takes to be oneself." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Woodson's lyrical text is gently reassuring as it moves between broad discussion and specific examples of difference and discomfort, which emphasize children moving across cultures but will speak to children from all backgrounds and experiences. Mixed-media illustrations . . . combine bold with soft colors and textures in a slightly shaded tropical palette; compositions employ creative and insightful perspectives to suit the characters' feelings. . . . The artist frequently incorporates a ruler into the illustrations, which perhaps speaks to the children's perceptions of how they measure up to others. This lovely and sensitive treatment of adjustment deserves a spot in any collection for youngsters."-The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"Woodson catches the uncertainty, even fear, that comes with new situations. But her lyrical language also captures the moment when confidence sparks and friendships are born. . . . The bold, bright artwork features a diverse cast of kids. . . . The important message plays out in a striking design that mixes the everyday with flights of fancy. Woodson, a recent National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, is one of kidlit's brightest stars, and this should find lots of eager hands."-

"What will it take for a child who feels different to share her stories? . . . Like Woodson's memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, this story places great value on literacy, reading, and imagination. The matte-finished pages feature illustrations in vivid, brilliant colors, with repeated appearances of flying birds and lush, twining vines and flowers."-

ALA Notable Children's Book WINNER

ALSC Notable Children's Books WINNER

Jane Addams Children's Book Award WINNER

New York Times Editors' Choice WINNER

Notable Books for a Global Society Award WINNER

Get the latest updates about Jacqueline Woodson

And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.

And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.

Become a Member

Just for joining you'll get personalized recommendations on your dashboard daily and features only for members.

Success!

Your account has been created. Upload book purchases, access your personalized book recommendations, and more from here. GOT IT

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson: 9780399246531 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Featured in its own episode in the Netflix original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices! National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpré...

# data[].attributes.headline
The Wedding Portrait by Innosanto Nagara

# data[].attributes.subject
The Wedding Portrait by Innosanto Nagara

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"An introduction to social justice through a framing device in which Nagara tells his son about a photograph from his wedding, where he and his wife were arrested for protesting nuclear bombs. Nagara's story grows in scope to encompass different forms of protest, from the civil rights movement to Black Lives Matter, and expands beyond the United States to include stories of social activism from other countries, including India and Colombia. Warm, bright illustrations provide the text with a sense of urgency, and the individuals portrayed in the images complement the diverse scope of Nagara's journey. The book veers away from didacticism by grounding its descriptions of various forms of protest with human touches (notably, the central story of Nagara and his wife's arrest). The book also emphasizes the difference between simple "disobedience" (i.e., refusing to do your chores) and "civil disobedience." By concluding the work with a description of his arrest, Nagara taps into some of the challenges and risks associated with protest. The book ends on a note stressing the importance of community and collaboration and learning from each other. VERDICT An intriguing and timely purchase for young readers that provides a valuable introduction to social activism and protest." -School Library Journal

" The Wedding Portrait is strikingly simple and yet profound, beautifully illustrated, and that it is written for children is the best part about it. Bold and honest in its description of why sometimes we need to break the rules, it reminds all of us in this political moment that it is this generation that is inheriting this world from us-and thus there is no better time to learn about how breaking the rules can change this country for the better. " -Alicia Garza, co-founder, Black Lives Matter couldn't be more timely. In today's world, one of the most important things we can do for our children is teach them to stand up for their values, even when that means breaking the rules. This charming and inspiring book is a valuable contribution to every kid's library - and to a more just future for all." -Annie Leonard, Executive Director of Greenpeace USA

" The Wedding Portrait is full of inspiring stories about People Power across the globe that our children can relate to and celebrate. This story is a beautiful way to share hope that frontline communities who band together can fight off injustice, but also create the world we want to live in. Direct Action gets the goods!" -Sharon Lungo, Director of the Ruckus Society, Indigenous People's Power Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Wedding Portrait by Innosanto Nagara: 9781609808020 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"An introduction to social justice through a framing device in which Nagara tells his son about a photograph from his wedding, where he and his wife were arrested for protesting nuclear bombs.

# data[].attributes.headline
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Wade Hudson and CherylWillis Hudson

# data[].attributes.subject
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Wade Hudson and CherylWillis Hudson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Reviewed by The Brown Bookshelf

Review Source: The Brown Bookshelf
Book Author: Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson

Edited by Wade and Cheryl Hudson and published by Crown Books for Young Readers in cooperation with the Hudsons' company, Just Us Books, We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices is a treasury of poems, prose and art that offers hope and encouragement to children in these challenging times.

The collection, which has won multiple starred reviews, features the work of more than 50 diverse, award-winning children's book authors and illustrators...

Wade and Cheryl Hudson have been doing this work of encouraging, mobilizing and giving back for decades. Just Us Books, their pioneering company, turns 30 next month. The Hudsons are warriors for justice, equity, empowerment and visibility. They do it for the culture, for the children. Let's give a gift to them and to the kids who will see themselves in this book. Let's make We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices a bestseller. Continue reading.

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson
Published by Random House Children's Books on September 4, 2018
Genres: Activism, African American, Stories in Verse
Pages: 96
Reading Level: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8
ISBN: 9780525580447
Review Source: The Brown Bookshelf
Buy at Powell's Books

Fifty of the foremost diverse children's authors and illustrators--including Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Kwame Alexander--share answers to the question, "In this divisive world, what shall we tell our children?" in this beautiful, full-color keepsake collection, published in partnership with Just Us Books.
What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice to young activists.

Featuring poems, letters, personal essays, art, and other works from such industry leaders as Jacqueline Woodson (Brown Girl Dreaming), Jason Reynolds (All American Boys), Kwame Alexander (The Crossover), Andrea Pippins (I Love My Hair), Sharon Draper (Out of My Mind), Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer), Ellen Oh (cofounder of We Need Diverse Books), and artists Ekua Holmes, Rafael Lopez, James Ransome, Javaka Steptoe, and more, this anthology empowers the nation's youth to listen, learn, and build a better tomorrow.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices - Social Justice Books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reviewed by The Brown Bookshelf Review Source: The Brown Bookshelf Book Author: Edited by Wade and Cheryl Hudson and published by Crown Books for Young Readers in cooperation with the Hudsons' company, Just Us Books, We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices is a treasury of poems, prose and art that offers hope and encouragement to children in these ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

# data[].attributes.subject
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Black Brother, Black Brother book. Read 999 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Par...

# data[].attributes.headline
BUILD A LEARNING PLAN TEACHING ABOUT RACE, RACISM AND POLICE VIOLENCE

# data[].attributes.subject
BUILD A LEARNING PLAN TEACHING ABOUT RACE, RACISM AND POLICE VIOLENCE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching About Race, Racism and Police Violence

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 2014, the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York City, Tamir Rice in Cleveland and too many others caused waves of nationwide protest and appeals for stronger protections against police brutality. These events—along with the lack of accountability for the police officers wh…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most students leave high school without an adequate understanding of the role slavery played in the development of the United States-or how its legacies still influence us today. In an effort to remedy this, we developed a comprehensive guide for teaching and learning this critical topic at all grade levels.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Most students leave high school without an adequate understanding of the role slavery played in the development of the United States-or how its legacies still influence us today. In an effort to remedy this, we developed a comprehensive guide for teaching and learning this critical topic at all grade levels.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From film kits and lesson plans to the building blocks of a customized Learning Plan—texts, student tasks and teaching strategies—our resources will help you bring relevance, rigor and social emotional learning into your classroom—all for FREE.

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From the New York Times bestselling creators of I Am Enough comes an empowering follow-up that celebrates every child's limitless potential.
I Believe I Can is an affirmation for boys and girls of every background to love and believe in themselves.

Actress and activist Grace Byers and artist Keturah A. Bobo return with another gorgeously illustrated new classic that's the perfect gift for baby showers, birthdays, or just for reading at home again and again.
My presence matters in this world. I know I can do anything, if only I believe I can.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
I Believe I Can - Grace Byers - Hardcover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From the New York Times bestselling creators of I Am Enough comes an empowering follow-up that celebrates every child's limitless potential. I Believe I Can is an affirmation for boys and girls of every background to love and believe in themselves. Actress and activist Grace Byers and artist Keturah A.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A New York Times bestseller and Goodreads Choice Awards picture book winner! This is the perfect gift for mothers and daughters, baby showers, and graduatio...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Brown-skinned mama, the color of chocolate milk and pumpkin pie. White-skinned daddy, not the color of milk or snow, but light with pinks and tiny tans. And their two children, the beautiful colors of both. For an all-American family, full of joy, warmth, and love,

this is the way it is for us
this is the way we are

When it was first published in 1973, Black is Brown is Tan featured the first interracial family in children's books. Decades later, Arnold Adoff and Emily Arnold McCully continue to offer a joyous and loving celebration of all the colors of the race, now newly embellished with bright watercolor paintings that depict a contemporary family of the twenty-first century. And the chorus rings true as ever:

black is brown is tan
is girl is boy
is nose is face
is all the colors of the race

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
black is brown is tan - Arnold Adoff - Hardcover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Brown-skinned mama, the color of chocolate milk and pumpkin pie. White-skinned daddy, not the color of milk or snow, but light with pinks and tiny tans. And their two children, the beautiful colors of both.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"This wonderful book should be a first choice for all collections and is strongly recommended as a springboard for discussions about differences." -School Library Journal (starred review)
In this acclaimed book, the author of the Newbery Honor Book To Be a Slave shares his own story as he explores what makes each of us special. A strong choice for sharing at home or in the classroom.

Karen Barbour's dramatic, vibrant paintings speak to the heart of Lester's unique vision, truly a celebration of all of us. "This stunning picture book introduces race as just one of many chapters in a person's story" ( School Library Journal). "Lester's poignant picture book helps children learn, grow, discuss, and begin to create a future that resolves differences" ( Children's Literature).

Julius Lester said: "I write because our lives are stories. If enough of these stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"This wonderful book should be a first choice for all collections and is strongly recommended as a springboard for discussions about differences." -School Library Journal (starred review) In this acclaimed book, the author of the Newbery Honor Book To Be a Slave shares his own sto

# data[].attributes.headline
Kamala and Maya's Big Idea by Meena Harris

# data[].attributes.subject
Kamala and Maya's Big Idea by Meena Harris

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"An inspiring tale."
-Stacey Abrams, Former Minority Leader, Georgia House of Representatives; Founder and Chair, Fair Fight Action "I love this book."
-Megan Rapinoe, Co-Captain, U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Meena Harris debuts with an empowering picture book about two sisters who work with their community to effect change, inspired by a true story from the childhood of her aunt, US Senator Kamala Harris, and mother, lawyer, and policy expert Maya Harris. This picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 4 to 6. It's a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.
One day, Kamala and Maya had an idea. A big idea: they would turn their empty apartment courtyard into a playground!

This is the uplifting tale of how the author's aunt and mother first learned to persevere in the face of disappointment and turned a dream into reality. This is a story of children's ability to make a difference and of a community coming together to transform their neighborhood.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kamala and Maya's Big Idea - Meena Harris - Hardcover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"An inspiring tale."-Stacey Abrams, Former Minority Leader, Georgia House of Representatives; Founder and Chair, Fair Fight Action "I love this book."-Megan Rapinoe, Co-Captain, U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Meena Harris debuts with an empowering picture book about two sisters who work with their community to effect change, inspired by a true story from the childhood of her aunt, US Senator Kamala Harris, and mother, lawyer, and policy expert Maya Harris.

# data[].attributes.headline
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee'

# data[].attributes.subject
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From debut author Lisa Moore Ramée comes this funny and big-hearted debut middle grade novel about friendship, family, and standing up for what's right, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give and the novels of Renée Watson and Jason Reynolds.
Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she'd also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.)

But in junior high, it's like all the rules have changed. Now she's suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she's not black enough. Wait, what?

Shay's sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn't think that's for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum.

Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn't face her fear, she'll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that's trouble, for real.
"Tensions are high over the trial of a police officer who shot an unarmed Black man. When the officer is set free, and Shay goes with her family to a silent protest, she starts to see that some trouble is worth making." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From debut author Lisa Moore Ramée comes this funny and big-hearted debut middle grade novel about friendship, family, and standing up for what's right, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give and the novels of Renée Watson and Jason Reynolds. Twelve-year-old Shayla

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the companion to her acclaimed So Done, Paula Chase follows best friends Simp and Rollie as their friendship is threatened by the pressures of basketball, upcoming auditions, middle school, and their growing involvement in the local drug ring.

Dough Boys is a memorably vivid story about the complex friendship between two African American boys whose lives are heading down very different paths. For fans of Jason Reynolds's Ghost and Rebecca Stead's Goodbye Stranger.

Deontae "Simp" Wright has big plans for his future. Plans that involve basketball, his best friend, Rollie, and making enough money to get his mom and four younger brothers out of the Cove, their low-income housing project.

Long term, this means the NBA. Short term, it means being a dough boy-getting paid to play lookout and eventually moving up the rungs of the neighborhood drug operation with Rollie as his partner.

Roland "Rollie" Matthews used to love playing basketball. He loved the rhythm of the game, how he came up with his best drumbeats after running up and down the court. But playing with the elite team comes with extra, illegal responsibilities, and Rollie isn't sure he's down for that life. The new talented-and-gifted program, where Rollie has a chance to audition for a real-life go-go band, seems like the perfect excuse to stop being a dough boy. But how can he abandon his best friend?

Paula Chase explores universal themes of friendship and budding romance, while also exploring complex issues that affect many young teens. Full of basketball, friendship, and daily life in a housing project, this universal story is perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds's Track series, Jewell Parker Rhodes's Ghost Boys, and Chris Crutcher.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the companion to her acclaimed So Done, Paula Chase follows best friends Simp and Rollie as their friendship is threatened by the pressures of basketball, upcoming auditions, middle school, and their growing involvement in the local drug ring.

# data[].attributes.headline
Two Naomis by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Audrey Vernick

# data[].attributes.subject
Two Naomis by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Audrey Vernick

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A realistic contemporary story of two girls whose divorced parents begin to date-perfect for fans of Lisa Graff, Sara Pennypacker, and Rita Williams-Garcia.
Other than their first names, Naomi Marie and Naomi Edith are sure they have nothing in common, and they wouldn't mind keeping it that way.

Naomi Marie starts clubs at the library and adores being a big sister. Naomi Edith loves quiet Saturdays and hanging with her best friend in her backyard. And while Naomi Marie's father lives a few blocks away, Naomi Edith wonders how she's supposed to get through each day a whole country apart from her mother.

When Naomi Marie's mom and Naomi Edith's dad get serious about dating, each girl tries to cling to the life she knows and loves. Then their parents push them into attending a class together, where they might just have to find a way to work with each other-and maybe even join forces to find new ways to define family.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Two Naomis - Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich - Hardcover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A realistic contemporary story of two girls whose divorced parents begin to date-perfect for fans of Lisa Graff, Sara Pennypacker, and Rita Williams-Garcia. Other than their first names, Naomi Marie and Naomi Edith are sure they have nothing in common, and they wouldn't mind keeping it that way.

# data[].attributes.headline
Too Naomis by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Audrey Vernick

# data[].attributes.subject
Too Naomis by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Audrey Vernick

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A heartfelt, sweet, social justice-themed ode to blended and unconventional families-perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia, Lisa Graff, and Sara Pennypacker. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. It's a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.

In this sequel to Two Naomis, now that Naomi Marie's mom and Naomi E.'s dad are married, the girls have learned to do a lot of things together, like All-Family Sunday dinners, sixth-grade homework, navigating the subway system by themselves, and visiting their favorite bakeries. Until sixth grade in a new school presents a whole new set of surprises and challenges.

Trusting her gut has worked for Naomi E. all her life, and she figures that it will be an asset to her role as a Peer Mediator-until she realizes how much of the job requires the Art of Compromise, which she's only just starting to get used to at home.

Naomi Marie is excited about making new friends-but she wants to keep old ones too. And when she sees that some in the school community have a hard time with the realities of "diversity in action," she wonders if the new members of her family can see those realities as well.

As the girls deal with the ups and downs of middle school and the mysteries of family dynamics, they learn that even when life and school try to drive you apart, it's ultimately easier to face everything together.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Naomis Too - Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich - Hardcover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A heartfelt, sweet, social justice-themed ode to blended and unconventional families-perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia, Lisa Graff, and Sara Pennypacker. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. It's a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.headline
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia

# data[].attributes.subject
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In this Newbery Honor novel, New York Times bestselling author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the story of three sisters who travel to Oakland, California, in 1968 to meet the mother who abandoned them. "This vibrant and moving award-winning novel has heart to spare."*
Eleven-year-old Delphine is like a mother to her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. She's had to be, ever since their mother, Cecile, left them seven years ago for a radical new life in California. But when the sisters arrive from Brooklyn to spend the summer with their mother, Cecile is nothing like they imagined.

While the girls hope to go to Disneyland and meet Tinker Bell, their mother sends them to a day camp run by the Black Panthers. Unexpectedly, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern learn much about their family, their country, and themselves during one truly crazy summer.

This moving, funny novel won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction and the Coretta Scott King Award and was a National Book Award Finalist. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern's story continues in P.S. Be Eleven and Gone Crazy in Alabama.

Readers who enjoy Christopher Paul Curtis's The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming will find much to love in One Crazy Summer.

This novel was the first featured title for Marley D's Reading Party, launched after the success of #1000BlackGirlBooks. Maria Russo, in a New York Times list of "great kids' books with diverse characters," called it "witty and original."
*Brightly, in Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich's article "Knowing Our History to Build a Brighter Future: Books to Help Kids Understand the Fight for Racial Equality"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
One Crazy Summer - Rita Williams-Garcia - Hardcover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this Newbery Honor novel, New York Times bestselling author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the story of three sisters who travel to Oakland, California, in 1968 to meet the mother who abandoned them. "This vibrant and moving award-winning novel has heart to spare."* Eleven-year-old Delphine is like a mother to her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This quintessential middle grade biography of Harriet Tubman now features a cover by NAACP Image Award winner and Caldecott Honor illustrator Kadir Nelson, a foreword by National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds, and additional new material.
Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad was praised by the New Yorker as "an evocative portrait," and by the Chicago Tribune as "superb. " It is a gripping and accessible portrait of the heroic woman who guided more than 300 slaves to freedom and who is expected to be the face of the new $20 bill.

Harriet Tubman was born a slave and dreamed of being free. She was willing to risk everything-including her own life-to see that dream come true. After her daring escape, Harriet became a conductor on the secret Underground Railroad, helping others make the dangerous journey to freedom.

This award-winning introduction to the late abolitionist, which was named an ALA Notable Book and a New York Times Outstanding Book, also includes additional educational back matter such as a timeline, discussion questions, and extension activities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This quintessential middle grade biography of Harriet Tubman now features a cover by NAACP Image Award winner and Caldecott Honor illustrator Kadir Nelson, a foreword by National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds, and additional new material. Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad was praised by the New Yorker as "an evocative portrait," and by the Chicago Tribune as "superb.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"In Chasing Space, Leland Melvin tackles stupendous obstacles with dogged determination, showing you what is indeed possible in life-if you belive." -Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and Welcome to the Universe. Winner of the 2019 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Tween Non-Fiction Meet Leland Melvin-football star, NASA astronaut, and professional dream chaser. This middle grade book is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. It's a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.
In this inspiring memoir, adapted from the simultaneous version for adults, young readers will get to learn about Leland Melvin's remarkable life story, from being drafted by the Detroit Lions to bravely orbiting our planet in the International Space Station to writing songs with will.i.am, working with Serena Williams, and starring in top-rated television shows like The Dog Whisperer, Top Chef, and Child Genius.

With do-it-yourself experiments in the back of the book and sixteen pages of striking full-color photographs, this is the perfect book to inspire young readers.

When the former Detroit Lion's football career was cut short by an injury, Leland didn't waste time mourning his broken dream. Instead, he found a new one-something that was completely out of this world.

He joined NASA, braved an injury that nearly left him permanently deaf, and still managed to muster the courage and resolve to travel to space on the shuttle Atlantis to help build the International Space Station. Leland's problem-solving methods and can-do attitude turned his impossible-seeming dream into reality.
Bill Nye the Science Guy says: "Leland's story moves fast; once you get started you'll want to join the chase."
Leland's story introduces readers to the fascinating creative and scientific challenges he had to deal with in space and will encourage the next generation of can-do scientists to dare to follow their dreams.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Chasing Space Young Readers' Edition - Leland Melvin - Hardcover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"In Chasing Space, Leland Melvin tackles stupendous obstacles with dogged determination, showing you what is indeed possible in life-if you belive." -Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and Welcome to the Universe. Winner of the 2019 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Tween Non-Fiction Meet Leland Melvin-football star, NASA astronaut, and professional dream chaser.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft.

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.

As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds-and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
New Kid is a selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List. Plus don't miss Jerry Craft's Class Act!
This middle grade graphic novel is an excellent choice for tween readers, including for summer reading.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Winner of the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature! Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly's acclaimed book is perfect for young readers. It is the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program. Now a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner. This middle grade book is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. It's a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.
Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

This book brings to life the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, who lived through the Civil Rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the movement for gender equality, and whose work forever changed the face of NASA and the country.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hidden Figures Young Readers' Edition - Margot Lee Shetterly - Hardcover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly's acclaimed book is perfect for young readers. It is the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program. Now a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner.

# data[].attributes.headline
Picture Book Selections of African American Heros

# data[].attributes.subject
Picture Book Selections of African American Heros

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We celebrate and commemorate the central role African Americans have played in U.S. history. Through the powerful tool of storytelling, we can freeze time and teach our children about important moments in history-from Frederick Douglass to our first black president, Barack Obama. Read poetry and look at art from acclaimed black poets and artists while learning about the history of African-American influence on the United States in these picture books.

Although there are not that many ballet schools that will accept a girl like Sylvia in the 50s, her local bookmobile gives her another possibility. A librarian helps Sylvia find a book about ballet and the determined seven-year-old, with the help of her new books, starts teaching herself the basics of classical ballet. Sylvia learns how to fly-how to dance-and how to dare to dream. Ready to Fly is the true story of Sylvia Townsend, an African American girl who falls in love with ballet after seeing Swan Lake on TV.

Because of segregation, black people weren't allowed to compete against white people in sports. Althea Gibson didn't care. She just wanted to play tennis against the best athletes in the world. And with skill and determination, she did just that, eventually becoming the first black person-man or woman-to win a trophy at Wimbledon.

Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis' Fleet-of-Foot Girl tells this trailblazing athlete's journey-and the talent, force of spirit, and energy that made it possible for her to break barriers and get to the top of the tennis world.

When George Washington Carver was just a child, he had a secret: a garden of his own. He protected roots through harsh winters, so plants could be reborn in the spring. He trimmed flowers, spread soil, studied life cycles. And it was in this very place that George's love of nature grew into something so much more-his future.

Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden weren't just good at math...they were really good.They participated in some of NASA's greatest successes, like providing the math calculations for America's first journeys into space. And they did so during a time when being black and a woman limited what they could do. But they worked hard and persisted. And they changed the world with their genius.

Long before Jackie Robinson changed the world in a baseball uniform, he did it in an army uniform.As a soldier during World War II, Jackie experienced segregation every day-separate places for black soldiers to sit, to eat, and to live. When the army outlawed segregation on military posts and buses, things were supposed to change.While Jackie was ordered by a white bus driver to move to the back of a military bus, he refused. Instead of defending Jackie's rights, the military police took him to trial. But Jackie would stand up for what was right, even when it was difficult to do.

She led 13 escapes-all successful and at great personal risk-between 1850 and 1860. During the Civil War, she enlisted African American men to be soldiers. She served as a spy. AND she led a battle under the command of a Union Army colonel! Learn about the inspiring life of Harriet Tubman in this early reader biography.

Lonnie and his uncle go back to Harlem in the 1920s. Along the way, they meet famous writers, musicians, artists, and athletes, from Langston Hughes to Zora Neale Hurston and more, who created this incredible period. And after an exciting day of walking with history makers, Lonnie fully understands why the Harlem Renaissance is so important.

Late New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers and acclaimed artist Floyd Cooper take readers on an inspiring journey through the life of Frederick Douglass in the picture book, Frederick Douglass. A self-educated slave in the South, Douglass grew up to become an icon. He was a leader of the abolitionist movement, a celebrated writer, an esteemed speaker, and a social reformer, proving that, as he said, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." The story of one of America's most revered figures is brought to life by the text of award-winning author Walter Dean Myers and the sweeping, lush illustrations of artist Floyd Cooper.

Author Gene Barretta and illustrator Frank Morrison tell the unforgettable childhood story of legendary boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, and how one pivotal moment set him on his path to become the Greatest of All Time.

The Louisville Lip. The Greatest. The People's Champion. Muhammad Ali had many nicknames. But before he became one of the most recognizable faces in the world, before the nicknames and the championships, before he converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, he was twelve-year-old Cassius Clay riding a brand-new red-and-white bicycle through the streets of Louisville, Kentucky. One fateful day, this proud and bold young boy had that bike stolen, his prized possession, and he wouldn't let it go. Not without a fight. This would be the day he discovered boxing. And a champion was born.

Kadir Nelson's Heart and Soul is the winner of numerous awards, including the 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor, and the recipient of five starred reviews.

The story of America and African Americans is a story of hope and inspiration and unwavering courage. This is the story of the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton for their masters; it's about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws; it's about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied against those who would dare bar a child from an education. It's a story of discrimination and broken promises, determination, and triumphs. Told through the unique point of view and intimate voice of a one-hundred-year-old African-American female narrator, this inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice - the true heart and soul of our nation.

What was it like growing up as a son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? This picture book memoir, My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Martin Luther King III, provides insight into one of history's most fascinating families and into a special bond between father and son.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King III was one of those four little children mentioned in Martin Luther King's groundbreaking "I Have a Dream" speech. In this memoir, Martin Luther King Jr.'s son gives an intimate look at the man and the father behind the civil rights leader. Mr. King's remembrances show both his warm, loving family and a momentous time in American history.

Walking many miles to school in the dusty road, young Coretta knew, too well, the unfairness of life in the segregated south. A yearning for equality began to grow. Together with Martin Luther King, Jr., she gave birth to a vision and a journey - with dreams of freedom for all. This extraordinary union of poetic text by Ntozake Shange and monumental artwork by Kadir Nelson captures the movement for civil rights in the United States and honors its most elegant inspiration, Coretta Scott.

This is a journey that began in many places. It began in Kansas, home of Barack's mother. It began in Africa, home of Barack's father. It began in Hawaii one moonlit night, the night that Barack was born. Sometimes it was a lonely journey. Sometimes it was an enchanted journey. But throughout this most unusual ride, this boy often wondered: Who am I? Where do I belong?

Jonah Winter and AG Ford re-create the extraordinary story behind the rise of America's first African-American president, Barack Obama, in this stunning picture book.

Ida B. Wells was an extraordinary woman. Long before boycotts, sit-ins, and freedom rides, Ida B. Wells was hard at work to better the lives of African Americans. An activist, educator, writer, journalist, suffragette, and pioneering voice against the horror of lynching, she used fierce determination and the power of the pen to educate the world about the unequal treatment of blacks in the United States.

Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of this legendary figure, which blends harmoniously with the historically detailed watercolor paintings of illustrator Bonnie Christensen.

Award-winning poet Ntozake Shange and artist Rod Brown reimagine the journeys of the brave men and women who made their way to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

When Eloise Greenfield was four months old, her family moved from their home in Parmele, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C. Before Jan Spivey Gilchrist was born, her mother moved from Arkansas and her father moved from Mississippi. Both settled in Chicago, Illinois. Though none of them knew it at the time, they had all become part of the Great Migration.

In this collection of poems and collage artwork, award winners Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist gracefully depict the experiences of families like their own, who found the courage to leave their homes behind during The Great Migration and make new lives for themselves elsewhere. The Great Migration concludes with a bibliography.

Lemons as big as oranges, the cool Pacific Ocean, mountains that rise up beyond the outstretched bay-California beckons as one girl makes her way west on a journey filled with excitement, hope, and the promise of a place where people from all paths come together and music fills the air.

This is the true story of author Joyce Carol Thomas's trip from Oklahoma to California in 1948, when she moved there as a girl. During that time, many people went west, drawn by warmth and possibility, reflected in the people of all cultures and ethnicities who started a new life there.

With work that spans the nineteenth century through the present, this stunning collection pairs twenty poems by distinguished African-American poets with twenty works of art by acclaimed African-American artists. Renowned poets and artists such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Countee Cullen, Jacob Lawrence, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar powerfully explore themes of slavery, racism, and black pride, among many others. Named as one of the New York Public Library's "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing," this important collection was described as "a stirring book that will take [readers] up close and also extend their view of themselves" in a starred review by Booklist.

Pin me!

If you're looking for even more reading recommendations and resources, try these!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Powerful Picture Books Teaching Children About African American History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We celebrate and commemorate the central role African Americans have played in U.S. history. Through the powerful tool of storytelling, we can freeze time and teach our children about important moments in history-from Frederick Douglass to our first black president, Barack Obama.