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"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh

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"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh

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White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
Downloadable PDF © 1989 Peggy McIntosh "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" first appeared in Peace and Freedom Magazine, July/August, 1989, pp. 10-12, a For use in a bound volume there will be a copyright fee. McIntosh's lists must not be taken out of their autobiographical contexts. These articles may not be electronically posted except by the National SEED Project. publication of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Philadelphia, PA.
I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.

Through work to bring materials from Women's Studies into the rest of the curriculum, I have often noticed men's unwillingness to grant that they are over-privileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged. They may say they will work to improve women's status, in the society, the university, or the curriculum, but they can't or won't support the idea of lessening men's. Denials which amount to taboos surround the subject of advantages which men gain from women's disadvantages. These denials protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened or ended.

Thinking through unacknowledged male privilege as a phenomenon, I realized that, since hierarchies in our society are interlocking, there was most likely a phenomenon of white privilege that was similarly denied and protected. As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.

I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks.

Describing white privilege makes one newly accountable. As we in Women's Studies work to reveal male privilege and ask men to give up some of their power, so one who writes about white privilege must ask, "Having described it, what will I do to lessen or end it?"

After I realized the extent to which men work from a base of unacknowledged privilege, I understood that much of their oppressiveness was unconscious. Then I remembered the frequent charges from women of color that white women whom they encounter are oppressive.

I began to understand why we are justly seen as oppressive, even when we don't see ourselves that way. I began to count the ways in which I enjoy unearned skin privilege and have been conditioned into oblivion about its existence.

My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, or as a participant in a damaged culture. I was taught to see myself as an individual whose moral state depended on her individual moral will. My schooling followed the pattern my colleague Elizabeth Minnich has pointed out: whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work which will allow "them" to be more like "us."

I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions which I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can see, my African American co-workers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and line of work cannot count on most of these conditions.

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

6. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

7. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

8. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.

9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods that fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

10. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

11. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

12. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.

13. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

14. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

15. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

16. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

17. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.

18. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge," I will be facing a person of my race.

19. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.

20. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.

21. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared.

22. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of race.

23. I can choose public accommodations without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.

24. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

25. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.

26. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more less match my skin.

I repeatedly forgot each of the realizations on this list until I wrote it down. For me, white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject. The pressure to avoid it is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own.

In unpacking this invisible knapsack of white privilege, I have listed conditions of daily experience that I once took for granted. Nor did I think of any of these perquisites as bad for the holder. I now think that we need a more finely differentiated taxonomy of privilege, for some of these varieties are only what one would want for everyone in a just society, and others give license to be ignorant, oblivious, arrogant and destructive.

I see a pattern running through the matrix of white privilege, a pattern of assumptions that were passed on to me as a white person. There was one main piece of cultural turf; it was my own turf, and I was among those who could control the turf. My skin color was an asset for any move I was educated to want to make. I could think of myself as belonging in major ways and of making social systems work for me. I could freely disparage, fear, neglect, or be oblivious to anything outside of the dominant cultural forms. Being of the main culture, I could also criticize it fairly freely.

In proportion as my racial group was being made confident, comfortable, and oblivious, other groups were likely being made inconfident, uncomfortable, and alienated. Whiteness protected me from many kinds of hostility, distress and violence, which I was being subtly trained to visit, in turn, upon people of color.

For this reason, the word "privilege" now seems to me misleading. We usually think of privilege as being a favored state, whether earned or conferred by birth or luck. Yet some of the conditions I have described here work systematically to overempower certain groups. Such privilege simply confers dominance because of one's race or sex.

I want, then, to distinguish between earned strength and unearned power conferred systemically. Power from unearned privilege can look like strength when it is in fact permission to escape or to dominate. But not all of the privileges on my list are inevitably damaging. Some, like the expectation that neighbors will be decent to you, or that your race will not count against you in court, should be the norm in a just society. Others, like the privilege to ignore less powerful people, distort the humanity of the holders as well as the ignored groups.

We might at least start by distinguishing between positive advantages, which we can work to spread, and negative types of advantage, which unless rejected will always reinforce our present hierarchies. For example, the feeling that one belongs within the human circle, as Native Americans say, should not be seen as privilege for a few. Ideally it is an unearned entitlement. At present, since only a few have it, it is an unearned advantage for them. This paper results from a process of coming to see that some of the power that I originally saw as attendant on being a human being in the United States consisted in unearned advantage and conferred dominance.

The question is: "Having described white privilege, what will I do to end it?

I have met very few men who are truly distressed about systemic, unearned male advantage and conferred dominance. And so one question for me and others like me is whether we will be like them, or whether we will get truly distressed, even outraged, about unearned race advantage and conferred dominance, and, if so, what will we do to lessen them. In any case, we need to do more work in identifying how they actually affect our daily lives. Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the U.S. think that racism doesn't affect them because they are not people of color, they do not see "whiteness" as a racial identity. In addition, since race and sex are not the only advantaging systems at work, we need similarly to examine the daily experience of having age advantage, or ethnic advantage, or physical ability, or advantage related to nationality, religion, or sexual orientation.

Difficulties and dangers surrounding the task of finding parallels are many. Since racism, sexism, and heterosexism are not the same, the advantages associated with them should not be seen as the same. In addition, it is hard to disentangle aspects of unearned advantage which rest more on social class, economic class, race, religion, sex, and ethnic identity than on other factors. Still, all of the oppressions are interlocking, as the Combahee River Collective Statement of 1977 continues to remind us eloquently.

One factor seems clear about all of the interlocking oppressions. They take both active forms, which we can see, and embedded forms, which as a member of the dominant group one is taught not to see. In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth.

Disapproving of the systems won't be enough to change them. I was taught to think that racism could end if white individuals changed their attitudes. But a "white" skin in the United States opens many doors for whites whether or not we approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us. Individual acts can palliate, but cannot end, these problems.

To redesign social systems, we need first to acknowledge their colossal unseen dimensions. The silences and denials surrounding privilege are the key political tool here. They keep the thinking about equality or equity incomplete, protecting unearned advantage and conferred dominance by making these taboo subjects. Most talk by whites about equal opportunity seems to me now to be about equal opportunity to try to get into a position of dominance while denying that systems of dominance exist.

It seems to me that obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all. Keeping most people unaware that freedom of confident action is there for just a small number of people props up those in power and serves to keep power in the hands of the same groups that have most of it already.

Although systemic change takes many decades, there are pressing questions for me and I imagine for some others like me if we raise our daily consciousness on the perquisites of being light-skinned. What will we do with such knowledge? As we know from watching men, it is an open question whether we will choose to use unearned advantage to weaken hidden systems of advantage, and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base.

*This is an authorized excerpt of McIntosh's original white privilege article, "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences through Work in Women's Studies," Working Paper 189 (1988), Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, MA, 02481.
© 2010, Peggy McIntosh - Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley, MA
Some Notes for Facilitators on Presenting My White Privilege Papers

1. My work is not about blame, shame, guilt, or whether one is a "nice person." It's about observing, realizing, thinking systemically and personally. It is about seeing privilege, the "up-side" of oppression and discrimination. It is about unearned advantage, which can also be described as exemption from discrimination.

2. Please do not generalize from my papers. They are about my experience, not about the experiences of all white people in all times and places and circumstances. The paragraph in each paper before the list begins says this, and also allays fears of white people that a paper on white privilege will call them racist.

3. Keep "the lists" in their autobiographical contexts. It is a matter of scholarly integrity and accuracy not to claim more than I did. I compared my own circumstances with some of those of African American women I worked with. Being clear about this will actually increase your effectiveness as a facilitator. You can say, "This is from just one white woman coming to see she's white in her time and place and workspace. . . .She's writing about herself, not you."

4. The work goes best when you draw on participants' own personal experiences, not their opinions. Opinions invite argumentation. Telling about experience invites listening. Opinions tend to bring on conflict, whereas shared experiences tend to elicit curiosity and empathy. When participants move from experiential testimony to opinion, bring them back, knowing that most schooling discourages testimony.

5. When exploring privilege, it is useful to use "Serial Testimony," a disciplined mode in which each participant gets to respond in turn, uninterrupted, for, say, one minute, timed. I call this "the autocratic administration of time in the service of democratic distribution of time."

6. But without rigorous use of a watch or timer, Serial Testimony can be as undemocratic as any other form of discussion.

7. Understand that every participant has an intricate "politics of location" (Adrienne Rich) within the systems of social power. For example, all people in a workshop or class will have a lifetime of experiences of both advantage and disadvantage, empowerment and disempowerment, overwhelming or subtle, within many different systems of power.

8. Recognize that all people are both located in systems and also uniquely individual.

9. Co-presentations and panels of people speaking about their experiences one after another can be very effective. I do not usually arrange for "dialogues," since I feel they are often a veiled form of debating and fighting, rather than listening and learning. I discourage "crosstalk" after panels unless it further clarifies and respects what the panelists have said. This is what Peter Elbow called playing the "The Believing Game."

10. My lists of the unearned privileges I have relative to my colleagues are not "check lists" or "questionnaires." They are not "confessional readings."

11. Please draw attention to the specificity of "my sample." I compared my circumstances only with what I knew of the circumstances of my African-American female colleagues in the same building and line of work. This sample is very specific with regard to race, sex, region, location, workplace, vocation and nation.

12. Behind and within my examples are institutions that bear on my experience such as schools, the police, the IRS, the media, the law, medicine, business.

13. Do not get trapped in definitions of privilege and power. They lack nuances and flexibility.

14. Invite people to make their own autobiographical lists of privilege, for example, about:

15. Beware of gym-exercises which position people in only one aspect of their identities, asking them to step forward or backward from a baseline at a given prompt.

16. Urge participants to avoid self righteousness and preaching to family and friends about privilege, especially if it is something they have just discovered themselves. Explain the word "systemic." Help participants or students to think about what it is to see society systemically, and structurally, rather than only in terms of individuals making individual choices.

17. Think about why U.S. people, especially White people, have trouble seeing systemically. Explain the myth of meritocracy: that the unit of society is the individual and that whatever one ends up with must be whatever that individual wanted, worked for, earned, and deserved. Why do you think this myth survives so successfully, suppressing knowledge of systemic oppression and especially of its "up-side,"systemic privilege?

18. Help participants to strengthen three intellectual muscles: a) the ability to see in terms of systems as well as in terms of individuals; b) the ability to see how systemic discrimination , the downside, is matched by systemic privilege, the upside; c) the ability to see many different kinds of privilege systems.

19. You can argue that work on privilege in schools and universities makes people smarter, not necessarily better. Academic institutions do not claim that making us better is their primary goal, but accurate thinking is a goal they claim to foster.

20. When I present, or co-present with a person of color, on Privilege Systems, whether or not I am the first to speak, I usually:

tell how I came to see men's privilege and their obliviousness to it, which made me see laterally to my own race privilege and my obliviousness to it;

read some examples from my white privilege list, and sometimes read some of my heterosexual privilege list, class privilege list, Christian privilege list, and lists of privilege relative to Asian Americans, Indigenous people, Latino/as, etc.;

analyze some of the different misreadings of my paper by white people and people of color;

raise the question of how I can use unearned advantage to weaken systems of unearned advantage, and why I would want to.

The co-presenter and I take equal time to testify about how we came to see privilege systems in and around us. After this, we use Serial Testimony. We form either small circles of people, or pairs, to respond, in turn, uninterrupted, for one minute each, to the following prompts:
Round one: What are one or more ways in which you've had unearned disadvantage in your life?
Round two: What are one or more ways in which you've had unearned advantage in your life?
Round three: What is it like for you to sit here and talk about and hear about these experiences of unearned advantage and disadvantage?

Round three is like a debrief in itself. Any further debrief should be only on new learnings from the exercise. Random discussion of the exercise usually leads away from experience to generalizations and repetitions of the same opinions people came into the session with.

Some people "get" the idea of systemic privilege and ask "But what can I do?" My answer is, you can use unearned advantage to weaken systems of unearned advantage. I see white privilege as a bank account that I did not ask for, but that I can choose to spend. People with privilege have far more power than we have been taught to realize, within the myth of meritocracy. Participants can brainstorm about how to use unearned assets to share power; these may include time, money, energy, literacy, mobility, leisure, connections, spaces, housing, travel opportunities. Using these assets may lead to key changes in other behaviors as well, such as paying attention, making associations, intervening, speaking up, asserting and deferring, being alert, taking initiative, doing ally and advocacy work, lobbying, campaigning, protesting, organizing, and recognizing and acting against both the external and internalized forms of oppression and privilege.

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"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" and "Some Notes for Facilitators" - National SEED Project

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White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack Downloadable PDF © 1989 Peggy McIntosh 'White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack' first appeared in P...

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Rachel Cargle is creating resources and critical discourse to aid in unlearning | Patreon

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Hey, I'm Rachel! My work here on Patreon is rooted in providing resources and critical discourse to aid in unlearning. I believe in knowledge leading to action and I use this platform to both provide education and inspire meaningful action. Thank you for being here!

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EmbraceRace supports parents to raise children who are brave, informed and thoughtful about race. Join the movement!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxKewUo2J8Y

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Through hands-on art activities, demonstrations, group conversations, and customized professional advice to problem solve through challenges, you will build confidence in using art with your kids to start empowered conversations about social justice issues, and map a forward path of anti-racist acti

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David Hammons was born in Springfield, Illinois on July 24, 1943. He moved to Los Angeles in 1962, attending CalArts from 1966-1968, and the Otis Art Institute from 1968-1972, where he was inspired by artists such as Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari, Charles White, and Chris Burden. In 1974, Hammons settled in New York City.

Over the past five decades, Hammons has created a versatile body of work that explores the experience of African-American life and the role of race within American society. He began his career in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, where he was influenced by the politically charged imagery of the Black Arts Movement, the found-object assemblages of Dada, and the humble materials of Arte Povera. His first notable work is his series of Body Prints done in the 1960s and '70s. Life-size representations of his own figure would be transferred to the support by coating his skin and hair with margarine and pressing his greased body onto the paper, then covering those sections with pigment powder. These images would be paired with politically charged symbols such as the American flag.

After his move to New York in the mid-1970s, Hammons disengaged from two-dimensional works, preferring to devote his practice entirely to sculptural assemblage, installation, and performance, in which he would employ provocative materials such as elephant dung, chicken parts, strands of hair, and bottles of cheap wine. Centered in the Black urban experience, Hammons often uses sarcasm and humor as a means of confronting the cultural stereotypes and racial issues at the core of his practice. In recent years, Hammons returned again to two-dimensions in series such as his Kool Aid drawings, which use the popular drink as a medium for mark-making, and the Basketball Drawings, which are composed through repeatedly bouncing a basketball covered with charcoal onto the paper. As in so many of Hammons' works, the title and physical object worked together as a verbal and visual pun to generate meaning - in this case, an allusion to the unrealistic dream of basketball providing an escape from urban poverty, and encouragement for black youths to seek loftier goals than athletic prowess. In the 1980s, Hammons became known for his public sculptures and installations, such as the 1986 work "Higher Goals," a group of five, 20-30 foot tall telephone poles topped with basketball hoops and covered in mosaics of discarded beer bottle caps.

Hammons was the recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship in July 1991. His work is collected by major public and private institutions internationally, among them: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge; Glenstone, Potomac; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; SMAK, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent; Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris; Francois Pinault Foundation, Venice; and Tate Britain, London.

David Hammons currently lives and works in New York.

"That's why I like doing stuff better on the street, because the art becomes just one of the objects that's in the path of your everyday existence. It's what you move through, and it doesn't have any seniority over anything else."

- DAVID HAMMONS

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David Hammons was born in Springfield, Illinois on July 24, 1943. He moved to Los Angeles in 1962, attending CalArts from 1966-1968, and the Otis Art Institute from 1968-1972, where he was inspired by artists such as Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari, Charles White, and Chris Burden. In 1974, Hammons settled in New York City.

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If You Really Want to Make a Difference in Black Lives, Change How You Teach White Kids

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If You Really Want to Make a Difference in Black Lives, Change How You Teach White Kids

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by Nahliah Webber

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Nahliah Webber, the Executive Director of the Orleans Public Education Network, is dedicated to disrupting education practices that negatively impact Black students and their intersections in the US and beyond. She holds double bachelor's degrees, Magna Cum Laude, from Sweet Briar College and a master's from Teacher's College, Columbia University, where she focused on racialized school policies and practices. Full profile →

The latest episodes of police murdering Black people have my chest burning like a building set ablaze. My heart is hot, my stomach churns. My head filled with black smoke. I am exhausted.

My body is weak from seeing, hearing, reading and crying over people who look like my father and brothers getting choked out on video ... again. My body hurts not seeing anything happen when people who look like my mother or me are killed by violent White men. The silence when Black trans- men and women are killed by police violently bangs in my eardrum. I'm sore from the hashtags marking yet another Black death gone viral. Physically, emotionally, mentally, I'm hurt. Professionally I'm tired.

I work in education advocacy and I focus on the protection, advancement and dignity of Black children and Black life. Black death is a threat to everything I work and live for, so when it happens I can't help but relate what I see, experience and feel to my work. When anything goes down with Black people I think about education and schools and whether I am a part of something that is preserving Black life or failing it.

As I saw the system choke the life out of George Floyd I became enraged because I knew the focus would be on the systems that produced this end result and not the ones that groomed both George Floyd and the cop who killed him for that moment. That the conversations would be about prosecution and police training, but not changing the places that socialize Americans for White violence and Black death.

The system that killed George Floyd and the system that raised and educated the cop who killed him are the same. And in the same way that folks are tired of the viral Black death-protest-fake trial-acquittal-rinse and repeat cycle, I am tired of folks acting like there's no direct connection between the schools where White children sit and the street corners where they choke out Black life.

There's a George Floyd in every school where Black children learn. Black children are screamed at, berated, surveilled and searched in schools. Black children are slammed and dragged, kicked and prodded in classrooms. Black children are denied an education and disrespected because of their culture. Black children are groomed for containment. We've got children walking on tape with hands over their mouths like prisoners in training.

Black children are suspended, detained, "demerited" and isolated in schools for trivial things every day. And there's a killer cop sitting in every school where White children learn. They hear the litany of bad statistics and stereotypes about "scary" Black people in their classes and on the news. They gleefully soak in their White-washed history that downplays the holocaust of Indigenous, Native peoples and Africans in the Americas. They happily believe their all-White spaces exist as a matter of personal effort and willingly use violence against Black bodies to keep those spaces white.

Yet whenever we talk about what's wrong with the systems that train and socialize young minds to become violent and depraved adults who, say choose to choke people out as part of their jobs, all we ever hear is that Black children, Black families, Black communities, Black-NESS are "behind" and stuck in gaps. Conservatives, liberals and progressives alike grow their careers and feed their families off of myths about Black deficiency.

If you let them tell it, Black kids are in terrible shape while White children are doing gloriously. But how can White kids be doing okay when they're growing up to be police officers, district attorneys, mayors, judges, media, mothers, fathers and presidents who take away Black life and call it justified? As Black bodies drop like flies around us from physical, medical, economic, and material deprivation and violence at White hands, how can we in any of our minds or metrics conclude that the Whites are alright? What kind of warped standards are these?

Because let me tell you something ...

And any school or culture that produces children to grow up like this is failing.

White children are left unchecked and unbothered in their schools, homes and communities to join, advance and protect systems that take away Black life. We never talk about this moral and human failing in White culture as something that needs to get fixed now. Instead, we pour millions of dollars into discussions, conferences, professional development, curriculum and consultancies that talk about fixing Black people. And I'm tired.

I'm tired of White people reveling in their state-sanctioned depravity, snuffing out Black life with no consequences and then having the nerve to tell Black children that they are "behind" and need to work harder.

I'm tired of White people telling Black kids that they need to be held "accountable," yet killer cops go free when they take Black life and White teachers go free when they miseducate Black kids.

I'm tired of White people taking their violent culture, standards and metrics into Black spaces and telling Black children that they don't measure up. Because who is really failing here?

Where's the urgency for school reform for White kids being indoctrinated in Black death and protected from the consequences?

Where are the government-sponsored reports looking into how White mothers are raising culturally deprived children who think Black death is okay?

Where are the national conferences, white papers and policy positions on the pathology of Whiteness in schools and how it leaves White children behind as adults?

Why isn't Bill Gates throwing billions into school programs teaching White kids how not to grow up racist and choke out Black life?

The federal government needs to commission studies on White neighborhoods that produce and insulate anti-Black physical, economic and political violence. City councils and state legislatures should redline those places and determine them to be "high risk" and unfit for life. School reformers need to lobby, plot and plan on how to disrupt school systems that produce, protect and reward White violence.

Go get Walmart and the Koch brothers to fund tens of thousands of recent White college graduates trained in anti-racism and dispatch them to the disadvantaged all-White school districts across the country full of future killer cops. Take your six weeks of training and be an anti-racist teacher in classrooms full of families that hoard resources, separate their school districts and fund the police to keep their knees on Black necks.

Simply, this time after you take off your Black Lives Matter t-shirt and recycle your protest signs, don't go back into Black spaces with your usual bullshit. This time if you really want to make a difference in Black lives-and not have to protest this shit again -go reform white kids.

Because that's where the problem is-with White children being raised from infancy to violate Black bodies with no remorse or accountability. That cop didn't just learn how to snuff out George Floyd's life in a police training or on the job. He spent a lifetime preparing for that moment with his parents and family, teachers, coaches, neighborhoods and churches.

Eventually, the fires will burn out and the aftermath of the latest uprisings will clear. The heat in my chest may subside a little, but the grief will still be there for the next time. And unfortunately, there will be a next time because I've seen this episode before. We all have. Today we scream for justice but on Monday we'll call for better police training and a guilty verdict that will only leave the system-all the systems-intact. And we'll feel better about ourselves as we return to business as usual, preparing children for White violence and Black death, again.

I'm tired.

Photo by Sean Simmers.

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If You Really Want to Make a Difference in Black Lives, Change How You Teach White Kids

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Nahliah Webber, the Executive Director of the Orleans Public Education Network, is dedicated to disrupting education practices that negatively impact Black students and their intersections in the US and beyond. She holds double bachelor's degrees, Magna Cum Laude, from Sweet Briar College and a master's from Teacher's College, Columbia University, where she focused on racialized school policies and practices.

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by Adjoa Burrowes

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Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Training and Professional Development

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We offer equity, diversity, inclusion, and beloning training, professional development, and assistance for educators and for schools, school districts, and other educational organizations. We also offer equity assessment, policy analysis, and more.

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LACMA

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Veronica Alvarez has worked with elementary, high school, and college students, teaching subjects such as Spanish and ancient Mediterranean history, and has served as an art education consultant for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, UCLA's Chicano Studies Resource Center, and other LA area museums. After 14 years in the education department at the J. Paul Getty Museum, she moved to LACMA as Director of School and Teacher Programs. Veronica is currently a doctoral student at LMU's Educational Leadership in Social Justice program.

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Veronica Alvarez has worked with elementary, high school, and college students, teaching subjects such as Spanish and ancient Mediterranean history, and has served as an art education consultant for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, UCLA's Chicano Studies Resource Center, and other LA area museums. After 14 years in the education department at the J.

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David Drake (1800-1874) was an influential African-American ceramic artist, born into slavery under the pottery-making families of Edgefield, South Carolina. Also known as Dave the Potter, Dave Pottery, Dave the Slave, or Dave of the Hive, he is known to have had several different owners during his lifetime, including Harvey Drake, Reuben Drake, Jasper Gibbs, and Lewis Miles. All of these men were in some way related to the ceramic entrepreneur and slaveholding brothers Reverend John Landrum and Dr. Abner Landrum.

Key Takeaways: Dave the Potter

Known For: Extraordinatly large signed ceramic vessels

Also known as: David Drake, Dave the Slave, Dave of the Hive, Dave Pottery

Born: ca 1800

Parents: unknown

Died: 1874

Education: Taught to read and write; turned pots by Abner Landrum and/or Harvey Drake

Published Works: At least 100 signed pots, undoubtedly many more

Spouse: Lydia (?)

Children: two (?)

Notable Quote: "I wonder where is all my relation \ friendship to all-and every nation"

What is known of Dave the Potter's life is derived from census records and news stories. He was born about 1800, the child of a woman forced into slavery in South Carolina with seven other people by a Scotsman named Samuel Landrum. Dave was separated from his parents in early childhood, and nothing is known of his father, who may have been Samuel Landrum.

Dave learned to read and write, and probably began working in the potteries in his late teens, learning his trade from the European-American potters. The earliest pottery vessels which bear attributes of Dave's later pots date to the 1820s and were made in the Pottersville workshop.

Edgefield Pottery

In 1815, the Landrums established the Edgefield pottery-making district in west-central South Carolina, and by the mid-19th century, the district had grown to include 12 very large, innovative and influential ceramic stoneware factories. There, the Landrums and their families blended English, European, African, Native American, and Chinese ceramic styles, forms, and techniques to make durable, non-toxic alternatives to lead-based stonewares. It was in this environment that Dave became an important potter, or "turner," eventually working in several of these factories.

Dave also apparently worked for Abner Landrum's newspaper "The Edgefield Hive" (sometimes listed as "The Columbia Hive"), a trade newspaper where some scholars believe he learned to read and write. Others believe it is more likely he learned from his owner Reuben Drake. Dave's literacy had to have occurred before 1837 when it became illegal in South Carolina to teach slaves to read and write. Dave was owned for a time by Lewis Miles, Abner's son-in-law, and he produced at least 100 pots for Miles between July 1834 and March 1864. Dave may well have produced many more, but only about 100 signed pots have survived from that period.

He lived through the Civil War, and after the Emancipation, continued to work for the pottery, as David Drake, his new surname taken from one of his past masters.

While that doesn't seem like very much information, Dave was one of 76 known enslaved African or African Americans who worked in the Edgefield District. We know far more about Dave the Potter than we do for the others who worked in the ceramic workshops of the Landrums because he signed and dated some of his ceramics, sometimes incising poetry, proverbs, and dedications into the clay surfaces.

Marriage and Family

No clear record of Dave's marriage or family has been found, but when Harvey Drake died in December of 1832, his estate included four slaves: Dave, who would be sold to Reuben Drake and Jasper Gibbs for $400; and Lydia and her two children, sold to Sarah and Laura Drake for $600. In 1842, Reuben Drake, Jasper Gibbs and his wife Laura Drake, and Lydia and her children moved to Louisiana-but not Dave, who was at that time owned by Lewis Miles and working in Miles' pottery. U.S. museum studies scholar Jill Beute Koverman (1969-2013) and others have speculated that Lydia and her children were Dave's family, Lydia a wife or sister.

Writing and Pottery

Potters typically use maker's marks to identify the potter, the pottery, the prospective owner, or manufacturing details: Dave added quatrains from the bible or his own eccentric poetry.

One of the earliest of the poems attributed to Dave is from 1836. On a large jar made for the Pottersville foundry, Dave wrote: "horses, mules and hogs / all our cows is in the bogs / there they shall ever stay / till the buzzards take them away." Burrison (2012) has interpreted this poem to refer to Dave's owner's selling of several of his co-workers to Louisiana.

U.S. African and African American Studies professor Michael A. Chaney has connected decorative and symbolic markings on slave-produced forms of colonoware (a blend of African and Native American pottery made in the U.S.) to some marks made by Dave. Whether Dave's poetry was intended as subversive, humorous or insightful is open to question: probably all three. In 2005, Koverman compiled a list of all Dave's known poems.

Style and Form

Dave specialized in large storage jars with horizontal slab handles, used for large-scale plantation food preservation, and his pots are among the largest made during the period. At Edgefield, only Dave and Thomas Chandler made pots with such a large capacity. Some hold up to 40 gallons: and they were in high demand.

Dave's pots, like those of most of the Edgefield potters, were alkaline stonewares, but Dave's had a rich streaky brown and green glaze, idiosyncratic to the potter. His inscriptions are the only ones known from American potters at the time, at Edgefield or away from it.

Death and Legacy

The last known jars made by Dave were made in January and March of 1864. The 1870 federal census lists David Drake as a 70-year-old man, born in South Carolina and a turner by trade. The next line on the census lists Mark Jones, also a potter-Jones was another potter owned by Lewis Miles, and at least one pot is signed "Mark and Dave." There is no record for Dave in the 1880 census, and Koverman assumed he died before then. Chaney (2011) lists a death date of 1874.

The first jar inscribed by Dave was found in 1919, and Dave was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2016. A considerable amount of scholarship on Dave's inscriptions has been amassed over the past couple of decades. Chaney (2011) discusses the "politically mute" but "commercially hypervisible" status of Dave's writings and focuses his attention on the poetic inscriptions, especially the somewhat subversive elements in Dave's writing. American museum studies scholar Aaron DeGroft's 1988 article describes the protest contexts of Dave's inscriptions; and folklorist John A. Burrison (2012) discusses the topics of Dave's poetry, as part of a broader discussion of the Edgefield potteries. American archaeologist Christopher Fennell has direct archaeological investigations at the Edgefield potteries beginning in the 21st century.

Perhaps the most focused research into Dave's ceramics was by Jill Beute Koverman (1969-2013), who, as part of her extensive work on Edgefield pottery works cataloged and photographed well over 100 vessels marked by Dave or attributed to him. Koverman's nuanced discussion includes Dave's artistic influences and training.

Selected Sources

Burrison, John A. "South Carolina's Edgefield District: An Early International Crossroads of Clay." American Studies Journal 56 (2012).

Chaney, Michael A. "The Concatenate Poetics of Slavery and the Articulate Material of Dave the Potter." African American Review 44.4 (2011): 607-18.

---, ed. "Where Is All My Relation?: The Poetics of Dave the Potter." Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.

De Groft, Aaron. "Eloquent Vessels/Poetics of Power: The Heroic Stoneware of 'Dave the Potter.'" Winterthur Portfolio 33.4 (1998): 249-60.

Fennell, Christopher C. "Innovation, Industry, and African-American Heritage in Edgefield, South Carolina." Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage 6.2 (2017): 55-77.

Goldberg, Arthur F., and Deborah A. Goldberg. "The Expanding Legacy of the Enslaved Potter-Poet David Drake." Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage 6.3 (2017): 243-61.

Koverman, Jill Beute. "Clay Connections: A Thousand-Mile Journey from South Carolina to Texas." American Material Culture and the Texas Experience: The David B. Warren Symposium. Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2009. 118-45.

---. "The Ceramic Works of David Drake, Aka, Dave the Potter or Dave the Slave of Edgefield, South Carolina." American Ceramic Circle Journal 13 (2005): 83.

---, ed. "I Made This Jar... Dave: The Life and Works of the Enslaved African-American Potter, Dave." McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina, 1998.

Todd, Leonard. "Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter Dave." New York: WW Norton, 2008.

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Dave the Potter, An Innovative American Artist Born Into Slavery

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David Drake (1800-1874) was an influential African-American ceramic artist, born into slavery under the pottery-making families of Edgefield, South Carolina. Also known as Dave the Potter, Dave Pottery, Dave the Slave, or Dave of the Hive, he is known to have had several different owners during his lifetime, including Harvey Drake, Reuben Drake, Jasper Gibbs, and Lewis Miles.

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Anti-Racist : a person who opposes racism and promotes racial tolerance.

Bias : favoring or showing prejudice towards certain people or ideas.

BIPOC : Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

Cultural Appropriation: inappropriately and/or incorrectly using or taking advantage of, or claiming ownership and rights to use another culture's capital and patrimony; such as fashion, trends, iconography, traditional art, ceremonies, etc.

False Narrative : a story that you perceive as being true but has little basis in reality, this perception can be due to insufficient or inaccurate information or to insufficient or inaccurate assessment.

NBIPOC : Non-Black Indigenous People of Color

Person of color : a person who is not white or of European parentage.

Stereotype : a category or group that we put people into (thinking a certain type of person or thing acts/thinks/looks a certain way).

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Why English Class is Silencing Students of Color | Jamila Lyiscott | TEDxTheBenjaminSchool

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Why English Class is Silencing Students of Color | Jamila Lyiscott | TEDxTheBenjaminSchool

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Why English Class is Silencing Students of Color | Jamila Lyiscott | TEDxTheBenjaminSchool

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How do children of color learn to draw themselves?

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How do children of color learn to draw themselves?

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by Melinda Fakuade

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Sticky bins filled with colored pencils, crayons, and markers are placed in the center of tiny tables. It's the prelude to one of the first art projects of any elementary school career - the self-portrait. The teacher will detail the instructions to the kids, and might even include a few words of wisdom: Everyone is an artist, and everyone should be proud of who they are. It's supposed to be an exercise in self-esteem, which even at a young age, children have already conceived - according to the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, self-esteem has already formed in one direction or the other by age five. Because art acts as an outlet a kid might not have elsewhere, taking note of how they draw and what they feel about it is important. '

The kids are meant to select the colors of their choice to create the best reflection of themselves that their baby brains can muster. It's an odd exercise for children of color, who have likely already begun internalizing the idea that they look different in a way that is rarely celebrated. Their parents, teachers, and friends may praise them, but the surrounding world is heavily filled with images where beauty is communicated as a mostly white ideal. How should they illustrate how they feel on the inside? It's an often undetectable, but present conflict for young kids of color: draw yourself with ethnic features, and admit belonging to a group of "others," or draw yourself as with Caucasian features, in order to more closely align with a so-called image of beauty.

Until 1962, Crayola's "peach" crayon was actually named "flesh." The color is still synonymous with human skin, even the minds of darker-skinned kids. (There were other slip ups like this in Crayola's offerings; until 1999, "chestnut" was called "Indian red.") When children of color draw themselves white, it might reveal something about how they are interpreting the world they've been shown, and subsequently their desire to fit into it. (Notoriously, Rachel Dolezal colored herself using the brown crayon, and drew herself with "black curly hair" at age 5.)

I went to a racially diverse elementary school in New York with high teaching standards. It was also vastly wealthy, creating an environment of invisible division. Even with its best intentions, students and teachers alike couldn't help but stumble through attempts at fairness and inclusion. Even early on, kids of color figured it out: school was not built with them in mind. The curriculum brushed over parts of non-white history. Children of color were disproportionately disciplined. Parents would grow distant when they learned what side of town their child's friend lived in. In art classes, I remember a few dark-skinned classmates who drew themselves with modifications. They never colored their skin incorrectly; they usually kept that accurate. But I saw a decent amount of drawings that had flowing blonde hair, or blue or green eyes. I've always wondered about this phenomena, and what it says about how we inform racial viewpoints from the earliest ages, in the most unassuming of places.

The Outline reached out to three people with expertise in the ways childhood art and race collide. They are working towards a world that encourages children of color to represent themselves with accuracy and pride.

In the classroom
Claudia Brunhuber has been teaching art for 15 years at Vanderbilt Elementary, in a suburb of Long Island, New York.
Each year starting at kindergarten, we use a different material or medium, different design in the backgrounds, or different idea for the self-portrait. First grade, we create patterns. Second grade we do a watercolor. Third grade, we actually put our portrait in an iPhone, or a smartphone. We make a selfie out of it. Fourth grade, we make what's called a trading card, so we show ourselves in motion. And in fifth grade we use oil pastels.

It definitely improves. I love keeping them year after year because of that reason. You see your little stick figure in kindergarten morph into this beautiful self-portrait that resembles you in fifth grade.

I used to do construction paper for third grade, and it actually became a harder skill. More kids of darker skin color, they got confused on what their actual color was. And I see that more with kids of color. Are they really the black paper, or the dark brown or the lighter brown?

You're called white or black, and white is peach. Your skin color doesn't match the wording, so I think at the elementary level they're like, "Well, where's my black paper? Where's my white paper? I'm not that skin color." I see it for all skin tones, that confusion.

Not everyone's able to express themselves through math equations or a science experiment. And I think that art is so subjective and really nothing's wrong with that and I feel like maybe if the child does feel a little uncomfortable in their own skin or their own self-esteem whether it's a student of color or not, they really are able to express themselves.

When they're working at tables, they're like, "oh, mine's not as good as that one, mine's not as good as that one." But why? I always encourage my kids to try it. It doesn't have to look like mine. It doesn't have to look like the kid next to you. There's 20 kids. There should be 20 different pictures. Everyone's going to look a little different, and be comfortable in that.

In the textbooks
Dr. Dena Philips Swanson is an associate professor of counseling and human development. She has taught at the University of Rochester for over a decade. Her interest in race and children first developed in her home of Atlanta, when she heard about studies that showed evidence that black children may have lower self-esteem, and realized they were "distinct individuals from other groups by age 5."
You're going to have one of the white children in that school call that child black, and that child is going to go home or ask the teacher, ask somebody: "What does that mean? I'm not black." Because there's no context for defining black. They look at the Crayola box and go, "Well that's not the color I am," and so they don't see it as a concept. Most parents will have a conversation then, with their child, about what that means and the differences, and still acknowledge that this is how the world might see this group, but here's who you are.

The difference is the extent to which children actually take that in. So it's similar in that all children will face it at some point, but the extent to which children internalize it when they're younger is going to vary, even when they're in a racially mixed setting. They're more likely to have to address it in a racially mixed setting than they are in a setting that is predominantly black.

[Black children] consistently reported whites as being prettier, as being nicer, and blacks as being ugly or mean. And so there was a dichotomy between what children saw as what's good for black people, what was good for whites, and yet it did not reflect how they saw themselves. They didn't link it to themselves. They weren't saying "I'm bad," or "I'm mean," or "I'm ugly," but they're saying "Oh yeah, the rest of the world sees black this way. But that's not who I am."

When a black child draws him or herself as a white child, with features that are white, what they're saying is, "I want to be seen as pretty, and this is what pretty means to me." That's in essence what they're saying. They'll be saying, "I am pretty, so you must see me this way." Or they are saying "This is the way I would like to be seen, because this is what pretty is, and this is what it means to be cute."

As they get older they begin to associate those messages they get about what it means to be black, or what it means to be dark skinned. They began to incorporate those messages into really trying to understand what's next, or who they were, and that's when we began to see certain experiences of stress being manifested in children, in particular in youth. They were trying to make sense of how they fit in the world around them, given some of the things they were seeing, as well as some of the things they were personally experiencing that were either discriminating them or minimizing who they are because they are black children.

What I have found is that having adults in a child's life that help to counter those narratives is particularly and incredibly important for reshaping what they're seeing in the media, whether that's on TV or social media. Sometimes even in the school context, having adults to help them interpret and reframe those messages is really important for helping them learn to see themselves in a positive way.

There's a lot of work and research that's been done around this area, and what we find is that students who have, in an educational setting in particular, teachers encourage and validate children's history, and children's race, will enhance their self-esteem. But it has to be explicit. Our curriculum in school does not validate black children's sense of self-worth. It doesn't happen explicitly, and then our youth are left to make inferences on their own in terms of what it means to be black, based on other experiences and exposure they may have. The school has the opportunity to do it, but that's not often what happens.

In the future of coloring
Dani Dixon is the founder of Tumble Creek Press, an independent publisher of books, comics, and manga. She currently has two coloring books that include people of color, and she has a third coming out this summer.
I started with comic books, a middle grade scifi series called "13". My first foray into coloring books was for that series, and I was really just experimenting. I was a bit ahead of the curve with the whole coloring book trend. Now I have coloring books for a few of my series. As a creator, it's a way to widen the universe in a slightly different format."

Coloring books as a whole, suffer the same ills as the larger kid lit medium. There are more inanimate objects, animals and anthropomorphised things represented than kids of color. I can't say whether it's better or worse than fiction, but coloring books are how kids express themselves within a framework, and when there are no children of color to speak of that severely limits a kid's ability to express their own imagination.

I think it's fine for kids to draw themselves differently - with blond hair or purple hair - but if they default to the images they've been fed, and think how they look or how their hair grows is wrong, then yeah, that's problematic. In my Jupiter Elementary activity book I ask the reader to draw a picture of themselves. However, at that point in the book, they've already been shown five kids, with very different personalities, and very different ethnic identities. I don't know how often a self-portrait prompt is framed that way.

Because even if they can observe differences in their real lives, their experience is that what they look like doesn't belong in a book, on a page, hung on a wall. It starts early and it's recurring. What are the books they read and were read to them? What stories are told to the whole class - and therefore given higher credibility? What books are available in the school library?

It's been said a million times, but "if you can't see it, you can't be it." I don't think that's always true. History is woven with trailblazers, but those are exceptions. For the vast majority of kids, they need to see themselves in an array of situations, positively, and with regularity.

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How do children of color learn to draw themselves?

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Sticky bins filled with colored pencils, crayons, and markers are placed in the center of tiny tables. It's the prelude to one of the first art projects of any elementary school career - the self-portrait.

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Black Artists & Designers Guild Directory

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Black Artists & Designers Guild Directory

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The BADG directory provides direct access to our members who are artists, makers and designers at the top of their prospective field. If you would like to hire/commission a member for a project please contact them directly by searching below.

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Search By Category - Black Artists + Designers Guild

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The BADG directory provides direct access to our members who are artists, makers and designers at the top of their prospective field. If you would like to hire/commission a member for a project please contact them directly by searching below.

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Conceived and founded by artist Mark Bradford, philanthropist and collector Eileen Harris Norton, and social activist Allan DiCastro, Art \+ Practice (A\+P) is a private operating 501(c)3 foundation based in Leimert Park, Los Angeles.

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THE ROLE OF WHITE CO-CONSPIRATORS IN DISMANTLING SYSTEMIC RACISM

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THE ROLE OF WHITE CO-CONSPIRATORS IN DISMANTLING SYSTEMIC RACISM

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by Andrew Greenia of Embracing Equity

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Written by Andrew Greenia
Edited by Daisy Han "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

This statement from Lilla Watson and other Aboriginal rights activists from Queensland, Australia (1970s) is a powerful provocation to examine how we individually and collectively approach social justice work. When it comes to dismantling white supremacy, the pursuit of collective liberation rests on knowing that while People of Color are the targets of this oppressive system, people - like myself - are also infected by false internalized notions of superiority . Thus, white people who are striving to be co-conspirators in racial justice work must not only be allies who recognize the impact of racism on People of Color, but also active agents of change that realize their own stake in eradicating white supremacy.

Still, even with this understanding of bound liberation, social justice work necessitates being in partnership with and yielding to the leadership of People of Color through solidarity, accountability, and dialogue. As I engage in racial justice work, I frequently encounter a dilemma where white people center whiteness by continually directing attention to their own experiences or minimizing the contributions of People of Color, even as we seek to decenter whiteness . By centering our own involvement and obscuring the voices of People of Color, white people often approach social justice work in ways that mirror the histories of colonialism and domination that anti-racist work seeks to subvert. Does this mean that white people do not have a role to play in dismantling systems of oppression? No. But, the ways in which we approach this work is critical.

For example, if I, as a white person, am operating from a place of , as reflected in the "Disintegration" status of Helms' (1995) White Racial Identity Model , then a single-minded devotion to shedding my whiteness can supplant my commitment to investigating my internalized superiority. Being a white co-conspirator means understanding that the work of undoing racism is not about you, and it involves you.

When Audre Lorde (1984) said, "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house," she illustrated how strategies to dismantle racism require a resistance to white supremacy culture and an imagination for new ways of being in the world. At Embracing Equity we uphold the definition of racism from Dr. Beverly Tatum as "a system of advantage based on race, where white people are advantaged and People of Color are disadvantaged." Given this definition, and operating on the fact that we live in a racist society, People of Color often must navigate the defensive moves that white people make when our racist actions and beliefs are challenged.

Coined by Dr. Robin DiAngelo, "white fragility" is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors effectively serve to reinstate white racial equilibrium, prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue, and actually serve to protect racial inequality. Therefore, white co-conspirators need to identify and interrogate the ways in which we seek to preserve our comfort and center our own whiteness.

Because racism is embedded within four interlocking forms of oppression - internal, interpersonal, institutional, ideological - white people must unlearn the belief that white supremacy exists only in interpersonal, explicit actions. Instead, we must operate within the understanding that we cannot opt-out of being beneficiaries of white supremacy given its pervasiveness in systemically or means. How then do white people approach working in solidarity with People of Color to dismantle white supremacy?

Here are three principles that we at Embracing Equity would like to invite white co-conspirators to use in their practice:
(1) Doing Our Own Work
While engaging in dialogue across race is crucial for my learning as a white person, expecting People of Color to be solely responsible for my learning is burdensome, laborious, and ultimately an extension of my white privilege. This does not mean that listening to People of Color is not an important piece of white racial identity development; and, it does mean that we should not expect to learn from every Person of Color all the time. (Note: If a white person is seeking to initiate a conversation in which a Person of Color is being asked to give of their self to benefit a white person's learning, I would encourage white people to seek consent before beginning the conversation, which means those involved agree to an action based on their knowledge of what that action involves and its possible consequences and also have the option of saying "no.") Therefore, this means we must utilize through processes of reflection and action by consuming books, articles, and other media, especially those produced by People of Color. This also includes establishing reflective practices such as journaling, breathing exercises, and therapy in order to investigate one's racial biases and embrace in response to the dehumanization furthered by systems of oppression.

In doing so, here are some kinds of questions we encourage white people to reflect on as they engage in social justice work:

What is at stake for you in dismantling white supremacy?

Who are your people? To what communities do you belong?

What continues to be true in the world if you are not actively involved in dismantling white supremacy? What injustice does your complicity perpetuate?

When choosing to not challenge white supremacy, what hidden commitments do your actions reflect?

How is your work accountable to People of Color? Are these lines of accountability explicit? If not, how will you establish accountability?

Did a Person of Color ask you to get involved in the anti-racist work you're doing? If not, how is what this person is asking of you accountable to People of Color?

Are you using materials developed by People of Color in your work? If so, are you giving credit to whomever created these materials?

How are you expressing your personal understanding of white privilege and white fragility given your lived experience as a white person? If not, what characteristics of white supremacy culture are present in preventing you from doing so?

How are you elevating People of Color's understanding of white privilege and white fragility in ways that white people are unable to given their lived experience? Are you acknowledging this explicitly? If not, how will you?

(2) Building Relational Trust
The pervasiveness of white supremacy culture can lead to the tendency for white people to develop transactional relationships with People of Color instead of relationships of reciprocity . This leads to the value of relationships being reduced to what they produce rather than placing inherent value on the process of building relationships.

At the heart of relational trust is relationships rooted in elements of empathy, dialogue, gratitude and accountability. These relationships value intellect and emotions ("I think" / "I feel"), curiosity ("I notice" / "I wonder"), and collaboration ("both/and"). Some examples of building relational trust include storytelling, inviting and providing both critical and complimentary feedback on a regular basis, and explicitly naming power dynamics and racial oppression to demonstrate awareness and understanding. In the absence of relational trust, white people are unable to engage in community building that challenges our comfort and white fragility.
(3) Developing a 'Positional Practice'
Also known as the "get your people" principle, this principle insists that white co-conspirators recognize how their positionality informs their role in anti-racist work. I refer to this as a "positional practice," which considers one's own intersectional identities in relation to those with which they are working in partnership in order to inform role and responsibility.

This practice translates to a white person's ability to take action in ways including a) leveraging the privilege resulting from their group membership, b) centering the leadership of People of Color, and c) recognizing the compounding dynamic of People of Color's labor in social justice work given their daily navigation of oppressive systems. Some examples of a positional practice include interrupting microaggressions, disrupting "locker room talk" in homogeneous environments, holding space for other white people in the early stages of their racial identity development, or thoughtfully assigning particular parts of a collaborative project in regard to the content or labor involved. (Note: This principle is only effective when relational trust is present as these actions are never to be at people of color, but instead in solidarity of and with People of Color.)

Being a white co-conspirator means being in constant, consistent action. Identities such as "ally" or "white co-conspirator" are neither static nor self-ascribed; rather, these words ought to be seen as verbs that only describe one's identity to the extent to which People of Color experience them as true. If you are a white person looking to put these principles into practice and deepen your capacity to engage in racial justice work, I would strongly encourage you to consider signing up for Embracing Equity's online cohort-based learning or in-person workshops . We have also been developing curriculum for "Embracing Identity" that is specific to raising white consciousness. This guided process of critical reflection and community building are an essential step in cultivating an identity as a white co-conspirator.

As I continue navigating my own role as a white cis man in racial justice work, I am humbled to be invited to work alongside and learn from such dynamic Leaders of Color at Embracing Equity as Daisy Han (CEO) and Britt Hawthorne (Director of Communications). Through facilitating online cohort-based learning and in-person workshops I hope to continue building on this organization's potential for supporting leaders in their racial identity development and modeling how multiracial organizations can thrive when intentionally working across difference.

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The Role of White Co-Conspirators in Dismantling Systemic Racism - Embracing Equity

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Written by Andrew Greenia Edited by Daisy Han 12 min read "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together ."

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A native Floridian, most unique and prolifically conceptual in both fine and commercial arts. I work in numerous forms of media of free hand art including pen & ink, pastels, watercolor and color pencil.

West Palm Beach Florida United States

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Fine Artist | United States | Anthony Burks Fine Artist

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A native Floridian, most unique and prolifically conceptual in both fine and commercial arts. I work in numerous forms of media of free hand art including pen & ink, pastels, watercolor and color pencil. West Palm Beach Florida United States

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Featuring the dolls, quilts and mixed-media works of Kianga Jinaki. We also offer African fabrics, wearables and classes.

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Stephen Wiltshire is an artist who draws detailed cityscapes. He has a particular talent for drawing lifelike, accurate impressions of cities, skylines and street scenes after having only observed them briefly. He was awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to the art world in 2006. His drawings are popular all over the world, and are held in a number of important art collections and museums.

Exhibitions

Stephen's exhibitions and live drawing shows attract large number of visitors worldwide. Is your city the next?

Press Office

Download Stephen's biography, key dates and press brief. Find the artist's answers to some of your interview questions.

In the Papers

View articles dating back from the 1980s about Stephen starting his artistic career up to recent press cuttings.

Artist Studio

Stephen Wiltshire's private art gallery is located in Chelsea Harbour, London, welcoming his collectors on an appointment basis.

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Stephen Wiltshire | An Artist Who Draws Buildings and Skylines

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Explore the stunning artwork of Stephen Wiltshire, a contemporary artist known for his intricate architectural illustrations. Browse our collection and experience the beauty of urban landscapes through Stephen's eyes.

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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 8 pages. In this "mystery" activity, students receive clues and discuss some of the factors that contributed to the intensification of racism in the 1920s in the United States.

Themes: African American, Labor, Racism & Racial Identity

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Teaching Activity. By Thom Thacker and Michael A. Lord. 4 pages. Rethinking Schools. An art contest is used as the basis from which students can examine primary historical documents (advertisements for runaway slaves) to gain a deeper understanding of the institution of slavery in the North.

Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764, 18th Century, Revolution & Constitution: 1765 - 1799, 19th Century, Early 19th Century: 1800 - 1849, Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864

Themes: African American, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery and Resistance

Read More

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Teaching Materials - Zinn Education Project

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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 8 pages. In this "mystery" activity, students receive clues and discuss some of the factors that contributed to the intensification of racism in the 1920s in the United States. Themes: African American, Labor, Racism & Racial Identity Read More Teaching Activity.

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Historian Ed Baptist provides context on the creation and enforcement of a U.S. racial binary that endures today, as well as Black resistance as a force for political change. And Aisha White urges educators to ask themselves, "What did you learn about race when you were younger?" before they engage with children. She argues that self-reflection and ongoing education are vital tools to combat the fallacy of ignoring students' racialized experiences.

People from all corners of public life are telling teachers to stop discussions about race and racism in the classroom, but keeping the truth of the world from students simply doesn't work. English teacher Matthew Kay urges educators to create brave spaces instead. He provides examples of classroom strategies for engaging with students at the intersections of race, literature and lived experience. Hint: it involves vulnerability, accountability and quality affirmations.

This season, we're examining the century between the Civil War and the modern civil rights movement to understand how systemic racism and slavery persisted and evolved after emancipation-and how Black Americans still developed strong institutions during this time. Co-hosts Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Bethany Jay discuss how students need to grasp this history to understand injustices many of them face today, from voter suppression to mass incarceration.

In 2015, Coach Steve Bandura loaded the Anderson Monarchs, a Little League baseball team from Philadelphia, onto a 1947 Flxible Clipper Bus for a barnstorming tour back in time. Bandura and the players recount lessons learned while visiting historic civil rights sites, meeting veteran activists and playing baseball along the way. And historian Derrick E. White, co-host of The Black Athlete podcast, explores the intersection of sports and civil rights history.

The civil rights movement offers critical context for understanding the systemic police violence, voter suppression efforts, 'law and order' rhetoric and criminalization of activism we see today. It also helps us understand the strategies activists use to fight these injustices. Historians Shannon King and Nishani Frazier explain how they use 21st-century Black activism to teach the movement's history-and how they use the movement to help students better understand the contemporary Black freedom struggle.

The history of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense can help us understand the transition from civil rights to Black Power and contemporary issues like mass incarceration. From the Ten-Point Platform to survival programs, historian Robyn C. Spencer outlines key aspects of the party's revolutionary ideology, grassroots activism and community service. And historian Jakobi Williams joins to share valuable classroom insights.

Historian Clarence Lang joins us for a conversation about Malcolm X. We discuss his commitment to Black pride and self-determination and his rejection of the white gaze and the myth of American exceptionalism. Learn how teaching about the life and works of Malcolm X can illuminate the universe of possibilities of the civil rights movement-and the diversity of ideology, strategy and political thought within the Black freedom struggle.

In this episode, we talk with movement veteran Courtland Cox about lessons from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and his own development as a young organizer of the Emmett Till generation. We join Karlyn Forner and John B. Gartrell to tour the resources available through SNCC Digital Gateway. And we hear from student organizer Kaia Woodford about the lessons from the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements that inform her activism today.

Oral histories, historic sites, archives and museums expand students' understanding of the past. They fill in gaps in our textbooks-complementing what's included and capturing what's not. This episode highlights online oral history collections including the Civil Rights History Project. It offers recommendations for students conducting their own oral histories. And it explores resources from the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Teaching civil rights history to young learners creates both opportunities and challenges. The 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project and the subsequent Freedom Schools offer important lessons for helping elementary students to understand the civil rights movement. In this episode, we explore community-based strategies and activities for bringing the Black freedom struggle into your classroom.

If you're finding this podcast useful, please support us by taking our 10 question Listener Survey. And stay tuned! More episodes are on the way. In the meantime, if you're looking for ways to talk with students about the relationship between the hard history of white supremacy and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Learning for Justice resources can help you lead student-responsive, historically grounded discussions about the recent violence.

From the hard work of organizing to the reality of everyday life under Jim Crow, films and literature can bring historical context to life for students. In this episode, we recommend several "must use" films, books, poems and plays for teaching the civil rights movement. We also discuss strategies for incorporating these works across the curricula and for turning even problematic texts into grist for meaningful critical discussions.

Everyone thinks they know the story, but the real history of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott is even better. This episode details the events that set the stage for Ms. Parks' civil disobedience. You'll meet the leaders and organizations who transformed a moment of activism into a 13-month campaign. And you'll learn about the community that held fast in the face of legal and political attacks, economic coercion, intimidation and violence.

To fully understand the United States today, we have to comprehend the central role that slavery played in our nation's past. That legacy is also the foundation for understanding the civil rights movement and its place within the history of the Black freedom struggle. This episode is a special look back at our first season. It explores and expands on the 10 Key Concepts that ground Learning for Justice's K-12 frameworks for teaching the hard history of American slavery.

You cannot teach the civil rights movement without talking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But it's critical that students deconstruct the mythology surrounding the movement's most iconic figure to learn about the man, not just the hero. The real Dr. King held beliefs that evolved over time. A complex man, he was part of a much larger movement-one that shaped him as much as he shaped it.

The civil rights movement was never strictly a Southern phenomenon. To better understand the Jim Crow North, we explore discrimination and Black protest in places like Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland and New York. To examine the Black Freedom Movement beyond the South, we examine the Black-led fights to gain access to decent housing, secure quality education and end police brutality in these cities.

Armed resistance and nonviolent direct action co-existed throughout the civil rights era. In this episode, three historians confront some comfortable assumptions about nonviolence and self-defense. Wesley Hogan examines the evolution, value and limitations of nonviolence in the movement. Christopher Strain offers a three-part strategy for rethinking this false dichotomy in the classroom. And Akinyele Umoja offers insights about armed resistance from his research in Mississippi.

Alice Qannik Glenn is the host of Coffee and Quaq and assistant producer of The Forgotten Slavery of our Ancestors. This short, classroom-ready film offers an introduction to the history of Indigenous enslavement on land that is currently the United States. This new resource from Learning for Justice features an extensive group of experts, many of whom will be familiar to listeners from Season 2.

Jim Crow was more than signs and separation. It was a system of terror and violence created to control the labor and regulate the behavior of Black people. In this episode, historian Stephen Berrey unpacks the mechanics of racial oppression, the actions white people took-in and beyond the South-to maintain white supremacy, and the everyday ways Black people fought back. And the directors of the film An Outrage join ELA-teacher Ahmariah Jackson to discuss teaching the racial terror of lynching.

Music chronicles the history of the civil rights struggle: The events, tactics and emotions of the movement are documented in songs of the era. From The Freedom Singers to Sam Cooke, historian Charles L. Hughes explains how your students can use music for both historical insight and evidence in the classroom.

Students don't enter our classrooms as blank slates. When it comes to the civil rights movement, we often have to help our students unlearn what they think they know while we're teaching them what actually happened. The people were more complex, the strategies more complicated and the stakes more dangerous than we like to remember. In this episode, historian Nishani Frazier and social studies teacher Adam Sanchez demonstrate the value of teaching the movement from the grassroots up.

Teaching the civil rights movement accurately and effectively requires deconstructing the myths and misconceptions around it. Most people are familiar with a very specific version of the movement that exaggerates government support and denies the existence and persistence of racism outside the South. Julian Bond called this the "Master Narrative." It celebrates sanitized icons and downplays grassroots organizing. And it overhypes nonviolence while disparaging self-defense and Black Power. In this episode, we talk with historian Nishani Frazier and social studies teacher Adam Sanchez about how to separate fact from fiction in your civil rights teaching.

The systems that enabled and perpetuated African and Indigenous enslavement in what is now the U.S. have much in common, and their histories tell us a great deal about the present. Professors Bethany Jay and Steven Oliver join us to talk about connections between the first two seasons and how to teach them, and we preview what's to come in season three.

In this special call-in episode, listeners share their stories and questions from throughout season 2-including teaching remotely, working with families and stakeholders, and incorporating social justice into subjects like math and science. As educators, we're strongest when we support each other. And you'll hear great suggestions from fellow teachers, like these resources we discuss from Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.

It's time for our first call-in show! We know things are chaotic for you and every other educator right now. We feel it too, so this seems like the perfect time to talk. Pick up the phone and dial 888-59-STORY (888-597-8679). Our lines are open until Sunday night, April 19. Teaching hard history is even harder right now, so let's talk about resources you can use if you're teaching virtually. Ask us your questions; tell us your stories. And let us know how you're doing.

Indian Removal was a brutal and complicated effort that textbooks often simplify. It is also inseparably related to slavery. Enslavers seeking profit drove demand for Indigenous lands, displacing hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people. Some of these Indigenous people participated in chattel slavery. Focusing on the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, this episode pulls the lens back to show how Removal and enslavement must be taught together. This story must be told if we're going to understand the full hard history of American enslavement.

The Americas were built on the lands, labor and lives of Indigenous peoples. Despite being erased from history textbooks after the so-called first Thanksgiving, Indigenous peoples did not disappear. Colonial settlers relied on the cooperation, exploitation and forced labor of their Native neighbors to survive and thrive in what became North America. Focusing on New England, historian Margaret Newell introduces us to the Charter Generation of systematically enslaved people across this continent.

From 1936 to 1938, the Federal Writers' Project collected stories from people who had been enslaved. The WPA Slave Narrative Collection at the Library of Congress is a valuable resource; these oral histories are also problematic. Interpreting these narratives within literary and historical context, students can develop primary source literacy. Historian Cynthia Lynn Lyerly outlines unique insights these texts can add to your curriculum.

To better understand the United States' past and present, we need to better understand Indigenous identities-and classrooms play a huge role. This starts with examining what's missing from our social studies, history, civics and government curricula. Throughout this episode, we reference the K-5 Framework for Teaching Hard History as we shed light on key topics like sovereignty, land and erasure.

Educators can no longer ignore our country's history of Indigenous enslavement. Our students need a fuller understanding of the pivotal history of slavery to comprehend the present and develop a vision for our nation's future. In this mid-season recap, we highlight key lessons about this consequential part of American history-along with teaching strategies and resources-through the voices of leading scholars and educators featured so far.

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the forced labor and bondage of Indigenous peoples was integral to the economic and political history of what became the Southwestern United States. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez outlines the significance of silver mining, Indigenous enslavement and resistance in the history of New Mexico and Latin America. We examine how, as white settlers moved west, so-called "free soil" states like California continued to institutionalize coerced labor.
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A hundred years before the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, Europeans introduced the commercial practice of enslavement in "The New World." And for the next 400 years, millions of Indigenous people throughout the Americas were enslaved through several forms of forced labor and bondage. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez calls this "The Other Slavery," and his work is changing our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade.
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Andrés Reséndez is the author of The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America. His work has changed conventional wisdom about the institution of slavery in the Atlantic world. Over the next two episodes, host Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Reséndez will discuss key turning points in this history-exploring how it expands our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade and the lasting legacy of colonialism, which continues to reverberate in our communities. Be sure to join us.
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Each autumn, Thanksgiving brings a disturbing amount of inaccurate information and troubling myths into classrooms across the United States. Most students don't learn much about the history of Native nations-and even less about Indigenous peoples today. Dr. Debbie Reese explains what to look for and what to avoid (or teach with a critical lens) when selecting children's books by and about Indigenous people. She also recommends specific books to counter common misconceptions in your classroom.
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Children's books are often the primary way young students are exposed to the history of American slavery. But many books about slavery sugarcoat oppression. Professor Ebony Elizabeth Thomas examines what we should consider when it comes to how children's books portray African Americans and Indigenous people, their cultures and the effects of enslavement. She also explains why it's crucial to create "a balance of narratives" when selecting books about marginalized and underrepresented communities.
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For elementary teachers approaching the topic of slavery, it can be tempting to focus only on heroes and avoid explaining oppression. But teachers' omissions speak as loudly as what they choose to include. And what children learn in the early grades has broad consequences for the rest of their education. Dr. Kate Shuster guides us through the new Teaching Hard History K-5 framework from Learning for Justice. We also learn how four elementary teachers are beginning to use it in their classrooms.
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Understanding Indigenous enslavement expands our conception of slavery in what is now the United States. It spread across the entire continent and affected millions of people of different backgrounds. If we define slavery too narrowly, we can fail to see its persistence over time and even its modern-day permutations. Historian Christina Snyder examines the Civil War, Lincoln and emancipation with Indigenous people in mind.
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Millions of Indigenous people lived in North America before European colonial powers invaded. Along with an insatiable desire for free labor, Europeans brought a system of slavery that significantly differed from the historical practices of enslavement among Native nations. Historian Christina Snyder tells the story of what happened when these worlds collided. European concepts of bondage transformed the way Native nations interacted with each other, resulted in the enslavement and death of millions of Indigenous people, and sparked widespread resistance by Native nations.
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The Smithsonian's Eduardo Díaz and Renée Gokey discuss the importance of learning about Indigenous enslavement. And former Teaching Tolerance Director Maureen Costello explains all of the program's classroom resources available for teaching this history, including a first-of-its-kind K-5 framework.
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We're turning our attention to the enslavement of Indigenous people, spending more time with teachers in the classroom and adding support for K-5 educators. Tune in next week for more advice about teaching the history and long legacy of American slavery.
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Download the transcript for all of season 1 here.

Historian Bethany Jay returns - answering questions from educators across the country. Host Hasan Kwame Jeffries and the co-editor of Understanding and Teaching American Slavery confront teacher anxieties and counter misconceptions in our season finale.
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From elementary to high school, YA literature can introduce fundamental themes and information about slavery, especially when paired with primary sources. John H. Bickford shows how to capitalize on the strengths and weaknesses of trade books about slavery.
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Using the present to explore the past. Tamara Spears and Jordan Lanfair suggest a Social Studies unit about Resistance & Kanye West, and a set of English Language Arts lessons examining holidays to understand the legacy of American slavery.
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How it's done. Tamara Spears teaches middle school Social Studies in New York and Jordan Lanfair is a high school English Language Arts teacher in Chicago. Each has been developing additional lessons about slavery for years. They share their experiences.
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Over the next few episodes, we're bringing Season One to a close. Tune in for stories from the classroom, guidance for elementary teachers and language arts classes. And answers to questions from listeners like you.
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Enslavement didn't end with Emancipation. Historian James Brewer Stewart discusses modern-day slavery happening across the world-and right here in the U.S.-showing educators how to connect the past with the present.
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A listener's question leads to a meaningful moment. And now we want more! Take a listen, then email us to tell us your story about teaching hard history for an upcoming, special episode.
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At James Madison's Montpelier, the legacy of enslaved people isn't silenced-and their descendants have a voice. Christian Cotz, Price Thomas and Dr. Patrice Preston Grimes explain how that happened, and why it's important.
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In the United States, justice was never blind. Historian Paul Finkelman goes beyond legal jargon to illustrate how slavery was entangled with the opinions of the Court-and encoded into the Constitution itself.
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Constitutional historian Paul Finkelman explains the deeply racist bargains the founding fathers struck in order to unify the country under one document and discusses what students need to know about how slavery defined America after the Revolution.
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Film historian Ron Briley returns with more documentary, feature film and miniseries suggestions for history and English instructors. From Ken Burns to Black Panther, this episode offers background and strategies for incorporating pop culture into classroom lessons.
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Film has long shaped our nation's historical memory, for good and bad. Film historian Ron Briley offers ways to responsibly use films in the classroom to reframe the typical narrative of American slavery and Reconstruction.
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Most students leave school thinking enslaved people lived like characters in Gone With the Wind. Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens reveals the remarkable diversity of lived experiences within slavery and explains the gap between what scholars and students know.
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To see a more complete picture of the experience of enslaved people, you have to redefine resistance. Dr. Kenneth S. Greenberg offers teachers a lens to help students see the ways in which enslaved people fought back against the brutality of slavery.
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Students learning about slavery often ask, "Why didn't enslaved people just run away or revolt?" Lindsay Anne Randall offers a lesson in "Process Drama"-a method teachers can use to answer this question, build empathy and offer perspective.
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In many ways, the U.S. has fallen short of its ideals. How can we explain this to students-particularly in the context of discussing slavery? Professor Steven Thurston Oliver has this advice for teachers: Face your fears.
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Follow the money. Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara explains why American slavery couldn't have existed without a national commercial infrastructure that supported and benefited from the labor of enslaved people.
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Dr. Bethany Jay is back to talk about teaching the end of the Civil War, and how enslaved people's participation in the war helped subvert the institution of slavery.
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What really caused the Civil War? In this episode, Salem State University Professor Bethany Jay offers tips for teaching lesser-known history that clarifies this question and cuts through our cloudy national understanding of the Confederacy.
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What we don't know about American history hurts us all. Teaching Hard History begins with the long and brutal legacy of chattel slavery and reaches through the victories of and violent responses to the civil rights movement to the present day.

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CONTEMPORARY NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS OF THE AMERICAS

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CONTEMPORARY NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS OF THE AMERICAS

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NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS - ACT-E  4PEACE RESOURCES Dr. Lori Santos

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Resources from Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers

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Resources from Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers

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This page is meant to offer an accessible, non-overwhelming list. It's a starting place rather than a comprehensive, all-encompassing collection. Feel free to use the comments below to suggest resources that have been helpful for you!
Books
These books are a great place to begin when you are ready to unpack your own biases and explore how systems of racism and patriarchy operate. "Troublemakers" is the only book here focused specifically on a school context, but I consider all to be essential reads. I've linked to GoodReads below, and encourage you to purchase from independent and Black-owned bookstores if possible:
Podcasts
Here are some podcasts which regularly discuss topics that educators interested in anti-bias work maybe be interested in:
Episodes of Truth for Teachers
You can see all my podcast episodes on equity topics here. A few specific episodes you may want to check out:
Free Curriculum Resources
These materials are designed to be used with students, and provide additional perspectives and viewpoints than what is likely covered in your textbooks:
Educators to Follow on Twitter
Here are a handful of educators I enjoy following who regularly tweet resources, reflections, and threads on equity work. Please consider these are humans, not "resources," and enter their space with an intention to listen and learn:
Educators to Follow on Instagram
Here are just a few educators I enjoy following who regularly post about equity topics. Please consider these are humans, not "resources." Do not ask people of color to educate you, or use their space to process your feelings. Listen and learn quietly: These are a few super helpful pages I follow on Facebook. Please consider these are humans, not "resources" and enter their space with an intention to listen and learn:
Educators to Follow on Facebook

4 steps you can take right away to commit to anti-racism

1. Start with self-examination and begin the lifelong habit of rooting out your own biases. Don't wait for someone to hold your hand through the journey: take the initiative to do some self-reflection on your own using existing resources (such as books and articles.) Understanding and working through your own limitations and prejudices is the MOST important thing you can do, and will better equip you to begin doing the actual work of fighting for racial justice.

2. Make racial justice a normal part of your conversations. Be cognizant of inequity and white supremacy, and speak up when you see it. Don't be afraid to call out micro-aggressions and lend an additional perspective in conversations that leave out issues of equity. This is difficult to do with close friends and family, but your opinion means the most in those arenas, so it's imperative to speak up.

3. Look for Black activists and people of color, and follow their pages on social media so you can hear their perspective on a regular basis about a variety of issues. This is a particularly important step if you feel like you are in a bubble and all your Facebook friends talk about the same things from the same perspective. Diversify your feed, read, listen, learn. Use my recommendations on this page to start.

4. Amplify the voices of those already doing this work and support them financially. Resist the urge to center yourself and rushing to "do" something when you're still in the beginning stages of becoming conscious about racial justice. Instead, look for people who are further along and find ways to support them by sharing/talking about their work within your sphere of influence, and donating to the cause. Give money directly to organizations run by people of color so they can continue the work.

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Anti-bias and anti-racism resources for teachers

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This page is meant to offer an accessible, non-overwhelming list. It's a starting place rather than a comprehensive, all-encompassing collection. Feel free to use the comments below to suggest resources that have been helpful for you! Books These books are a great place to begin when you are ready to unpack your own biases and ...

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This tool helps schools determine if they are following the guiding principles developed by the Department of Education regarding improving school climate and equitable disciplinary practices.

Download: School Climate Checklist - Discipline

Three of our Equity Audit tools combined into one file: Criteria for an Equitable School, Criteria for an Equitable Classroom, and Teacher Behaviors that Encourage Student Persistence.

Download: Equity Audit 2020 - accessible

This tool helps school leaders assess whether or not a classroom provides students with the processes and information that create a positive learning environment so students can perform at their highest level.

Download: Criteria for an Equitable Classroom-2020-accessible

This tool helps school leaders assess whether or not the school provides the processes and information which create a positive learning environment so students and staff can perform at their highest level.

Download: Criteria for an Equitable School-2020-accessible

This tool helps teachers measure their strengths in encouraging students' persistence in learning and marking areas for self-improvement.

Download: Teacher Behaviors that Encourage Student Persistence-2020-accessible

This journal by the Equity-Centered Capacity Building Network (ECCBN) addresses systems capacity building approaches that drive both equity and excellence. ECCBN's mission is to increase the visibility and impact of capacity-building approaches that promote deep and sustainable school and system change. ECCBN is a cadre of national experts uniting their efforts to share resources and... Read More "

Link: http://capacitybuildingnetwork.org/table-of-contents/

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This tool helps schools determine if they are following the guiding principles developed by the Department of Education regarding improving school climate and equitable disciplinary practices. Download: School Climate Checklist - Discipline Three of our Equity Audit tools combined into one file: Criteria for an Equitable School, Criteria for an Equitable Classroom, and Teacher Behaviors that Encourage Student Persistence.

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Shelly Tochluk and Christine Saxman have been investigating White supremacist organizations and their tactics for recruiting White youth. Join us for a discussion about the importance of having explicit conversations about race and what teachers and parents can do to support White students.

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Shelly Tochluk and Christine Saxman have been investigating White supremacist organizations and their tactics for recruiting White youth. Join us for a discussion about the importance of having explicit conversations about race and what teachers and parents can do to support White students.

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Poems of Protest, Resistance, and Empowerment

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Poems of Protest, Resistance, and Empowerment

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Poetry can provide powerful prompts for art-making.

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Pithy and powerful, poetry is a popular art form at protests and rallies. From the civil rights and women's liberation movements to Black Lives Matter, poetry is commanding enough to gather crowds in a city square and compact enough to demand attention on social media. Speaking truth to power remains a crucial role of the poet in the face of political and media rhetoric designed to obscure, manipulate, or worse. The selection of poems below call out and talk back to the inhumane forces that threaten from above. They expose grim truths, raise consciousness, and build united fronts. Some insist, as Langston Hughes writes, "That all these walls oppression builds / Will have to go!" Others seek ways to actively "make peace," as Denise Levertov implores, suggesting that "each act of living" might cultivate collective resistance. All rail against complacency and demonstrate why poetry is necessary and sought after in moments of political crisis.

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Poems of Protest, Resistance, and Empowerment | Poetry Foundation

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Why poetry is necessary and sought after during crises.

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The White Families' Guide to Talking About Racism

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The White Families' Guide to Talking About Racism

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She also has guides for POC and Black families

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Welcome to my Educational Resource Shop! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at info@educationwithanapron.com

All purchases are final since they are digital downloads and your purchase is for ONE classroom (home) license only. Thank you so much for respecting our intellectual property.

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A White Families' Guide to Talking About Racism - Store - Education With An Apron

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Hi Caregivers! 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 are parents, too. We understand these conversations might be hard.

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laurenmane@gmail.com ~ el aye n harlem ~

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Cultural Appropriation: What’s an Educator’s Role?

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Cultural Appropriation: What’s an Educator’s Role?

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PBS Teachers Lounge

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Looking around the world, we notice ways that imagery, style, and language are borrowed from other cultures and peoples. Some of these examples are thoughtful and respectful towards the cultures they pay tribute to, and others are much more problematic (i.e., just about any use of Native American headdresses not by Native Americans in ceremony). With the bombardment of media imagery to which students are subjected, how do we teach the ability to discern right from wrong? How can we encourage students to understand that this 'borrowing' can in fact be harmful to already oppressed and underrepresented groups?
What is Cultural Appropriation?
Let's start with a definition. I define this concept with my students as:
...the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of another culture. It may be perceived as controversial or even harmful, notably, when the cultural property of a minority group is used by members of the dominant culture without consent.
Our world has been built on ideas that are being borrowed and continually exchanged. As an art teacher, I see the usage of images from other artists as a part of a healthy practice; examining and replicating ideas from other people, cultures, and spaces in the classroom is a great way to learn. When done in a respectful and thoughtful way, it can spread understanding and awareness, while reshaping misconceptions and stereotypes. But there is a point where this appropriation crosses the line into cultural insensitivity and commodification. Students have a tough time seeing that line and, as educators, it's our responsibility to have that conversation with them. It's not easy, and to be honest, there are times when it'll be a challenge because you yourself might not be certain about what feels okay and what is offensive. Does it cross the line? Without that challenging conversation, your students won't practice their ability to discern the acceptable from the unacceptable.

I'll speak primarily here to Cultural Appropriation in the arts classroom, but these ideas can be applied across all disciplines. The main concepts can work for all educators and have their basis in promoting inquiry and dialogue with students. It's just the vehicle for delivery of the lesson that differs.
Research and Educate!
Part of the issue with cultural appropriation is the lack of understanding around the importance that an image or concept can carry within a specific culture. This can be based on misinformation and cultural norms that have existed for decades, and perpetuated by mass-media. I mentioned Native American headdresses earlier because we see these sacred objects misused as accessories in everything from fashion shows to festivals. Examples also show up in costumes around this time of year, as students (and adults) start planning for Halloween. Students at Ohio State University created a great poster campaign to address the ways that costumes trivialize and simplify cultures.

Encourage students to do some research and to ask questions about the origin of objects and understand the value those items or costumes might hold for a group of people. Some questions they might consider:

Is this costume or image a stereotype of a group of people?

Does this object/image hold important cultural or traditional significance?

How does removing the context of this costume/object change its meaning?

Does my usage of the costume/object trivialize a culture or group of people?

Bring in Authentic Voices
It's important to find experts that know the history and background of objects and images to share with students. Having those voices be an integral part of the conversation provides valuable learning opportunities for students. While educators can impart knowledge in many areas, there is no replacement for someone's lived experience, which can truly flesh out the understandings of the cultures and traditions of specific peoples. Reach out to community centers or organizations that can provide resources and maybe even a speaker to address whatever artworks or images you decide to use in the classroom. You can also use interviews and stories to further round out the student learning. StoryCorps interviews are powerful and digestible bites of knowledge that can be particularly moving. This might be easier to do if you're in an urban area, but connecting with museums and history centers is easier than ever with technology today. I love checking out museum sites for more information on artwork like the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Cite Your Sources!
Make sure to cite where your artwork and imagery comes from! Giving credit matters. And folks who are interested in particular students' work might also be interested in learning more about what inspired students to create their pieces. Being able to go back to the source is so important and often overlooked.
Reflect on the Work
Maybe you've done all the research and the processing that you can with your students, and think that you've covered all your bases. Then the project or work goes out into the world and someone raises a concern that puts you on the defensive. Slow down for a second and consider how and where this response is coming from. How can you be reflective and appropriately address concerns raised to you? What ways can students take ownership for their learning and process, and also still learn from mistakes? The ability to take in feedback and critique and absorb the learning is an essential part of the creative process.

We are constantly borrowing from the world around us, and when we do so respectfully and genuinely, it can result in some really awesome learning. Showing genuine curiosity and a desire to grow and connect helps keep us away from potentially damaging and negative impacts. These are just a few of the steps and resources I access to make sure that I'm towing the right side of the line around Cultural Appropriation.

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cultural appropriation: what’s an educator’s role?

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Cultural Appropriation: What's an Educator's Role? | PBS Education

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Your source for teaching inspiration, blogs, and online professional events.

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Home Page | National Museum of the American Indian

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The NMAI fosters a richer shared human experience through a more informed understanding of Native peoples.

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Burke Museum

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Teaching about cultures and complex histories can be challenging, but can also provide meaningful opportunities for reflection.

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Denver Art Museum's American Indian Art Collection

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Denver Art Museum's American Indian Art Collection

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Wheel, 1997-2005

HOCK E AYE VI Edgar Heap of Birds, Cheyenne / Arapaho

steel, porcelain, and stone, 12 feet tall by approximately 50 feet in diameter.

Funds from Charles J. Norton by exchange, and funds from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, AT&T Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Douglas Society

1997.1452

Inspired by Native American architectural forms and the Big Horn medicine wheel in Wyoming, Wheel is composed of ten tree forms arranged in a circular shape that is fifty feet in diameter. The trees are aligned to the summer solstice-on June 21, the sun rises in an opening to the east between the first and last trees.

Artist HOCK E AYE VI Edgar Heap of Birds covered the forked red tree forms with text and imagery related to the history of Indian people in the United States and indigenous peoples elsewhere. Each tree addresses a specific theme, from conflict over resources to global cooperation among indigenous peoples.

In addition to the tree forms, the sculpture incorporates a curved exterior wall of the museum, where the Cheyenne words nah-kev-ho-eyea-zim appear in raised letters. The phrase means "We are always returning back home again."

Jar, early 1900s

Attributed to Nampeyo, Hopi

clay

Gift of C.W. Douglas

1929.72

The ancestors of the modern Hopi left evidence of rich pottery traditions. Villages such as Sikyatki, Awatovi, and Kawaikuh, inhabited from roughly 1400-1625, were close to Nampeyo's home village of Hano and were actively being excavated at the end of the 1800s. Anthropologists and traders provided Nampeyo with firsthand opportunities to study the prehistoric ware found at these digs.

Nampeyo revived not only prehistoric patterns and forms in her work but also the traditional Hopi pottery-making process. By 1900, the artist had rediscovered Sikyatki clay sources. Rather than coating her pots with a colored slip, the artist painted her designs directly on the polished clay surface.

With her reputation established, Nampeyo soon began producing large, exceptionally painted pottery for a market of collectors. Though built upon prehistoric designs, vessels such as this represent a creative leap. The artist was no longer fashioning replicas but rather experimented with new designs as she fused elements of prehistoric patterns into innovative new compositions.

Mud Woman Rolls On, 2011

Roxanne Swentzell, Santa Clara

Unfired clay and plant fiber, 10 feet tall x 6.75 feet wide x 11 feet long

Native Arts acquisition fund

2010.570

See a time-lapse video of the project on a video screen in the gallery or view now

Polacca #6, 2001

Dan Namingha, Hopi

Acrylic on canvas, 60 inches high by 48 inches wide

Gift of the Douglas Society

2002.2

Dan Namingha comes from a family of distinguished artists. His great-great-grandmother was the famous potter Nampeyo, and many of his relatives are accomplished potters and carvers.

As an abstract painter, Namingha seeks to transform images from his native experience into abstract, almost minimal forms. In Polacca #6, he incorporates the distinct silhouette of First Mesa, near Polacca on the Hopi reservation in Arizona, into a vivid abstraction of land and sky.

Four-faced Hamat'sa Mask, about 1938

George Walkus, Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw

wood, paint, cedar bark, and string, 17 inches high by 7.75 inches wide by 8.75 deep

Native Arts acquisition fund

1948.229

Wood carving is a highly developed art among Northwest Coast tribes, including the Kwakiutl, whose name for themselves is Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw.

This mask represents a bird-monster called Galokwudzuwis, or "Crooked Beak," and is worn by a member of the Hamat'sa Society. Above the "crooked beak" is the head of a crane, while two raven heads project from the back of the mask.

Although the photograph shows the mask's graceful lines and bold, traditional colors of red, white, and black, it doesn't show the complex moving parts that are worked by pulling a series of strings to create sound and movement during the dance.

Shuffle Off to Buffalo #V, 1983

Harry Fonseca, Maidu

Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 60inches tall by 48 inches wide

William Sr. and Dorothy Harmsen Collection, by exchange

2005.63

In his art, Harry Fonseca transforms Coyote, the trickster character in California Indian stories, into a contemporary Native American figure.

Fonseca often sets Coyote in an urban setting, dressed in a leather jacket and high-tops. He has become as much an assertive character as a humorous one.

In this painting, Coyote takes the stage as Uncle Sam. Fonseca presents him as a stage actor and as an emblematic government figure. The glittering gold frame resembles frames used on Renaissance and baroque paintings-a reference to art history.

The American Indian art collection represents the artistic works of nearly every tribe across the United States and Canada and all artistic traditions created within these cultures from prehistoric times to the present. It offers visitors the opportunity to experience the artistic vision of generations of American Indian artists from across North America.

From ancient puebloan ceramics, to nineteenth-century Arapaho beaded garments, to contemporary glasswork, the collection offers a rich diversity of art forms, histories, and artistic styles coming from American Indian artists and communities. The collection helps illustrate that American Indian art is a vibrant and continuing tradition advanced by individual artists and craftspersons.

NOW ON VIEW: During the North Building renovation project, please view select pieces from the Denver Art Museum's American Indian art collection in the cross-departmental exhibition Stampede: Animals in Art.

EXPLORE THE COLLECTION ONLINE: Browse artworks from the American Indian art collection anytime. Check back often for additions and updates.

Beginning in the 1920s, the Denver Art Museum was one of the first museums to use aesthetic quality as the criteria to develop a native arts collection and was the first art museum in the United States to collect American Indian art. Over the past century the collection has grown to encyclopedic proportions and now contains nearly 20,000 art objects.
Plains & Plateau
Numbering more than 4,000 items, the DAM's collection of Plains material includes six full-sized tipis, beaded cradleboards, ledger drawings, weapons, horse trappings, belts, blankets, headdresses, robes, shirts, dresses, and footwear.
Southwest
This part of the collection features nearly 4,000 items of pottery, basketry, clothing, jewelry, and katsina dolls, and represent 25 tribal traditions.
Arctic
The Artic collection consists of archaeological and ethnographic specimens and contemporary Inuit graphic art. More than 300 examples of woodblock and stone-cut prints produced by Inuit artists of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s are represented.
Northwest Coast
The extraordinary wood, stone, and bone carving traditions of the Tlingit, Haida, Kwakwaka'wakw, and Nuxalk peoples are represented in great depth, ranging from both historic and contemporary monumental totem poles to ceremonial items to highly decorated utilitarian objects such as storage boxes and dugout canoes.
Great Lakes, Northeast & Subarctic
The major art forms of these three regions are well represented by historic beadwork, basketry, ribbonwork, and sculpture, as well as the work of notable contemporary artists.
Great Basin & California
Basketry is a great strength in these areas, from openwork winnowing baskets and beaded baskets of the Great Basin region to feathered Pomo baskets.
Southeast
Three art forms from this region are significantly represented: Seminole patchwork clothing; mid-twentieth-century cultural revival of Cherokee and Choctaw basketry by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board; and Cherokee and Seminole beaded bandolier bags from the early 1800s.

See how animals have captivated artists throughout history in the exhibition Stampede: Animals in Art. This cross-departmental exhibition brings together more than 300 objects from the Denver Art Museum's collection to explore the presence of animals in art throughout centuries and across cultures. More

Join a docent for a 30-minute, in-depth look at an aspect of the museum's collections or something special happening in the galleries. More

In this daily 45-minute tour, see how animals have captivated artists throughout history in Stampede: Animals in Art. More

Event: Lectures & Programs

with Dr. Denene De Quintal

Did you know that the Denver Art Museum (DAM) has a robust collection of historical Native arts from Southern New England? This realization inspired Dr. Denene De Quintal's research, which focuses on how these objects came into the collection.

Join us for a talk that will discuss how the presence and history of DAM's collection highlights a crucial issue that impacts contemporary Indigenous artists from Southern New England: "Native vanishing." More

El primer sábado de cada mes, el Denver Art Museum te invita a una visita guiada gratis de Stampede: Animals in Art (Estampida: animales en el arte). More

Event: Lectures & Programs

Join us for a special afternoon with Gerald Lomaventema, noted Hopi jeweler and mentor from Shungapovi, Second Mesa, Arizona.

He will discuss the history and evolution of Hopi silversmithing as well as his involvement in mentoring younger Hopi in the craft today.

You will be in for a rare glimpse of his creativity as, assisted by two of his talented mentees, Gerald will demonstrate his latest revival of the old methods, creating works of art before your eyes. More

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer -the first major museum exhibition of the artist's work-will chronicle a pivotal moment in Gibson's career when his contemporary artistic practice converged with his Native American heritage.

About 65 objects created from 2011 to the present will be featured, including figurative works, text-based wall hangings, a significant selection of beaded punching bags, painted works on rawhide and canvas, and video.

Members are invited to see the exhibition first. Plus, members save 20% on all purchases at The Shop during the preview day only. More

Join a 45-minute public tour of Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer, offered daily at 2 pm, May 13-August 12. Included with general admission, reservations not required. More

Event: Lectures & Programs

Note: This Conversation with Curator is on a different day than usual.

In May, curator Victoria Lyall and conservator Gina Laurin bring a rare Maya wood object out of storage and discuss recent discoveries.

Conversations with Curators feature lively discussions with different curators each month. All Conversations are free with general admission and no reservations are needed.

Meet at 4 pm in the elevator lobby on the lower level of the Hamilton Building. More

For individuals and families who prefer a quiet, less sensory-stimulating environment we offer our Low Sensory Morning events on select Saturday mornings, before public hours. More

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer-the first major museum exhibition of the artist's work-will chronicle a pivotal moment in Gibson's career when his contemporary artistic practice converged with his Native American heritage. About 65 objects created from 2011 to the present will be featured including figurative works, text-based wall hangings, a significant selection of beaded punching bags, painted works on rawhide and canvas, and video. More

See how animals have captivated artists throughout history in the exhibition Stampede: Animals in Art. This cross-departmental exhibition brings together more than 300 objects from the Denver Art Museum's collection to explore the presence of animals in art throughout centuries and across cultures. More

Get creative with hands-on artmaking activities in the 3-D Studio. On weekends, watch artist demonstrations. Fun for all ages! More

Blog: Inside the Collection

Take a closer look at the African, American Indian, and Oceanic artworks in Stampede. More

Artists Melanie Yazzie, Gregg Deal, and Walt Pourier discuss their collaborative Native Arts Artists-in-Residence project at the Denver Art Museum. Action X Community X Togetherness goes through September 10, 2017. More

The Native arts department has an extensive research library consisting of 20,000 books, periodicals, field notes, and photography archives. In addition, the department holds the work of early non-Indian artists and photographers (Karl Bodmer, Charles Wimar, McKinney and Hall, Edward S. Curtis, and D. F. Barry, among others) who sought to document Indian life and art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Please contact nativeart@denverartmuseum.org for more information.

Recent publications on American Indian art that the department has contributed expertise to include:

Super Indian: Fritz Scholder 1967-1980. John P. Lukavic, with Jessica Horton, Eric Berkemeyer, and Kent Logan. Denver Art Museum in association with Delmonico/Prestel, 2015.

Revolt 1680/2180: Virgil Ortiz. Edited by John Lukavic, essay by Charles King, foreword by Herman Agoyo. Denver Art Museum, 2015.

Grand Procession: Artistic Visions of American Indians, The Diker Collection at the Denver Art Museum. Lois Dubin. Denver Art Museum, 2010.

[Re]inventing the Wheel: Advancing the Dialogue on Contemporary American Indian Art. Edited by Nancy J. Blomberg. Denver Art Museum, 2010.

Action and Agency: Advancing the Dialogue on Native Performance Art. Edited by Nancy J. Blomberg. Denver Art Museum, 2010.

Breaking the Mold: The Virginia Vogel Mattern Collection of Contemporary Native American Art. Nancy J. Blomberg and Polly Nordstrand. Denver Art Museum, 2006.

Reflections of the Weaver's World: The Gloria F. Ross Collection of Contemporary Navajo Weaving. Ann Lane Hedlund. Denver Art Museum, 1992.

Current Staff

Nancy Blomberg, Chief Curator and Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts

John Lukavic, Curator of Native Arts

Denene De Quintal, Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellow

Julia Strunk, Curatorial Assistant

Heather Nielsen, Associate Director of Learning and Engagement

Past Staff

Edgar C. McMechan, Curator

Frederic H. Douglas, Curator

Kate Peck Kent, Assistant Curator

Royal B. Hassrick, Curator

Norman Feder, Curator

Richard Conn, Curator

David Irving, Assistant Curator

Ryntha Johnson, Assistant Curator

Roger Echo-Hawk, Assistant Curator

Polly Nordstrand, Associate Curator

Biannual Symposium on American Indian Art
Every other year the Native arts department hosts a symposium on topics related to American Indian art. Through this event the scholarly dialog on American Indian art is advanced.

Past symposia include:

In Dialogue: Fritz Scholder and the Art World (January 7, 2016)

See how animals have captivated artists throughout history in the exhibition Stampede: Animals in Art. This cross-departmental exhibition brings together more than 300 objects from the Denver Art Museum's collection to explore the presence of animals in art throughout centuries and across cultures. More

Join a docent for a 30-minute, in-depth look at an aspect of the museum's collections or something special happening in the galleries. More

In this daily 45-minute tour, see how animals have captivated artists throughout history in Stampede: Animals in Art. More

Event: Lectures & Programs

with Dr. Denene De Quintal

Did you know that the Denver Art Museum (DAM) has a robust collection of historical Native arts from Southern New England? This realization inspired Dr. Denene De Quintal's research, which focuses on how these objects came into the collection.

Join us for a talk that will discuss how the presence and history of DAM's collection highlights a crucial issue that impacts contemporary Indigenous artists from Southern New England: "Native vanishing." More

El primer sábado de cada mes, el Denver Art Museum te invita a una visita guiada gratis de Stampede: Animals in Art (Estampida: animales en el arte). More

Event: Lectures & Programs

Join us for a special afternoon with Gerald Lomaventema, noted Hopi jeweler and mentor from Shungapovi, Second Mesa, Arizona.

He will discuss the history and evolution of Hopi silversmithing as well as his involvement in mentoring younger Hopi in the craft today.

You will be in for a rare glimpse of his creativity as, assisted by two of his talented mentees, Gerald will demonstrate his latest revival of the old methods, creating works of art before your eyes. More

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer -the first major museum exhibition of the artist's work-will chronicle a pivotal moment in Gibson's career when his contemporary artistic practice converged with his Native American heritage.

About 65 objects created from 2011 to the present will be featured, including figurative works, text-based wall hangings, a significant selection of beaded punching bags, painted works on rawhide and canvas, and video.

Members are invited to see the exhibition first. Plus, members save 20% on all purchases at The Shop during the preview day only. More

Join a 45-minute public tour of Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer, offered daily at 2 pm, May 13-August 12. Included with general admission, reservations not required. More

Event: Lectures & Programs

Note: This Conversation with Curator is on a different day than usual.

In May, curator Victoria Lyall and conservator Gina Laurin bring a rare Maya wood object out of storage and discuss recent discoveries.

Conversations with Curators feature lively discussions with different curators each month. All Conversations are free with general admission and no reservations are needed.

Meet at 4 pm in the elevator lobby on the lower level of the Hamilton Building. More

For individuals and families who prefer a quiet, less sensory-stimulating environment we offer our Low Sensory Morning events on select Saturday mornings, before public hours. More

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer-the first major museum exhibition of the artist's work-will chronicle a pivotal moment in Gibson's career when his contemporary artistic practice converged with his Native American heritage. About 65 objects created from 2011 to the present will be featured including figurative works, text-based wall hangings, a significant selection of beaded punching bags, painted works on rawhide and canvas, and video. More

See how animals have captivated artists throughout history in the exhibition Stampede: Animals in Art. This cross-departmental exhibition brings together more than 300 objects from the Denver Art Museum's collection to explore the presence of animals in art throughout centuries and across cultures. More

Get creative with hands-on artmaking activities in the 3-D Studio. On weekends, watch artist demonstrations. Fun for all ages! More

Blog: Inside the Collection

Take a closer look at the African, American Indian, and Oceanic artworks in Stampede. More

Artists Melanie Yazzie, Gregg Deal, and Walt Pourier discuss their collaborative Native Arts Artists-in-Residence project at the Denver Art Museum. Action X Community X Togetherness goes through September 10, 2017. More

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The American Indian art collection represents the artistic works of nearly every tribe across the United States and Canada and all artistic traditions created within these cultures from prehistoric times to the present. It offers visitors the opportunity to experience the artistic vision of generations of American Indian artists from across North America.

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5 Native American Artists You Should Know

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5 Native American Artists You Should Know

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5 Native American Artists You Should Know - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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FRANK BUFFALO HYDE: Ladies and Gentleman, This is the Buffalo Show

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MEET
Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) is one of the nation's leading photographers, based in the Pacific Northwest. She earned her BFA from Brooks Institute of Photography where she double majored in Advertising and Digital Imaging. Her most recent endeavor, Project 562, has brought Matika to over 300 tribal nations dispersed throughout 40 U.S. states where she has taken thousands of portraits, and collected hundreds of contemporary narratives from the breadth of Indian Country all in the pursuit of one goal: To Change The Way We See Native America.

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MEET Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) is one of the nation's leading photographers, based in the Pacific Northwest. She earned her BFA from Brooks Institute of Photography where she double majored in Advertising and Digital Imaging. Her most recent endeavor, Project 562, has brought Matika to over 300 tribal nations dispersed throughout 40 U.S.

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Arts Collective comprised of Cristóbal Martínez and Kade L. Twist

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Postcommodity is an interdisciplinary arts collective comprised of Cristóbal Martínez, and Kade L. Twis t. Postcommodity's art functions as a shared Indigenous lens and voice to engage the assaultive manifestations of the global market and its supporting institutions, public perceptions, beliefs, and individual actions that comprise the ever-expanding, multinational, multiracial and multiethnic colonizing force that is defining the 21st Century through ever increasing velocities and complex forms of violence. Postcommodity works to forge new metaphors capable of rationalizing our shared experiences within this increasingly challenging contemporary environment; promote a constructive discourse that challenges the social, political and economic processes that are destabilizing communities and geographies; and connect Indigenous narratives of cultural self-determination with the broader public sphere.

Postcommodity are the recipients of grants from the Joan Mitchell Foundation (2010), Creative Capital (2012), Art Matters (2013), Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (2014), Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (2017), Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship (2017-2018), and Harker Fund of the San Francisco Foundation (2018-2019). The collective has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including: Contour the 5th Biennial of the Moving Image in Mechelen, BE; Nuit Blanche, Toronto, CA; 18th Biennale of Sydney in Sydney, AUS; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Scottsdale, AZ; 2017 Whitney Biennial, New York, NY; Art in General, New York, NY; documenta14, Athens, GR and Kassel, DE; the 57th Carnegie International in Pittsburgh, PA; Desert X, Coachella Valley, CA; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; and their historic land art installation Repellent Fence at the U.S./Mexico border near Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, SON. The collective was awarded the Fine Prize for their contribution to the Carnegie International, 2018 titled From Smoke and Tangled Waters, They Carried Fire Home.

Postcommodity acknowledges the important contributions of its previous collaborators: Raven Chacon (2009-2018), Steven Yazzie (2007-2010), Nathan Young (2007-2015), Adam Ingram-Goble (Game Remains), Andrew McCord (If History Moves at the Speed of Its Weapons, Then the Shape of the Arrow is Changing, and Promoting a More Just, Verdant and Harmonious Resolution), Annabel Wong (Dead River) and Existence AD (Dead River).

Postcommodity is represented by Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.

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Postcommodity is an interdisciplinary arts collective comprised of Cristóbal Martínez, and Kade L. Twis t. Postcommodity's art functions as a shared Indigenous lens and voice to engage the assaultive manifestations of the global market and its supporting institutions, public perceptions, beliefs, and individual actions that comprise the ever-expanding, multinational, multiracial and multiethnic colonizing force that is defining the 21st Century through ever increasing velocities and complex forms of violence.

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Wendy Red Star is an Apsáalooke (Crow) artist.

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Webinars from the National Indian Education Association

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Webinars from the National Indian Education Association

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Strong Tribal-State Partnerships Beyond the Every Student Succeeds Act

This webinar highlights the components of strong tribal-state partnerships that go beyond the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Mohegan Tribe provides an in-depth understanding of state and federal special education law, an understanding of assessments that identify students as having a disability, and tips on building sustainable relationships with local public schools and state agencies.

Subsequently, the Montana Office of Public Instruction highlights strategies to successfully implement its "Indian Education for All" legislation. This includes ongoing collaboration with Montana's 12 tribal nations and tribal representatives and education directors on Montana's Advisory Council on Indian Education.

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Webinars - National Indian Education Association

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This webinar highlights the components of strong tribal-state partnerships that go beyond the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Mohegan Tribe provides an in-depth understanding of state and federal special education law, an understanding of assessments that identify students as having a disability, and tips on building sustainable relationships with local public schools and state agencies.

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from the National Indian Education Association

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Learning at Home Resources - National Indian Education Association

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Who We Are Our Programs Our Advocacy Work Resources Events Get Involved Become a Member Other Ways to Give Come Work for Us Other Positions in Native Education Log Into Your Member Record Contact Your Senator Contact Your Representative Annual Events Convention and Trade Show Learning at Home Resources College

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The resources provided below will enhance the classroom experience for Native learners and strengthen outcomes for all students districtwide.

Classroom Resources

The Memory Map helps users to develop a deeper understanding of the Dakota people and their relationship to Minnesota by "traveling" in four distinct directions-east (We Are Home), south (Dakota Greeting), west (Mnisota: A Dakota Place), and north (the site core).

A Native founded nonprofit, IllumiNative supports and promotes contemporary Native voices and narratives. They focus on pop culture, media, K-12 education, philanthropy, and government, and seek to provide accurate and positive representations of Native peoples.

Developed by the Land Tenure Foundation, Lessons of Our Land offers pre-K through grade 12 curriculum to teachers so they can easily incorporate Native American games, stories and lessons into the classroom. Of particular note is the When Rivers Were Trails video game, newly released in 2019.

The Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education provides a variety of vetted Dakota and Ojibwe K-12 educational resources aligned to academic standards in social studies.

Developed by Darlene St. Clair and a team of Dakota educators, this curriculum is aligned to sixth grade social studies standards and examines Minnesota's relationships to the Dakota through a Native lens. Course materials include video, audio, graphics and written content, along with downloadable lessons.

Native Skywatchers combines science, art, and culture to provide unique, interdisciplinary Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programming, with the goal of improving inequities in education.

Brought to you by the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale American Indian Education department, this website offers a variety of wonderful resources for educators, including extensive classroom lessons, language resources, and systematic guidance in building learning/culture trunks. Information is free to all.

Brought to you by the Minnesota Humanities Center, this traveling exhibit is an excellent educational tool for schools and offers detailed content for classroom use. This exhibit is also available as a virtual experience.

In 2017, the Office of Indian Education and State Library Services collaborated with St. Catherine University Master of Library and Information Sciences students to create its first-ever Native authored book collection. This extensive collection provides recommended titles with annotated bibliographies for kindergarten through grade 12 students, and is aligned to the Minnesota English Language Arts standards. In 2019, the collection was updated to reflect new titles. The new iteration also features English Language Arts benchmarks. This partnership is ongoing and collections will be continually updated.

This highly respected blog was established by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, and provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza is a co-editor.

Owned by author Louise Erdrich, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, this cozy Minneapolis bookshop has gained a loyal following for its carefully vetted collection of children and young adult books and its emphasis on Native authored titles. Staff are experienced in selecting titles that align to academic standards, and educators receive a discount on classroom purchases.

Founded in 1979, the American Indian Library Association promotes Native education, literacy, and community, and offers timely resources for educators.

This local publishing house specializes in titles related to the history and culture of Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, and features a nice selection of Native authored children's books, fiction, and nonfiction.

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The resources provided below will enhance the classroom experience for Native learners and strengthen outcomes for all students districtwide. Classroom Resources The Memory Map helps users to develop a deeper understanding of the Dakota people and their relationship to Minnesota by "traveling" in four distinct directions-east (We Are Home), south (Dakota Greeting), west (Mnisota: A Dakota Place), and north (the site core).

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Enjoy this beginning resource for understanding more about the Dakota people's relationship to Minnesota. Try traveling the directions in a traditional way - East (We Are Home), South (Dakota Greeting), West Mnisota: A Dakota Place) and then North for the core of the site - the Memory Map.

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Enjoy this beginning resource for understanding more about the Dakota people's relationship to Minnesota. Try traveling the directions in a traditional way - East (We Are Home), South (Dakota Greeting), West Mnisota: A Dakota Place) and then North for the core of the site - the Memory Map.

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For decades, the lack of representation and information about Native peoples has perpetuated damaging myths and stereotypes. IllumiNative is an initiative, created and led by Natives, to challenge the negative narrative that surrounds Native communities and ensure accurate and authentic portrayals of Native communities are present in pop culture and media.

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Exploring the fundamental relationship between land and people.

From Indian Country to the classroom

Lessons of Our Land is an inter-disciplinary curriculum that aligns with state academic standards, and is adaptable to include the history and culture of a region's Native nations. If offers more than 200 searchable lessons that are ready to use in the classroom. This free curriculum was developed by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, a national, community-based nonprofit organization focused on American Indian land recovery and management.

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Exploring the fundamental relationship between land and people. Lessons of Our Land is an inter-disciplinary curriculum that aligns with state academic standards, and is adaptable to include the history and culture of a region's Native nations. If offers more than 200 searchable lessons that are ready to use in the classroom.

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Revitalizing Ojibwe and D(L)akota Sky & Earth Knowledge...Revitalizing the Human Connection to Sky & Earth ...through community based research and programming since 2007.

Events happening...Join us!

2020 Summer Native Skywatchers Educator & Community Workshop

*** Postponed Due to Covid-19 *** (update coming soon)
Mon. June 8, Tues. June 9, and Wed. June 10, 2020 at Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College in Cloquet, Minnesota
To Register:

(Registration will be available soon...)

Contact:

Jeffrey Tibbetts at jtibbetts@fdltcc.edu or Annette S. Lee at aslee17@gmail.com; Jim Knutson-Kolodzne at jkolodzne@stcloudstate.edu or call 320-308-5447

Guest speakers & presenters include: Carl Gawboy, Jeff Tibbetts, Jim Knutson-Kolodzne, William Wilson, Annette S. Lee...and TBA

Classroom ready resources includes: Native Star Maps, Planispheres, Posters, Guidebook, Lesson plans, Worksheets, Videos, Curriculum Workbook, and more!

Central Focus- Ojibwe, D/Lakota, ....TBA

Lots of hands-on workshop sessions and excellent class-room ready materials!

More on the Art-based Native Skywatchers community programming & events:

Science-based programming & research funded by:

NASA-MN Space Grant; Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College; St. Cloud State University 2009-2016

Art-based programming & research funded by:

The MN State Arts Board - Arts Learning Grant, FY2014-2015 & FY2015-16; Arts Touring Grant FY2017-18

These workshops & classes are made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Thank you, Miigwech, Pidamaya.

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Native Skywatchers - Earth Sky Connections

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Revitalizing Ojibwe and D(L)akota Sky & Earth Knowledge...Revitalizing the Human Connection to Sky & Earth ...through community based research and programming since 2007. *** Postponed Due to Covid-19 *** (update coming soon) Mon. June 8, Tues. June 9, and Wed.

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Where can you find diverse books? Right here! We've compiled the following list of sites that offer recommendations for diverse titles. Our list is not exhaustive, and we welcome suggestions ...

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It's a politically charged time to be alive in the US. Yesterday's Women's March brought out incredible numbers of people in cities and towns around the world who exercised what we consider a fundamental right in America. Maybe you had your young children with you, like I did. I realized while we were marching in a local protest that activism can be a hard thing to define to young kids. Keep the conversation going with these books that help explain and demonstrate what it's all about.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt. The crayons are fed up, and they're going to let Duncan know exactly why. Show kids the power of letter writing, how a strike can help you fight for your rights, and the power of listening when you're in charge.

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin. The barnyard animals start with a politely typed request to the farmer, but when he ignores them, they take peaceful and hilarious action. Never cross a cow with a typewriter.

A Is For Activist by Innosanto Nagara. An absolutely gorgeous alphabet book teaching some of the basics of social justice, too.

by Nikki Giovanni. This book is gorgeous, and packed with information about Rosa Parks and the bus boycott. The text of her story may work better for kids in maybe 2nd grade and up, but the amazing Bryan Collier's illustrations (honestly, we are not worthy) and essence of what Ms. Parks's protest was about can come through for any age if you talk it out with them.

¡Sí, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can! by Diana Cohn. A bilingual story of a successful janitors' strike in LA, this one focuses on young Carlito. He's trying to figure out how to support his mom, a janitor fighting for better wages. His teacher helps him figure out how to write a powerful protest sign.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel. Clara Lemlich was a young Jewish immigrant from Ukraine who led the biggest women's worker strike in US history. Girls and immigrants have power, have a voice, and can bring about change.

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh. This one brought in a Pure Belpre Honor and a Robert F. Sibert Honor in 2015, and it's a powerful book for teaching the impact of organizing and using the law to your advantage.f

Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words by Karen Leggett Abouraya. Malala's famous story of being shot by the Taliban and becoming even more outspoken for girls' right to education is kind of a scary one to share with preschoolers. But, she's such a powerful role model who used her voice at a young age to bring about change. This book finds a balance that's just right for young children without being too scary.

by Leo Lionni. Swimmy is different from all the other fish he knows, and this has caused him some hardships. But being different can also be amazing, like when he teaches a band of fish how to work together to beat a big, scary bully fish.

by Shane Evans. The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom brought record numbers of peaceful protestors to DC. And ended with Martin Luther King, Jr's iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. Kids may have heard about the speech recently for MLK Day, but this will help explain what the marching itself was all about.

The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, and Harlem's Greatest Bookstore by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Lewis Michaux, Sr. created a safe space where people could read and talk about how to change the world, a famous bookstore that drew celebrities and people from all over. Pretty powerful stuff, the power of books and the right to assemble.

Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone. Stanton is the suffragist credited with really starting the women's right to vote movement in the US. The movement was problematic because it failed to represent women of color at the time, and it's worth talking about that with kids. But this book will still help kids understand the power of speaking up and speaking out for equal rights.

Miss Paul and the President by Dean Robbins. Alice Paul was a suffragist and activist who managed to win over President Woodrow Wilson for the women's right to vote after she organized a parade that upstaged his inauguration, got arrested, and met with him personally in the White House. She continued the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton that eventually led to the 19th Amendment, and this book perfectly explains her cause and what she accomplished for a very young audience. For anyone who dismisses protesting, or the power of women to organize, march, and fight for their rights, Paul's story is a great reinforcement for young kids learning how to stand up and be heard.

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13 Books to Teach Children About Protesting and Activism

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It's a politically charged time to be alive in the US. Yesterday's Women's March brought out incredible numbers of people in cities and towns around the world who exercised what we consider a fundamental right in America. Maybe you had your young children with you, like I did.

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Children's books for Black History Month give kids multiple way to understand and learn by combining visual cues with words.

The African American experience is one all Americans ought to understand, but parents often just don't know where to begin.

Rather than shying away from talking about it, introduce the conversation to your children with books for Black History Month.

Tonight, don't shy away from important books.

You can find these books for Black History Month at your local library or purchase through the affiliate links provided for your convenience.

Children's Books for Black History Month

Embrace these children's books for Black History Month, which focus on not just history but also the African-American experience.

And don't let the conversation end here!

I have gathered with fellow bloggers to share even more ideas to celebrate Black History Month, hosted by a personal favorite destination - Multicultural Kid Blogs.

Reading about black history

There's a sweet, sweet smell in the air as two young girls sneak out of their house, down the street, and across town to where men and women are gathered, ready to march for freedom and justice.

Inspired by countless children and young adults who took a stand, two Coretta Scott King honorees offer a heart-lifting glimpse of children's roles in the civil rights movement.

In the segregated south, a young girl thinks that she can drink from a fountain marked "Whites Only" because she is wearing her white socks.

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney present a poignant, blues-infused tribute to the men and women of the Montgomery bus boycott, who refused to give up until they got justice.

Langston Hughes was a courageous voice of his time, and his authentic call for equality still rings true today.

Beautiful paintings from Barack Obama illustrator Bryan Collier accompany and reinvent the celebrated lines of the poem "I, Too," creating a breathtaking reminder to all Americans that we are united despite our differences.

This picture book of Langston Hughes's celebrated poem, "I, Too, Am America," is also a Common Core Text Exemplar for Poetry.

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.

A young girl learns a new meaning for freedom during the time of Reconstruction Ellen always knew the broom resting above the hearth was special.

Before it was legal for her mother and father to officially be married, the broom was what made them a family anyway.

But now all former slaves who had already been married in their hearts could register as lawful husband and wife.

When Ellen and her family make the long trip to the courthouse dressed in their best, she brings the broom her parents had jumped so many years before.

Even though freedom has come, Ellen knows the old traditions are important too.

After Mama and Papa's names are recorded in the register, Ellen nearly bursts with pride as her parents jump the broom once again.

As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation - and even of running away to freedom.

Then she overhears two slaves talking about the Underground Railroad.

In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in her scrap bag to make a map of the land - a freedom quilt - that no master will ever suspect.

Joe and John Henry are a lot alike. They both like shooting marbles, they both want to be firemen, and they both love to swim.

There's one important way they're different: Joe is white and John Henry is black, and in the South in 1964, that means John Henry isn't allowed to do everything his best friend is.

Then a law is passed that forbids segregation and opens the town pool to everyone.

Joe and John Henry are so excited they race each other there... only to discover that it takes more than a new law to change people's hearts.

The story of one family's journey north during the Great Migration starts with a little girl in South Carolina who finds a rope under a tree one summer.

She has no idea the rope will become part of her family's history.

For three generations, that rope is passed down, used for everything from jump rope games to tying suitcases onto a car for the big move north to New York City, and even for a family reunion where that first little girl is now a grandmother.

A poignant story celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

It's 1862 and the Civil War has turned out to be a long, deadly conflict. Hope's father can't stand the waiting a minute longer and decides to join the Union army to fight for freedom.

He slips away one tearful night, leaving Hope, who knows she may never see her father again, with only a conch shell for comfort.

Its sound, Papa says, echoes the promised song of freedom. It's a long wait for freedom and on the nights when the cannons roar, Papa seems farther away than ever.

Then Lincoln finally does it: on January 1, 1863, he issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves, and a joyful Hope finally spies the outline of a familiar man standing on the horizon.

Based on a transformative experience co-author Michael Bandy had as a boy, this compelling story sheds light on the reality of segregation through a child's eyes, while showing the powerful awareness that comes from daring to question the way things are.

It's a scorching hot day, and going into town with Grandma is one of Micheal's favorite things.

When the bus pulls up, they climb in and pay their fare, get out, walk to the back door, and climb in again.

By the time they arrive in town, Micheal's throat is as dry as a bone, so he runs to the water fountain. But after a few sips, the warm, rusty water tastes bad.

Why is the kid at the "Whites Only" fountain still drinking? Is his water clear and refreshingly cool?

No matter how much trouble Michael might get into, he's determined to find out for himself.

Toni Morrison has collected a treasure chest of archival photographs that depict the historical events surrounding school desegregation.

These unforgettable images serve as the inspiration for Ms. Morrison's text - a fictional account of the dialogue and emotions of the children who lived during the era of "separate but equal" schooling.

Remember is a unique pictorial and narrative journey that introduces children to a watershed period in American history and its relevance to us today.

Ruth was so excited to take a trip in her family's new car! In the early 1950s, few African Americans could afford to buy cars, so this would be an adventure.

She soon found out that black travelers weren't treated very well in some towns.

Many hotels and gas stations refused service to black people. Daddy was upset about something called Jim Crow laws.

Finally, a friendly attendant at a gas station showed Ruth's family The Green Book. It listed all of the places that would welcome black travelers.

With this guidebook - and the kindness of strangers - Ruth could finally make a safe journey from Chicago to her grandma's house in Alabama.

A boy and his mother are riding the bus in Montgomery, Alabama like any other day - way in the back of the bus.

The boy passes time by watching his marble roll up and down the aisle with the motion of the bus...

Until a big commotion breaks out from way up front.

With simple words and powerful illustrations, Aaron Reynolds and Coretta Scott King medalist Floyd Cooper recount the pivotal arrest of Rosa Parks at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement.

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 United States of America was founded on the declaration that all men are created equal.

Nearly two hundred years after that proclamation, America was still deeply segregated. Slowly but surely, powerful leaders as well as everyday citizens spoke up for their dreams and beliefs.

Soon, a people proud and strong stood up as one for their rights, and a new America came to be.

A self-taught young slave astonishes his fellow prisoners by reading aloud the newspaper account of Lincoln's new emancipation proclamation. Based on actual events.

On August 28, 1963, a remarkable event took place - more than 250,000 people gathered in our nation's capital to participate in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The march began at the Washington Monument and ended with a rally at the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech, advocating racial harmony.

Many words have been written about that day, but few so delicate and powerful as those presented here by award-winning author and illustrator Shane W. Evans.

When combined with his simple yet compelling illustrations, the thrill of the day is brought to life for even the youngest reader to experience.

There's a place in this 1950s southern town where all are welcome, no matter what their skin color...and 'Tricia Ann knows exactly how to get there.

To her, it's someplace special and she's bursting to go by herself. When her grandmother sees that she's ready to take such a big step, 'Tricia Ann hurries to catch the bus heading downtown.

Unlike the white passengers, she must sit in the back behind the Jim Crow sign and wonder why life's so unfair.

Still, for each hurtful sign seen and painful comment heard, there's a friend around the corner reminding 'Tricia Ann that she's not alone. And even her grandmother's words - "You are somedbody, a human being - no better, no worse than anybody else in this world" - echo in her head, lifting her spirits and pushing her forward.

A remarkable and much-needed collection for the youngest lovers of poetry, Entrance Place of Wonders: Poems of the Harlem Renaissance features poems from the leaders of this cultural movement (1917-1935), such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and James Weldon Johnson, as well as many newly discovered writers.

These celebratory, life-affirming works will inspire children, parents, and educators while paying homage to one of the most exciting and significant times in American history.

Like these books for Black History Month? Find even more engaging book lists for kids with more than 100 book-themed reading lists!

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Children's Picture Books For Black History Month | Mommy Evolution

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Children's books for Black History Month give kids multiple way to understand and learn by combining visual cues with words. The African American experience is one all Americans ought to understand, but parents often just don't know where to begin. Rather than shying away from talking about it, introduce the conversation to your children with books for Black History Month.

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In 8 tips for choosing 'good' picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC), our colleagues at Diverse BookFinder offer recommendations about how to evaluate "diverse" and "multicultural" children's books to find great books the children in your life will love.

In this piece, we identify promising starting points, in addition to the Diverse BookFinder, for your search for children's books to which you might apply the criteria described in 8 tips. The blogs and sites named below by no means exhaust the list of sites that highlight excellent children's books. Nor do all the books featured on those sites meet each of the 8 tips criteria. However, a search that begins with the sites on this list is likely to bear quality fruit!

EmbraceRace is not affiliated with any of these sites.

Major hubs for discovering diverse children's books

Children's book sites and blogs we like

Creating an anti-bias children's book collection

Looking to create an anti-bias library or evaluate/review books yourself? These articles and frameworks about evaluating representation in children's literature can help you think about bias in children's books and other media.

Where to get ebooks for kids online

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Looking for Excellent "Diverse" Books for Children? Start Here!

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In 8 tips for choosing 'good' picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC), our colleagues at Diverse BookFinder offer recommendations about how to evaluate "diverse" and "multicultural" children's books to find great books the children in your life will love.

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Silence is complicity.

A blog, no matter what its subject, no matter how large or small its reach, is a platform. You use it to make your thoughts and feelings known. And if the world harbors evil, harbors racism, harbors pain and death and agony to a specific group of people in your society, if you just carry along without acknowledging it in any way, you are a coward. I am a coward. Normally I don't say much when things are bad, but even I have to open my eyes sometimes and say something.

What can a white librarian do to help, even a little, when injustice is so blatant? You can be an ally. You can work to actually actively fight racism when you hear it, see it, and you can acknowledge it. You can listen. Project Ready, a free online professional development curriculum by UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science (and that my library has been using to regularly educate its employees), created this rundown of what allyship entails (click on it to enlarge):

Check out Project Ready's Allies and Antiracism module, if you get a chance. All their modules are good, but that one is just amazing.

My role in my library is to manage our collections. Yesterday, I was asked to create a booklist for my city's patrons of some antiracist titles. I was immediately helped by about eight of my colleagues and, together, we created the following list of links. Please use this where it is most needed. Ebook links are to my own library system's Hoopla, Overdrive, and Kanopy sites, but if your library has any of those platforms then you may be able to check out some of these titles as well.

Thank you.

UPDATED TO ADD:

I was recently alerted to this rally on Thursday. Please try to attend if you can.

Books for Children (Fiction):

Books for Children (Facts):

Resources for White Parents to Raise Anti-Racist Children:

Podcasts:

Articles:

The Conscious Kid: Follow them on Instagram

Books for Teens (Fiction Ebooks):

Books for Teens (Facts - Ebooks)

Books for Teens (Fiction eAudiobooks)

Books for Teens (Facts - eAudiobooks)

Books for Adults (Fiction):

Books for Adult (Facts):

Friends Disappear: The Battle for Racial Equity in Evanston by Mary Barr (ebook)

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon (ebook)

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (ebook, YA ebook, audio, Hoopla audio)

Lies my Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen (ebook, other ebook edition, YA ebook, Hoopla ebook, other Hoopla ebook edition)

Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation, by Derald Wing Sue (ebook)

A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn (ebook, other ebook edition, audio, other audio edition, Hoopla)

Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America, Fifth Edition, by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (Hoopla audio)

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (ebook)

When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson (Hoopla audio)

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: and Other Conversations about Race, by Dr. Beverly Tatum (ebook)

Articles to Read:

Films and Series to Watch on Kanopy

Additionally, Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein compiled the following resources in May 2020. Consider their helpful list of links to follow-up on as well:

Videos to Watch:

Podcasts to Subscribe To:

Organizations to Follow on Social Media:

More Anti-Racism Resources to Check Out:

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Antiracist Resources and Reads: Lists for All Ages

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Silence is complicity. A blog, no matter what its subject, no matter how large or small its reach, is a platform. You use it to make your thoughts and feelings known. And if the world harbors evil, harbors racism, harbors pain and death and agony to a specific group of people in your society, if you just carry along without acknowledging it in any way, you are a coward.

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Silence is complicity.

A blog, no matter what its subject, no matter how large or small its reach, is a platform. You use it to make your thoughts and feelings known. And if the world harbors evil, harbors racism, harbors pain and death and agony to a specific group of people in your society, if you just carry along without acknowledging it in any way, you are a coward. I am a coward. Normally I don't say much when things are bad, but even I have to open my eyes sometimes and say something.

What can a white librarian do to help, even a little, when injustice is so blatant? You can be an ally. You can work to actually actively fight racism when you hear it, see it, and you can acknowledge it. You can listen. Project Ready, a free online professional development curriculum by UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science (and that my library has been using to regularly educate its employees), created this rundown of what allyship entails (click on it to enlarge):

Check out Project Ready's Allies and Antiracism module, if you get a chance. All their modules are good, but that one is just amazing.

My role in my library is to manage our collections. Yesterday, I was asked to create a booklist for my city's patrons of some antiracist titles. I was immediately helped by about eight of my colleagues and, together, we created the following list of links. Please use this where it is most needed. Ebook links are to my own library system's Hoopla, Overdrive, and Kanopy sites, but if your library has any of those platforms then you may be able to check out some of these titles as well.

Thank you.

UPDATED TO ADD:

I was recently alerted to this rally on Thursday. Please try to attend if you can.

Books for Children (Fiction):

Books for Children (Facts):

Resources for White Parents to Raise Anti-Racist Children:

Podcasts:

Articles:

The Conscious Kid: Follow them on Instagram

Books for Teens (Fiction Ebooks):

Books for Teens (Facts - Ebooks)

Books for Teens (Fiction eAudiobooks)

Books for Teens (Facts - eAudiobooks)

Books for Adults (Fiction):

Books for Adult (Facts):

Friends Disappear: The Battle for Racial Equity in Evanston by Mary Barr (ebook)

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon (ebook)

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (ebook, YA ebook, audio, Hoopla audio)

Lies my Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen (ebook, other ebook edition, YA ebook, Hoopla ebook, other Hoopla ebook edition)

Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation, by Derald Wing Sue (ebook)

A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn (ebook, other ebook edition, audio, other audio edition, Hoopla)

Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America, Fifth Edition, by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (Hoopla audio)

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (ebook)

When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson (Hoopla audio)

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: and Other Conversations about Race, by Dr. Beverly Tatum (ebook)

Articles to Read:

Films and Series to Watch on Kanopy

Additionally, Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein compiled the following resources in May 2020. Consider their helpful list of links to follow-up on as well:

Videos to Watch:

Podcasts to Subscribe To:

Organizations to Follow on Social Media:

More Anti-Racism Resources to Check Out:

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Antiracist Resources and Reads: Lists for All Ages

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Silence is complicity. A blog, no matter what its subject, no matter how large or small its reach, is a platform. You use it to make your thoughts and feelings known. And if the world harbors evil, harbors racism, harbors pain and death and agony to a specific group of people in your society, if you just carry along without acknowledging it in any way, you are a coward.

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Inside: Celebrate diversity and culture with this vast collection of multicultural books for children! Includes 60+ book lists, from toddlers through big kids.
I was dismayed to discover that the number of multicultural books for children that have been published hasn't increased during the last 18 years. All this is despite census data showing 37% of the US population consists of people of color.
This graphic is from Lee and Low publishers.
I have posted a large number of book lists focusing on multicultural books for children (some my own creations but others that I've happily discovered).

I am organizing them all here in hopes that more people will read multicultural children's books. Hopefully, this will spark an interest that will lead to more books depicting people of color being published. Moreover, if you are an essay writer who needs materials to write something on multi-culture topics, this list will be a great source.

If you want to deepen your kid's absorption of multicultural reading, then custom bookmarks and stickers would be a great choice as memory keepers and reminders. You can customize them aligned with any highlighted themes, events, and ideas in the books. Create more fun while reading. Furthermore, if you are a bookstore owner, go with some customized bookmarks and stickers with your store logo as promotional gifts, which is a great support to multiculturalism as well.

Also, anyone can create their own digital book and make it interactive by adding videos, images, and buttons with flipbook software. Children will have a great experience when flipping through the pages.

For all of my book lists, please see List of Lists: All My Book Lists (300+)

p.s. Here is another list of classic Best Books for Children from BestBooks.to website.

Multicultural books for children: 60+ Book Lists

I've broken down my multicultural lists by:

Multicultural Book Lists for Kids (a catch-all for those lists that don't fit the categories below)

Civil Rights Movement Books for Kids

Asian American Books for Kids with subcategories

Korean American Books for Kids

Japanese American Books for Kids

Chinese American Books for Kids

Southeast Asian Books for Kids

Native American Books for Kids

Hispanic American Books for Kids

Arab American Books for Kids

LGBTQ Books for Kids

Multicultural Book Lists for Kids
White Privilege Books for Kids A Unit on Skin Color: Children's Books & Videos Immigration and the Refugee Experience Books for Kids 50 Must Read Diversity Picture Books Homelessness in Children's Books Special Needs Books for Kids Chapter Book Series Starring Diverse Girl Characters Picture Books to Teach Gratitude Top 10 Diverse Superhero Books 10 Picture Books About Africa to Teach Empathy W Favorite Diversity Picture Books for 4th of July Great Diverse Books from Peachtree Publishing Top 1o Favorite Diversity Books For Kids By Kids Top 10 Multicultural Books for Kids ages 2-14 Books for Kids About Cambodia Children's Africana Book Award Top 10 Multicultural Board Books for Babies and Toddlers Top 10 Best Multicultural Easy Readers Best Multicultural Chapter Books 10 Amazing Multicultural Picture Books About Helping Others 17 Wonderful Multicultural Picture Books About Food 5 Amazing Diversity Read Alouds Multicultural Adoption Books for Kids 5 Feel-Good Picture Books About Africa Top 10 Multicultural Dance Picture Books for Kids Top 50: Best Multicultural Children's Books Top 10: Best World Religion Children's Books Chapter Books to Support 4th Grade or 5th Grade Immigration Unit Great Biographies from Author Paula Yoo Multicultural Soccer Books for Kids Best Multicultural YA Books A Unit to Learn About the Tokyo Olympics Best Multicultural YA Books for Teens 25 Diversity Authors and Illustrators for Kids Spotlighted Black History Month with Carole Boston Weatherford Civil Rights Movement Through Art and Books for Kids HARLEM: Found Ways art exhibit and Children's Books Reflecting Harlem Civil Rights Movement Books for 4th Grade Top 10: Best Children's Books On Civil Rights Movement Top 10: Best African-American Picture Books (ages 4-12) Ruby Bridges and Picture Book As Fast as Words Could Fly Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr with Three Books 5th Grade Social Studies And How to Make It Interesting 5th Grade Enslavement Unit Books 3 Amazing Wordless Picture Books Top 10: Best Asian American Books by CoolAsianKids Asian in America (Amy Chua, new Asian KidLit, dumpling recipe!) Exploring Vietnam: Culture and KitLit Sri Lanka with Kids Books, Recipe and Design Exploring Laos with Books for Kids, Culture and Art Bangladesh: Culture, Alpanas, Children's Books, Recipe and More! 15 Great Korean Folk Tales Top 10: Korean American Children's Books (ages 2-16) Discovering Korea for Kids with Kids' Books, Art and Food Korean-American Picture Book Teaches Multicultural Lesson Japanese Internment Books for Kids Learning About Japan Picture Books for Kids Connecting Science and Art: Hokusai's The Great Wave In Memory of Hiroshima Bombing Books and Crane Origami for Kids Top 10: Japanese American Children's Books (ages 2-16) Let's Go Fly a Kite! Best Bilingual Japanese Books for Kids Japan: Books for Kids on Shogun, Family Crests, Block Prints Japanese American Post Internment Story: Journey Home (ages 8-12) Chinese New Year Picture Books INSTEAD of Tiki Tiki Tembo Top 10: Chinese American Children's Books (ages 2-14) Top 10: Best Chinese New Year Books for Kids 4th of July Picture Books with an Asian Twist Asian American Chapter Book for Girls Percy Jackson + Chinese Mythology = The Monkey King's Daughter Top 10: Best Southeast Asian American Children's Books (ages 2-14) 4th Grade Skype Author Visit: Sheela Chari of Vanished Contemporary Native Americans in KidLit Plimoth Plantation: Learning About Native Americans Top 10: Native American Children's Books (ages 2-16) Top 10: Best Native American Middle School Books Top 10: Best Native American Picture Book Top 10: Best Native American Young Adult Books Notable Native American Children's Author: Joseph Bruchac The Navajo Code Talkers of WWII Best Bilingual Spanish Picture Books Top 10 Hispanic American Heritage Books for Kids Top 10 Bilingual Spanish Books for Kids Top 10: Best Latino American Children's Books (ages 2-16) The Américas Award Hispanic American Books for Kids: Link Round Up 18 Wonderful Picture Books about the Arab World 27 Books for Kids About the Arab World Top 10: Middle Eastern American Children's Books Five Muslim Girl Characters to Read Today Middle East Outreach Council Award How To: Teach Your Children About Islam (and tolerance in the process!) Life in Afghanistan for Girls The Pharoah's Secret at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts 10 Groundbreaking LGBTQ Children's Books Understanding Transgender with LGBTQ Books for Kids To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World

Junior Library Guild Gold selection

Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children's Book Fair

Starred review from School Library Journal

anting to Go To School Books: When School is a Privilege
Africa Access was founded in 1989 to help schools, public libraries, and parents improve the quality of their K-12 collections on Africa.

It was surprisingly hard to find board books with diversity and inclusive themes.

I searched my public library for the best diversity easy readers.

These books are from the 2015 Notable Books for a Global Society Award, for middle grade readers ages 8 and up.

I hope these picture books inspire readers about the power of one ... just one person can do amazing things!

My favorite way to learn about new cultures is through food. Explore with me as we read (and eat as recipes are linked) around the world!

These are some of my very favorite diversity chapter books that I hope can read with your kids too!

These five books show different perspectives from the story of a young Masaii girl who wants to touch the moon to visiting family in Tanzania and The Gambia.

May all dancers of color be inspired to reach for their dreams with this book list.

This covers many ethnicities and is categorized by genre.

We are "homeschooling" world religion.

Our elementary school does an immigration unit using these chapter books. I've also added a few newly published books as well.

I hope this list inspires children, parents, and teachers to visit their local libraries and explore the biography bookshelves! I've also included many biographies below featuring diverse historical characters.

View soccer as it's played around the world through the eyes of these picture books.

These are the Young Adult books from the 2015 Notable Books for a Global Society.

I'm new to YA so I was excited to discover this great list.

Civil Rights Movement Books for Kids

My kids study the Civil Rights Movement in the United States in 4th grade and I'm pleased to see a handful of important and often, award-winning, picture books, chapter books, and Young Adult books published each year.

This list covers picture books, chapter books, and young adult.

If you read these picture books in order, it gives an overview of the African-American experience historically starting from slavery to the present day.

Meeting Ruby Bridges was a thrill for me and further reinforced how important it is for kids to learn about the Civil Rights Movement.

Young Booker T. Washington: Fifty Cents and a Dream.

An advanced picture book that paints a portrait of Booker T. Washington as a determined young boy.

If you just want a snapshot of the Civil Rights Movement for young children, try these three books: two picture books and a chapter book.

I have a section in this post about the Civil Rights Movement.

Black History Month Books for Kids and Teens

Asian American Books for Kids

One of the most exciting things for me about blogging was discovering Asian American books for kids.

This genre was just starting to emerge a few years ago when I started blogging. Growing up, I read extensively but I never found books that were like me - an Asian American 2nd and 3rd generation girl living in the suburbs. I'm thrilled to find that this is no longer the case.

Recognizing Children's Books for AAPI Heritage Month (a huge list)

I love these wordless picture books by Asian and Asian American authors/illustrators so much that I made videos of them on my Instagram.

CoolAsianKids made a wonderful list of their favorite Asian American KidLit.

These recently published books show the new diversity of Asian American KidLit as well as the high quality of this genre.

APALA Awards for Best Asian American Children's Books 2013

The Asian Pacific American Libraries Association has announced their 2013 literature award winners.

I created a series of posts a while back that I called Teach Me Tuesday. I wanted to explore a country using children's books as well as different elements of their culture from art to food to artisans. This was the first post I did of this series on Vietnam (and my best one!). The Teach Me Tuesday series is here.

A friend from Sri Lanka gave me a recipe that he loved as a child and this sparked this post. Finding the books is always the toughest part for me.

The more I learned about Laos, the more I want to go to this mysterious, beautiful and tragic country.

Korean American Books for Kids

I'm half Chinese and Japanese and I married a Korean. My first lists of multicultural books for children were on these three ethnicities as a way to show my children their heritage. The Korean American culture is so strong in America that this first post went viral.

This is the first post of mine ever to go viral.

I wanted to learn more about my husband's family history so this is a very personal journey of discovery.

I don't often do individual book reviews but finding this great Asian American book at the library made me want to post on it.

Japanese American Books for Kids

For your young ninja, books to learn about Japan.

It's amazing how a single piece of art can have a ripple effect, inspiring others all around the world and for many generations.

WWII Internment seems to dominate Japanese American books for kids. I agree that it is an important lesson in history - my own mother was forced to relocate but I also hunger for books that explore other facets of being Japanese American.

Kite flying is an important ritual in Asia and I've rounded up every great kite flying book thanks to a little help from my friends and readers.

This was my response to a reader request.

I explore my own Japanese history in this post.

These older books explore the Japanese American internment experience during WWII, a shameful chapter in America's history.

Chinese American Books For Kids

There is such a diversity of Chinese American books for kids from philosophy, culture and contemporary times.

I wanted to show the breadth and depth of Chinese American books for kids. These were our favorites.

I never had a great Chinese New Year picture book despite always doing a Chinese New Year presentation for my children's preschool so I was determined to upgrade!

Fourth of July from a Chinese American immigrant's perspective via picture books. Yep, this is what I blog about!

Lisa Yee portrays the dilemmas of modern day Asian American kids caught between assimilation and Tiger parents.

A Chinese mythology action-adventure series.

Southeast Asian Books for Kids

Southeast Asian culture and books are foreign to me too so I wanted to learn more.

Sheela Chari's debut mystery chapter book is award winning!

Native American Books For Kids

My first list was criticized by Debbie Reese, the preeminent scholar on this topic, for including books that she did not feel accurately depicted the Native Americans. My response was to repost her great lists!

Do kids think that Native Americans are only the past? This list will hopefully change that!

What to read when preparing for a visit to Plimoth Plantation.

This is the list I made.

Debbie Reese's list for middle-grade chapter books.

Debbie Reese's list for picture books.

Debbie Reese's list of YA books is very popular.

I am a huge fan of Joseph Bruchac, a happy discovery from chatting with my librarian when creating my list.

The author of this advanced picture book lives one town over!

Hispanic American Books for Kids

My guest author Derek Taylor Kent comes up with his list for best bilingual Spanish picture books for kids.

I'm noticing some great Hispanic American KidLit lately across all children's book genres!

I'm doing a round-up of Hispanic books for kids of all ages, from picture books to young adult.

Arab American Books for Kids

This is my collection of the best picture books I've read so far about the Arab world.

In the wake of the conflicts in the Middle East, I thought it especially important for kids to learn about Islam and the people of the Middle East which might also teach them tolerance in the process. There is so much negative stereotyping during a war that can color a child's perspective.

Deborah Ellis's Parvana series shows a realistic view of what life is like in Afghanistan for girls today. It's heartbreaking but also so important.

Chapter book The Pharoah's Secret by Marissa Moss discovered in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Did I find Senenmut, Hatshepsut's love there?!

LBGTQ Books for Kids

More lists and reviews of diverse, inclusive, and multicultural books for children from KidLit bloggers here on my Pinterest board:

Follow PragmaticMom's board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.

My books:

Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me

BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN'S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.

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Multicultural Books for Children: 60+ Book Lists

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Inside: Celebrate diversity and culture with this vast collection of multicultural books for children! Includes 60+ book lists, from toddlers through big kids. I was dismayed to discover that the number of multicultural books for children that have been published hasn't increased during the last 18 years.

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Celebrate the World with Multicultural Children's Picture Books

Who remembers reading picture books centered around beautiful, diverse characters when you were a child?

Think about it for a moment. Does anything immediately come to mind aside from The Snowy Day?

Believe it or not, diversity was rarely displayed in stories when most of us were children.

Instead, picture books were centered around white children, traditional families, and middle class neighborhoods featuring middle class kids. Rarely would you see a black child in a story. Never would you see a Muslim family at the park with a mother wearing a khimar or a Hispanic family dancing in their kitchen after dinner.

But things are slowly changing - thank goodness! - and, luckily, our children will be exposed to so much more than we were.

The Push for Multicultural Picture Books

The children's publishing industry is making a tremendous push to feature more kids of color in their books, and the result is that the number of diverse books being published every year has steadily increased. Don't get me wrong - we still have a LOT of work to do, and we still need a LOT more books written and illustrated by men and women of color.

Nonetheless, we are finally beginning to see more multicultural children's books featuring diverse children and families. It is becoming easier to read about people from all cultures and all places, with skin colors as varied and beautiful as a rainbow.

Our children are living in an unprecedented time, and every day I'm grateful.

Multicultural Children's Picture Books Allow All Kids to See Themselves in Stories

If you've been following Happily Ever Elephants for a while, you know we are passionate about the notion that all children need to see themselves in the pages of a book.

Every child needs to find characters they relate to in stories. They need to see families who look like theirs, children with the same skin color they have, kids who celebrate the same holidays, share the same struggles, and pride themselves on the same achievements.

Why?

Because children get a confidence boost when they see themselves in the stories they read. Reading about kids like themselves helps children of all backgrounds recognize and understand they are not "different." Books provide safe spaces for kids to see children just like them exploring their emotions and navigating their personal circumstances and journeys. It helps children know they are not alone.

Perhaps even more importantly, young people need to read books that honor all children in every day situations. A black child should see himself in books about losing his first tooth, getting a new pet or playing hide and seek, not just books about the fight for civil rights. A Jewish child needs to see herself in picture books about friendship or days spent enjoying moments with grandparents, not just books about the Holocaust.

When a character's skin color or religion or country of origin isn't made a focal point of a story, it normalizes differences. When diverse characters - characters of different colors, nationalities, and religions - are stars, not sidekicks, in stories, we help children (and the adults who read to them!) see there is no one "right" or "ideal" way to be.

This is how we build bridges. This is how we nurture empathy.

Most importantly, this is how we begin to eradicate stigma, highlight similarities, and challenge harmful stereotypes, something we should all strive for every single day as parents.

Why Should I Read Multicultural Children's Picture Books with My Children?
The positive impressions children gain from multicultural children's picture books will last a life time.
Need I say more?

For more information about diversity in the publishing industry, I encourage you to check out We Need Diverse Books and Multicultural Children's Book Day. And now, without further ado, here is our list of 50 phenomenal multicultural picture books!

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Celebrate the World with 50 of the Best Multicultural Children's Picture Books! - Happily Ever Elephants

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Who remembers reading picture books centered around beautiful, diverse characters when you were a child? Think about it for a moment. Does anything immediately come to mind aside from The Snowy Day? Believe it or not, diversity was rarely displayed in stories when most of us were children.

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The following is a downloadable/clickable "List of Lists" designed so that parents, teachers, and caregivers can find the multicultural and diverse book titles for kids that they are in need of. These lists are broken down into easy-to-find topics and themes. Every blue title is a link to more book lists on that topic.

Our List of List Resource

Our Diverse World Book Lists for Kids (this is a general book list)

It's also broken out by country/geographic area:

Books on World Religions for Kids (this is a book list)

It's also broken out by holiday and/or religion.

Seeing Yourself in Children's Books

Timely Topics

Diverse Books By Genre

General Diverse Book Lists (this is a book list)

Find more diverse, multicultural, and inclusive books on our Multicultural Children's Book Day Pinterest Board. Follow on Pinterest to get daily updates.

Follow PragmaticMom's board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.

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Diverse Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents - Multicultural Children's Book Day

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Welcome! The following is a downloadable/clickable "List of Lists" designed so that parents, teachers, and caregivers can find the multicultural and diverse book titles for kids that they are in need of. These lists are broken down into easy-to-find topics and themes. Every blue title is a link to more book lists on that topic.

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A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, WNDB aims to create a world where every reader can find themselves in the pages of a book. To reach this goal, we've created programs to mentor diverse writers and illustrators, support diverse publishing professionals, and provide books to classrooms nationwide.

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Books and Resources to Help You Raise Anti-Racist Children

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Books and Resources to Help You Raise Anti-Racist Children

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America is still deeply racially divided - nothing has made that more clear than the murders of members of the Black community at the hands of law enforcement. Now more than ever, it's time for a change. And that change can start at home.

It's never too early to talk to children about race. According to HealthyChildren.org, "As early as 6 months, a baby's brain can notice race-based differences. By ages 2 to 4, children can internalize racial bias. By age 12, many children become set in their beliefs-giving parents a decade to mold the learning process, so that it decreases racial bias and improves cultural understanding."

It can often feel like the world is full of anger and hate, but it's also full of hope - hope for a better future. It's so important for children to see themselves and their experiences represented in the books they read. It's also important for children to read about the experiences of people who are different from them. At Brightly, we're committed to helping you raise kids that are not only "not racist," but who are actively "anti-racist." Anti-racism is defined as, "the policy or practice of opposing racism and promoting racial tolerance."

Reading books featuring Black characters and experiences provide a great way to start a conversation about race with the kids in your life. But support for the Black community goes well beyond that. We've complied further reading resources for parents and educators - from how to talk to your kids about protests to understanding white privilege - as well as ways you can support Black-owned bookstores, bloggers, and donate to organizations that fight for Black lives. Black Lives Matter, and it's vital that we become more educated and act, with and for our children.
EDUCATE
Books provide a great way to start a conversation about race with the kids in your life. In addition to book picks for kids and adults, further reading resources for parents and educators offer more ways to teach kids about race and understand why it's important to be an anti-racist.
Resources for Parents
How to Talk to Your Kids About Race: Books and Resources That Can Help ( Brightly)

Why It's Important to Talk to Your Child About Racism and Hate ( Brightly)

Anti-Racist Books and Resources for Our Readers ( Penguin Random House)

Books to Help Kids Understand the Fight for Racial Equality ( Brightly)
Resources for Educators
15 Classroom Resources for Discussing Racism, Policing, and Protest ( Education Week: Teacher)

How Should I Talk about Race in My Mostly White Classroom? ( ADL)
Teaching Tolerance
Social Justice Resources ( The Children's Community School)
More Anti-Racism Resources for Adults
Havard University's Implicit Bias Test ( Harvard)

The 1619 Project ( The New York Times)
ACT
It's important to educate ourselves, but it's also vital to take action. Support Black-owned business, donate to organizations that fight for Black lives, and more.
Black-Owned Bookstores
Pensylvannia

California
Detroit Book City AfriWare Books
Washington (State)

Washington (D.C.)
Mahogany Books Alkebu-Lan Images Bookstore Everyone's Place
To support more Black-owned independent bookstores, see this list.
Black Children's Bookstagrammers
Here Wee Read (@hereweeread)
The Tutu Teacher (@thetututeacher)
Little Black Book Nook (@littleblackbooknook)
Mrs. Russell's Room (@mrsrussellsroom)
Black Baby Books (@blackbabybooks)
Books of Melanin (@booksofmelanin)
Books Through My Eyes (@booksthroughmyeyes)
Jeanell Nicole (@jeanellnicolereads)
Akossiwa Ketoglo (
If Pencils Could Talk (@ifpencilscouldtalk)
Read Boston (@readboston)
Mx. T (@teachingwithmxt)

Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
"This fund is established to cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist our family in the days to come as we continue to seek justice for George. A portion of these funds will also go to the Estate of George Floyd for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund."

Black Lives Matter
"We appreciate your support of the movement and our ongoing fight to end State-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever."

The Bail Project
"The Bail Project™ National Revolving Bail Fund is on a mission to combat mass incarceration and reshape the pretrial system in the United States."

Reclaim the Block
"Reclaim the Block is calling on our city to invest in violence prevention, housing, resources for youth, emergency mental health response teams, and solutions to the opioid crisis - not more police."

Community Bail Fund
"Split a donation to all the bail funds, mutual aid funds, and activist organizations listed on this page, or allocate specific amounts to individual groups."

The Loveland Foundation
"Loveland Therapy Fund provides financial assistance to Black women and girls nationally seeking therapy."

Color of Change
"We design campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward. Until justice is real."

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
"Donate today to help us win landmark legal battles, protect voters across the nation, and advance the cause of racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society."

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
"Your donation to the NAACP helps further our mission to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination."

Sign a petition calling for justice for George Floyd
Sign a petition calling for justice for Breonna Taylor
Sign a petition calling for justice for Ahmaud Arbery
Sign the Black Lives Matter petition to #DefundThePolice
Sign a petition for Mandatory Life Sentence for Police Brutality

Text FLOYD to 55156 for George Floyd
Text ENOUGH to 55156 for Breonna Taylor
Text JUSTICE to 55156 for Ahmaud Arbery
More ways you can donate and petition.

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Books and Resources to Help You Raise Anti-Racist Children | Brightly

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America is still deeply racially divided - nothing has made that more clear than the murders of members of the Black community at the hands of law enforcement. Now more than ever, it's time for a change. And that change can start at home. It's never too early to talk to children about race.

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Part 1: Entire CNN/Sesame Street town hall on racism - CNN Video

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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms takes questions along with CNN’s Van Jones and Erica Hill about how to combat racism.

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Picture book read alouds designed to capture the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of collective voices.

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Picture Book Collection Racial Justice Parkway

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All Are Welcome Here Book Shelf or read alouds

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All Are Welcome Here Book Shelf or read alouds

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Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, Vol 36 No 1 (2019)

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Whiteness is pervasive as it permeates every aspect of our society (including art education) and plays a role in almost every social issue imaginable (Kincheloe, Steinberg, Rodriguez, & Chennault, 2000). However, while this is so, Whiteness is rarely explicitly explored in critical ways in art education research. Knight (2006) asserts, "Whiteness is perhaps the foremost unmarked and thus unexamined category in art education" (p. 323). Researchers aren't considering the ways in which the art education field contributes to the construction of White identity, as well as the ways White identity contributes to the field of art education. How does Whiteness influence power relations in art education research, participants socio-historical location in research, and the analysis and interpretation of data, etc? This mini theme aims to explicitly examine, critique and historicize Whiteness.

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Vol 36 No 1 (2019): Whiteness and Art Education

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Whiteness is pervasive as it permeates every aspect of our society (including art education) and plays a role in almost every social issue imaginable (Kincheloe, Steinberg, Rodriguez, & Chennault, 2000). However, while this is so, Whiteness is rarely explicitly explored in critical ways in art education research.

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Register for free educator toolkits around social justice issues.

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We the Future showcases ten young leaders representing ten diverse movements, each already building us a better world. They are drafting and passing legislation. They are working on climate justice, criminal justice reform, voting rights, immigration rights, disability justice, gun reform, queer rights, and literacy. Their work is nonpartisan, and it carries the energy of countless communities from every background. In a time of uncertainty, these icons show us a path forward, and they show us that the Future is already here. In partnership with the artists Shepard Fairey, Rommy Torrico, Munk One, and Kate DeCiccio, this project will place art and supporting teaching tools representing these young leaders and their movements into more than 20,000 schools across the country, to inspire and engage the next generation. Learn more here.

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We the Future showcases ten young leaders representing ten diverse movements, each already building us a better world. They are drafting and passing legislation. They are working on climate justice, criminal justice reform, voting rights, immigration rights, disability justice, gun reform, queer rights, and literacy.

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Complex topics belong in classrooms and schools.

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FIRELEI BÁEZ
Untitled (Flow of merchandise in France on railways and waterways in the year 1856)

2020
Oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas
78 x 60 5/8 in
198.1 x 154 cm

FIRELEI BÁEZ

A Drexcyen chronocommons (To win the war you fought it sideways)

2019

Two paintings, hand-painted wooden frame, perforated tarp, printed mesh, handmade paper over found objects, plants, books, Oman incense, palo santo
373 1/4 x 447 x 157 in
JCG10437

FIRELEI BÁEZ
the trace, whether we are attending to it or not (a space for each other's breathing)
2019
Acrylic, oil, and transfer on archival printed canvas
90 x 114 3/8 in
228.6 x 290.5 cm
JCG10455

FIRELEI BÁEZ

Beauty as a practice (to see in discrete angles and blocks)

2019
Acrylic, oil, and transfer on archival printed canvas
89 x 114 3/8 in
JCG10457

FIRELEI BÁEZ
Je bâtis a roches mon langage, 2019
Perforated tarp, printed mesh, artificial and real plants; two paintings:
For Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur (a reconstituted echo, to be spoken, complete), 2019, Acrylic and oil on canvas, frame
Errantry (a minor key that alters the structure of the major form within), 2019, Oil, acrylic, and gold foil on canvas

Installation view: Firelei Báez, new work, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, 27 January - 12 May 2019

FIRELEI BÁEZ
Je bâtis a roches mon langage, 2019
Perforated tarp, printed mesh, artificial and real plants; two paintings:
For Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur (a reconstituted echo, to be spoken, complete), 2019, Acrylic and oil on canvas, frame
Errantry (a minor key that alters the structure of the major form within), 2019, Oil, acrylic, and gold foil on canvas

Installation view: Firelei Báez, new work, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, 27 January - 12 May 2019

FIRELEI BÁEZ
For Améthyste and Athénaïre (Exiled Muses Beyond Jean Luc Nancy's Canon), Anacaonas
2018
Oil on canvas and wood panel, hand-painted frames

Installation view: The Modern Window: Firelei Báez, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2018-2019

Digital Image © 2018 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Photographed by John Wronn

FIRELEI BÁEZ
For Améthyste and Athénaïre (Exiled Muses Beyond Jean Luc Nancy's Canon), Anacaonas
2018
Oil on canvas and wood panel, hand-painted frames

120 x 252 inches

Installation view: The Modern Window: Firelei Báez, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2018-2019
Photograph by Kurt Heumiller

FIRELEI BÁEZ

Installation view: Firelei Báez: Bloodlines, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, February 17 - May 21, 2017

Photo: Abby Warhola

FIRELEI BÁEZ

Sans-Souci (This Threshold between a dematerialized and a historicized body)
2015
Acrylic and ink on linen
108 x 74 inches

Rendering her subjects in complex layers of pattern and imagery, New York-based artist Firelei Báez casts cultural and regional histories into an imaginative realm, where visual references drawn from the past are reconfigured to explore new possibilities for the future. In exuberantly colorful works on paper and canvas, large-scale sculptures, and immersive installations, Báez combines representational cues that span from hair textures to textile patterns, plantlife, folkloric and literary references, and wide-ranging emblems of healing and resistance. Often featuring strong female protagonists, Baez's portraits incorporate the visual languages of regionally-specific mythology and ritual alongside those of science fiction and fantasy, to envision identities as unfixed, and inherited stories as perpetually-evolving. These empowered figures' eyes most often engage directly with the viewer, asserting individuality and agency within their states of flux.

Born in Santiago de los Caballeros to a Dominican mother and a father of Haitian descent, Firelei Báez's concerns with the politics of place and heritage can be traced back to her own upbringing on the border between Hispaniola's two neighboring countries, whose longstanding history of tension is predicated in large part by ethnic difference. Báez's work ties together subject matter mined from a wide breadth of diasporic narratives. In addition to self-portraiture, past series have examined ciguapas, elusive and cunning female creatures from Dominican folklore; tignons, head-coverings women of color were legally required to wear in 18th century New Orleans; and the iconography of the Black Panther Movement. Báez often paints directly onto historical material, such as found maps, manuals, and travelogues, layering figures over them. By rendering spectacular bodies that exist on opposite sides of intersecting boundaries-between human and landscape, for example, or those reinforcing racial and class stratification-Báez carries portraiture into a liminal space, where subjectivity is rooted in cultural and colonial narratives as much as it can likewise become untethered by them.

Firelei Báez (b. 1981, Dominican Republic) received an M.F.A. from Hunter College, a B.F.A. from the Cooper Union's School of Art, and studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Báez is shortlisted for Artes Mundi 9 in 2020, and will be the subject of a solo presentation at the ICA Watershed, Boston, MA this summer. In 2019, the artist's work was the subject of solo exhibitions at the Mennello Museum of Art, Orlando, FL, the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and the Modern Window at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Her monumental outdoor sculpture, 19.604692°N 72.218596°W, is currently included in En Plein Air, the 2019 High Line Art exhibition. Báez was featured in the 2018 Berlin Biennale, Prospect.3: Notes for Now (2014), Bronx Calling: The Second AIM Biennial (2013), and El Museo's Bienal: The (S) Files (2011). Her major 2015 solo exhibition Bloodlines was organized by the Pérez Art Museum Miami and travelled to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

Other recent solo exhibitions of Báez's work have been presented by The Studio Museum, Harlem, NY; Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, OH; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL; Taller Puertorriqueno, Philadelphia, PA; and Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, UT. She has an upcoming solo exhibition at the ICA Watershed. Báez is the recipient of many awards: most recently, the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts (2020), the Soros Arts Fellowship (2019), the United States Artists Fellowship (2019), the College Art Association Artist Award for Distinguished Body of Work (2018), the Future Generation Art Prize (2017), the Chiaro Award (2016), and Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors (2011). Her work belongs to the permanent collections of institutions including The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL; BNY Mellon Art Collection, Pittsburgh, PA; The Cleveland Clinic Fine Art Collection, Cleveland, OH; Dallas Museum of Art, TX; The Isabela and Agustín Coppel Collection, Mexico City, Mexico; Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany; Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO; New Orleans Museum of Art, LA; Orlando Museum of Art, FL; Pérez Art Museum Miami, FL; Pizzuti Collection of the Columbus Museum of Art, OH; Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY; San Jose Museum of Art, CA; Sindika Dokolo Foundation Collection, Luanda, Angola; Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA; and The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY.

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FIRELEI BÁEZ Untitled (Flow of merchandise in France on railways and waterways in the year 1856) 2020 Oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas 78 x 60 5/8 in 198.1 x 154 cm FIRELEI BÁEZ A Drexcyen chronocommons (To win the war you fought it sideways) 2019 Two paintings, hand-painted

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Titus Kaphar

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formerly known as T.S. Abe

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— Palesa Monareng is an artist and illustrator living and working in London, UK

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Andre Woolery is a contemporary black artist with a digital aesthetic and focused on portraits. His art collections use mixed mediums such as oil, pushpins, thumbtacks.

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The official site of artist Maya Freelon.

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Paperback - Illus. in full color. "Ringgold recounts the dream adventure of eight-year-old Cassie Louise Lightfoot, who flies above her apartment-building rooftop, the 'tar beach' of the title, looking down on 1939 Harlem. Part autobiographical, part fictional, this allegorical tale sparkles with symbolic and historical references central to African-American culture. The spectacular artwork resonates with color and texture. Children will delight in the universal dream of mastering one's world by flying over it. A practical and stunningly beautiful book."-(starred) Horn Book. Age Range: 5 - 8

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Paperback - Illus. in full color. "Ringgold recounts the dream adventure of eight-year-old Cassie Louise Lightfoot, who flies above her apartment-building rooftop, the 'tar beach' of the title, looking down on 1939 Harlem. Part autobiographical, part fictional, this allegorical tale sparkles with symbolic and historica

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A SPLASH OF RED: THE LIFE AND ART OF HORACE PIPPIN

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A SPLASH OF RED: THE LIFE AND ART OF HORACE PIPPIN

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Hardcover - A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
As a child in the late 1800s, Horace Pippin loved to draw: He loved the feel of the charcoal as it slid across the floor. He loved looking at something in the room and making it come alive again in front of him. He drew pictures for his sisters, his classmates, his co-workers. Even during W.W.I, Horace filled his notebooks with drawings from the trenches . . . until he was shot. Upon his return home, Horace couldn't lift his right arm, and couldn't make any art. Slowly, with lots of practice, he regained use of his arm, until once again, he was able to paint--and paint, and paint! Soon, people-including the famous painter N. C. Wyeth-started noticing Horace's art, and before long, his paintings were displayed in galleries and museums across the country. Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet team up once again to share this inspiring story of a self-taught painter from humble beginnings who despite many obstacles, was ultimately able to do what he loved, and be recognized for who he was: an artist. Age Range: 5 - 8
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book

Winner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children

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A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

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Hardcover - A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book Winner of the Schneider Family Book AwardAn ALA-ALSC Notable Children's BookWinner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children As a child in the late 1800s, Horace Pippin loved to draw: He loved the feel of the charcoal as it slid across the floor.

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by Kimberley Drew

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Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us.

"Drew's experience teaches us to embrace what we are afraid of and be true to ourselves. She uses her passion to change the art world and invites us to join her."--Janelle Monáe, award-winning singer, actress, and producer

"Powerful and compelling, this book gives us the courage to discover our own journeys into art."--Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in Kensington Gardens, and co-editor of the Cahiers d'Art review

"This deeply personal and boldly political offering inspires and ignites."-- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

In this powerful and hopeful account, arts writer, curator, and activist Kimberly Drew reminds us that the art world has space not just for the elite, but for everyone.

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, arts writer and co-editor of Black Futures Kimberly Drew shows us that art and protest are inextricably linked. Drawing on her personal experience through art toward activism, Drew challenges us to create space for the change that we want to see in the world. Because there really is so much more space than we think.

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Pocket Change Collective was born out of a need for space. Space to think. Space to connect. Space to be yourself. And this is your invitation to join us. "Drew's experience teaches us to embrace what we are afraid of and be true to ourselves.

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Paperback - I know my own mind. I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way. These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G.

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BEYOND HEROES AND HOLIDAYS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO K-12 ANTI-RACIST, MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT

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BEYOND HEROES AND HOLIDAYS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO K-12 ANTI-RACIST, MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT

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Paperback - An incredible, informative, collection of essays, articles, analysis, interviews, primary documents and interactive & interdisciplinary teaching aids on civil rights, movement building, and what it means for all of the inhabitants of the planet. With sections on Critical Literacy, The Arts, Mathematics, Technology, Science, Geography, Language, School-Wide Activities, Holidays and Heritage, Talking Back, Early Childhood, Readings and Teaching Aids. Packed into nearly 450 oversize pages are photographs, songs, statements, and work form the likes of such great writers, historians, and activists as Bill Bigelow, James Loewen, Peggy Mcintosh, Luis Rodirguez, Kai James, Clem Marshall, Marta Urquilla, Julie Bisson, the editors and dozens more. What a treasure trove. And what a vital (and useful) tool. Age Range: Teachers/Educators

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Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development

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Paperback - An incredible, informative, collection of essays, articles, analysis, interviews, primary documents and interactive & interdisciplinary teaching aids on civil rights, movement building, and what it means for all of the inhabitants of the planet. With sections on Critical Literacy, The Arts, Mathematics,

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EVERYDAY ANTIRACISM: GETTING REAL ABOUT RACE IN SCHOOL

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EVERYDAY ANTIRACISM: GETTING REAL ABOUT RACE IN SCHOOL

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Paperback - Which acts by educators are "racist" and which are "antiracist"? How can an educator constructively discuss complex issues of race with students and colleagues? In Everyday Antiracism, leading educators deal with the most challenging questions about race in school, offering invaluable and effective advice.
Contributors including Beverly Daniel Tatum, Sonia Nieto, and Pedro Noguera describe concrete ways to analyze classroom interactions that may or may not be "racial," deal with racial inequality and "diversity," and teach to high standards across racial lines. Topics range from using racial incidents as teachable moments and responding to the "n-word" to valuing students' home worlds, dealing daily with achievement gaps, and helping parents fight ethnic and racial misconceptions about their children. Questions following each essay prompt readers to examine and discuss everyday issues of race and opportunity in their own classrooms and schools. For educators and parents determined to move beyond frustrations about race, Everyday Antiracism is an essential tool. Age Range: Teachers/Educators

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Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race in School / Edition 1

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Paperback - Which acts by educators are "racist" and which are "antiracist"? How can an educator constructively discuss complex issues of race with students and colleagues? In Everyday Antiracism, leading educators deal with the most challenging questions about race in school, offering invaluable and effective advice.

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"As an artist, I strongly believe art has the capacity to touch the spirit, engage, educate, and heal in ways that words alone cannot."

- Carolyn L. Mazloomi
Bess Lomax Hawes National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow
The visual and metaphorical links between textiles and human beings are fertile ground for narrative quilts as statement. Every human being in the world has a "cradle to grave" relationship with textiles. Quilts articulate a powerful language of familiarity through which they may speak to and about our experience as human beings. I am drawn to vulnerable people - the disenfranchised, dispossessed, outsiders. The injustice and harsh realities of the daily lives of those in need motivate me to create artwork depicting their circumstances. These are people who deserved to be heard, seen and understood, especially women and children. My intention is to invite the viewer into contemplation and raise awareness concerning issues they may be unfamiliar with.

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Bess Lomax Hawes National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow The visual and metaphorical links between textiles and human beings are fertile ground for narrative quilts as statement. Every human being in the world has a "cradle to grave" relationship with textiles.

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by Shantay Robinson

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by Shantay Robinson
Modern Negro Art by James A. Porter Creating Their Own Image: The History of African American Women Artists by Lisa E. Farrington Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy by Robert Farris Thompson
Flash of the Spirit looks at five African civilizations, Yoruba, Kongo, Ejagham, Mande and Cross River, that have an impact on African American and other African Diasporic cultures through their music, textile, architecture, and religion. The rhythmic prose that make up the text are a poetic telling of a white man who had immersed himself in the aforementioned cultures for significant amounts of time in order to feel out the influences these civilizations had on African Diasporic cultures. Robert Farris Thompson has been a professor at Yale University since 1965 who specializes in African and the Afro-Atlantic world.
Black Art: A Cultural History by Richard J. Powell African American Art and Artists by Samella Lewis African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Right Era, and Beyond by Richard Powell and Virginia M. Mecklenburg
This text is a catalogue for the exhibition African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond that was organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It offers an overview essay of Twentieth-Century art by Richard J. Powell that anchors the ensuing artworks in a cultural context. The catalogue is primarily made up of the artworks found in the exhibition and biographies of the artists. This is a great coffee table book because the artworks are rich, vibrant reproductions.
We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women 1965-85 (A Sourcebook) Edited by Catherine Morris and Rujeko Hockley
This catalogue for the We Wanted a Revolution exhibition which was on view at the Brooklyn Museum in 2017, is an essentials source for the black woman arts movement started in 1965 with the Where We At? exhibition. This catalogue offers a look at black women's contributions in the form of written ephemera that spurred the arts movements that fought equality and equity in art institutions. While this is an exhibition catalogue, there aren't any images of art. More than the art that radical black women artists created, this text offers the written material they created to advance their movement. The essays included in the text are about the activism that black women participated in to make for a more equitable artworld.
African American Art: The Long Struggle by Crystal A. Britton Bearing Witness: Contemporary Works by African American Women Artists Curated by Jontyle Theresa Robinson Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art Curated by Thelma Golden
This text accompanies Thelma Golden's iconic exhibition Black Male: Representation of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art at the Whitney Museum of American art in 1994. This exhibition catalogue includes essays by leading critics of black culture including bell hooks, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Greg Tate, Kobena Mercer, Isaac Julien, and Tricia Rose. These essays speak to the black male experience and theorize about it. The text uses contemporary cultural events including the Rodney King incident and the Clarence Thomas hearings to deal with black masculinity in America. Though the catalogue relies more heavily on the essays about cultural events than it does on artworks, the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gordon Parks, and Spike Lee are discussed.
Collecting African American Art: Works on Paper and Canvas by Halima Taha How to See a Work of Art in Total Darkness by Darby English EyeMinded: Living and Writing Contemporary Art by Kellie Jones African-American Art by Sharon F. Patton The Art of History: African American Women Artists Engage the Past by Lisa Gail Collins
In The Art of History Collins places the artwork of African American women into context with African American history. What Collins does in particular is identify four problems that occur within African American womanhood and delineates how black women artist approach them. She examines these social and cultural problems by using the artwork of black women artists to see how they engage with issues largely faced when being a black woman in America. In this text, she looks at a range of artists from painters to photographers. Some artists Collins writes about in this text are Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, Renee Stout, and Alison Saar.

Sign up for our free email course on how to begin your collection.

Shantay Robinson, BAIA resident scholar has participated in Burnaway's Art Writers Mentorship Program, Duke University's The New New South Editorial Fellowship, and CUE Art Foundation's Art Critic Mentoring Program. She has written for Burnaway, ArtsATL, ARTS.BLACK, AFROPUNK, Number, Inc. and Washington City Paper. While receiving an MFA in Writing from Savannah College of Art and Design, she served as a docent at the High Museum of Art. She is currently working on a PhD in Writing and Rhetoric at George Mason University.

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Deloris and Eddie Young, Esther Silver-Parker, Eugene Foney, Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, National Black Arts Festival, Dr. Leslie Fields, Jim Nixon, Dr. Michael Butler, Matthew Putman, Grant Hill, Frank Frazier, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Joan Crisler, Dee Greer, March on Washington Film Festival, Danny Jenkins, Deborah L. McCullough, Ashlee Jacob, John and Melanie Guess, Tricia Konan, Michael Brinson, Dr. A. Holloway, Rosie Gordon-Wallace, Jeanette D Adeshote, Ja-Na Bordes, Rev. Anita Marshall, Tricia Konan, Robin King, Kerri L. Forrest, Nan, Thomas E. Rodgers, D. Lacy, Jeffery Washington, Brenda Larnell, Helen Oyekan, Jeffery Washington, Letashia Mosbey, Marian Darlington, Roslyn Valentine, Vyonne Diva, Ednarina Blake, Devera Redmond, Reginald Browne, Carla West, Beatrice, Longshore, Abimbola Thompson, Barbara Johnson, Beverly C Smith, Deborah R. Moore, Dr. Skyller Walkes, Ednarina BLAKE, Garr Parks, Gerald Carrington, Jae M, James B Wingo, Jocelyne Lamour, Kevin Smokler, Marion Zweig, Mary Ali-Masai, Michael J. Todd, Nan, Reg Pugh, Shannon DeVaney, Thomas E. Rogers, Tonya Pendleton, D Lacy, Noreen Winningham, Mason Archie, Jill Scott, Cari Jackson Lewis, Patrick Stewart, Rachel Corbray, Cecilia Winters-Morris, Christ Van Loan Sr., Romaine Roberts, Michael Jacobs, K.L. Martin, Gale Ross, Manuelita Brown, Annette, Jamal Love, Glenn Isaac Sr, M. Rasheed, Angela Williams, Dana Todd Pope, Terese L Hawkins, Mark Everett Sanders, Kirby L. Coleman, Harold Moore, Fredric Isler, Dr. R. Locke, Queen Brooks, Charles Bibbs, Diana Shannon Young, Dr. Yonette Thomas, M Belinda Tucker, Karen Y House, Runez M Bender, Duke Windsor, Cheryl Odeleye, Stephen Bennett, Shawn Rhea, Ethnie Weekes, Paul Robinson, Janice Orr, Patricia D Dungy, Jocelyn Benita Smith, Joan L. Ward, Garr Parks, Pamela Carter, Carlton Cotton, Diane R Miles, Jean Ann Durades, Luthetis Carey, Susan Ross, Harry F Banks, Shelia McNair, Lorna Conley, Shelley Byrd, DeLores M Dyer, Stefanie Fe Steele, Marjorie Hammock, Celestine Hinnant, ALKEBU LAN IMAGES Bookstore, Deborah Paige-Jackson, Desiree Dansan, Karen Pinzolo, Sonia Spencer, James Whitten, Shelley Danzy, Linda Eaddy, Wilhelmina Barker, Dorothy Massey, Annie Cheffers, Maddy Markland, Kaileigh Nelson, Kellyn Maguire, Cory Huff

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by Shantay Robinson Modern Negro Art by James A. Porter Creating Their Own Image: The History of African American Women Artists by Lisa E. Farrington Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy by Robert Farris Thompson Flash of the Spirit looks at five African civilizations, Yoruba, Kongo, Ejagham, Mande and Cross River, that have an impact on African American and other African Diasporic cultures through their music, textile, architecture, and religion.

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BLACK GIRLS WHO PAINT is a safe space and membership dedicated to Black women and girl painters - our art and our stories. Search our Directory for offered services, events, and available art for purchase from Black women painters across the globe.

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Rediscovering Black Gold: The Directory That Celebrated Golden Age Of Black Art

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TEACHING ARTISTRY & SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE DATABASE

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TEACHING ARTISTRY & SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE DATABASE

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by Teaching Artists Guild

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A note from the database project instigators, Tina and Robyne...

There are many ways to talk about teaching artistry and social justice.

- Many folks only look at who has access to arts learning as a social justice issue and seek more inclusion and opportunities for marginalized communities (POC, the elderly, the differently abled)... and sometimes leave it at that.

- You can also consider the content of materials and finished work, and have that artistic exploration and expression be specifically tied to culturally relevant / responsive and liberatory themes.

- Another way is to think about it is the foundational skills required for every teaching artist to build equity and anti-oppression into classroom culture, to ensure all students can show up in all their identities and engage creatively.

We speak to these ideas in the TAG quarterly (page 26).

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Social Justice Resource Database - Teaching Artists Guild

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A note from the database project instigators, Tina and Robyne... There are many ways to talk about teaching artistry and social justice. - Many folks only look at who has access to arts learning as a social justice issue and seek more inclusion and opportunities for marginalized communities (POC, the elderly, the differently abled)...

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No Going Back: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide

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No Going Back: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide

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If ever there was a moment for cultural strategy -- it's now. A global pandemic has magnified the flaws of our capitalist system, but, also, the power art and culture to uplift, disrupt and build community. The Center for Cultural Power offers #NoGoingBack: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide for Artists and Activists to meet the moment.

This illustrated resource points creators to ways they can make moving narratives that advance policy demands that are now within reach. It lays out frameworks and tools that support social change movements to harness the power of artists and culture makers in painting a picture of a more equitable and just future. It also highlights resources for artists who have been hard hit economically and professionally.

Check it out. No Going Back breaks down ways creators and movement groups might do the "what" and "how" of activation now and into the year ahead.

1. Core narratives to build stories, art and creations, with examples of what you might make

2. Concrete, actionable policies that you can support with your narratives (aligning vision with nuts and bolts)

3. Advice on how to put the guide into action

4. Resources for artists - financial, health, legal and others

We created this guide to inspire you to create and to disrupt. This is a guide for makers and doers - it will help you tell a shared story about who we can be in times of crisis and who we want to become. Jump in and start creating with us!

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No Going Back: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide

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If ever there was a moment for cultural strategy -- it's now. A global pandemic has magnified the flaws of our capitalist system, but, also, the power art and culture to uplift, disrupt and build community. The Center for Cultural Power offers #NoGoingBack: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide for Artists and Activists to meet the moment.