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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Talking about race, although hard, is necessary. We are here to provide tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversation.

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"I'm asking you to believe. Not in my ability to create change-but in yours." President Barack Obama

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources.

John Minchillo / Associated Press

Protesting the killing of George Floyd, a crowd gathers for a rally at Cadman Plaza Park in New York City on June 4, 2020.

"I'm a White educator, where do I start?"

"How can I help?"

"What if I get it wrong?"

Recent events have shaken me to my core, and the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd suggest that people across the country are similarly shaken. These are dark times, but if there's anything that seems like a glimmer of light to me at the moment, it's the fact that so many teachers are reflecting on how to fight racism:

For me, a Black educator and mother to a Black 16-year-old who has reached the appearance if not the legal age of manhood, these questions stir hope. Folks who don't look like me are embracing the idea that the fight for equity has to be everyone's fight. But fighting racism is a big job, and when the fires of outrage cool, we teachers will be confronted with the reality of planning deadlines, testing schedules, and another hundred things that are all in a day's work. The difficult work of equity may become just another item on a desk crowded with to-do lists.

What Can Teachers Do?

The answer, an old joke: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, of course-and achieving equity is no different. Take small bites that can have big impact and don't worry about getting it wrong sometimes, as you inevitably will. If you keep going, you can do something that brings about change.

Reading: Even if you only have 10 minutes, you can learn something to help you create a more equitable classroom. Websites like Teaching Tolerance, the NEA's EdJustice, and KQED's Mindshift feature resources for lesson planning as well as lessons for you as a teacher. Teaching Tolerance is the perfect place to start, whether you want to use bias-free language to teach tolerance through reading with young learners or plan a social action campaign with high school students.

In addition to a rich collection of K-12 classroom resources, the website features self-guided PD, on-demand webinars, and podcasts that may enable you to earn a certificate-check with your administration first. Those can easily be broken up into small chunks of time. And note that many of the site's feature articles list recommended actions at the bottom.

If your goal is to understand the Black community better, sites designed for Black audiences like The Root, The Undefeated, and Huffington Post's Black Voices are good places to start. These non-mainstream media outlets feature content by minority and minority-supporting journalists. You'll find content on topics not covered in mainstream media, like coverage of historically Black colleges and universities, news about Black brands and influencers, and stories like this one on MIT's first Black female student body president in its 159-year history. If you're teaching Black children who are generally inundated by media that does not reflect them, these are priceless ways you can enrich your current events and show-and-tell circles.

Watching: You can improve your cultural competence and learn about Black Lives Matter by watching " 4 Black Lives Matter Myths Debunked" on YouTube, which will answer quite a few questions on social justice issues, probably including some you didn't even know you had. And if you want help in having real discussions on complex issues with young children, the YouTube show LivingRoomProtest will lead you through conversations on being Black, politics, pride, and even death and the afterlife-try the episode " Education Is a Human Right " for starters.

If you want entertainment with a cultural component, Netflix has a host of shows that cater to a Black audience, as well as original content that regularly features diverse character lineups. Hulu has not only a small curated selection of Black Stories but also six seasons of the binge-worthy, socially conscious Black-ish and its spin-off prequel Mixed-ish. While Black-ish might be a little campy, it tackles real issues surrounding racism, bias, and social justice issues that arise within the Black community.

Taking action: For the civic-minded, the Kellogg Foundation has put together a website that lets you create your own personal plan to support, donate, or volunteer in the way you find most relevant. This site can help you focus your attention on one or two civic tasks with broader impact.

Social action is also a great way to involve students, which multiplies your impact. You can teach students how to write emails or letters by asking them to write to your local government in favor of policy changes banning the eight most deadly policing strategies listed at 8 Can't Wait, which has ideas on how to call or email your government yourself-there's a script you can use or adapt.

Looking within: Finally, and perhaps most importantly, take inventory of your feelings. It's normal to be most comfortable around people who are like you. It's just not good when that makes you and those like you an "us" and those who aren't like you a "them." Use a journal to sort through your personal feelings on racism or read books that provide perspective on systemic inequities and bias. These long-haul strategies will produce change in you while you take more immediate action in other ways.

The devastating events of the last days have left me shaken. I have felt anger, fear, grief-so many emotions. But I have also felt buoyed by the great outpouring of support from my less melanated colleagues who want to listen, learn, and find out how to do better. So many of them are already doing amazing things with diverse students. This piece is dedicated to them. They give me hope that this time, we will fight racism together and bring about lasting change.

Don't stop now. How do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time.

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources. John Minchillo / Associated Press Protesting the killing of George Floyd, a crowd gathers for a rally at Cadman Plaza Park in New York City on June 4, 2020.

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Journal for students to write about anything they are feeling. A free, private space to express themselves

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Journal for students to write about anything they are feeling. A free, private space to express themselves

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Penzu is a free online diary and personal journal focused on privacy. Easily keep a secret diary or a private journal of notes and ideas securely on the web.

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Dr. Martin Luther King - Black Is Beautiful!

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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The phrase "black is beautiful" referred to a broad embrace of black culture and identity. It called for an appreciation of the black past as a worthy legacy, and it inspired cultural pride in contemporary black achievements.

In its philosophy, "Black is beautiful" focused also on emotional and psychological well-being. The movement affirmed natural hairstyles like the "Afro" and the variety of skin colors, hair textures, and physical characteristics found in the African American community.

Pride and Power
Black Americans donned styles connected to African heritage. Using a grooming tool like an Afro pick customized with a black fist was a way to proudly assert political and cultural allegiance to the Black Power movement.

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Black is Beautiful: The Emergence of Black Culture and Identity in the 60s and 70s

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The phrase "black is beautiful" referred to a broad embrace of black culture and identity. It called for an appreciation of the black past as a worthy legacy, and it inspired cultural pride in contemporary black achievements. In its philosophy, "Black is beautiful" focused also on emotional and psychological well-being.

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Not Racist' Is Not Enough: Putting In The Work To Be Anti-Racist

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Not Racist' Is Not Enough: Putting In The Work To Be Anti-Racist

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Anti-Racism Resources for Students, Educators, and Others

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Anti-Racism Resources: As you reflect on the current and ongoing racism in our country, we hope that these resources will help you reflect on and process the current moment.

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Black Leaders Work to Solve 3 Educational Issues Essential To Their Community

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School Discipline and Girls' Pushout in Education

We often talk about how school discipline policies disproportionately harm Black men and boys, but Black women and girls also suffer under these discipline policies, says Nia Evans, the campaign manager for education at the National Women's Law Center, a nonprofit founded in 1972 that advocates for women's rights through litigation and policy initiatives.

One of the greatest threats to Black girls' right to receive an equitable education is school disciplinary policies that actively or subconsciously target Black women and push them out of the classroom. The concept of "pushout" was developed by Monique Morris, a Black feminist scholar who wrote Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. "Black women sit on the intersection of both race and gender, so they have to deal with all the stereotypes and struggles that accompany racism and sexism," Nia explains.

Nationally, Black girls are more than six times more likely to be suspended than white girls, even though there is no evidence of Black girls misbehaving more in school than their peers. The offenses that lead to girls being pushed out of the classroom through suspensions are both minor and subjective in nature. These can include infractions such as being "loud," wearing hair in so-called "unkempt" styles, or wearing clothing that "distracts boys."

But educators and school leaders can begin to put a stop to this by analyzing their school discipline policies--especially those policies that dictate hair and dress code. NWLC works with school leaders and educators to evaluate their schools' discipline codes and help identify and change biased language. The nonprofit also developed the " Let Her Learn Tool Kit," which helps teachers, parents, students evaluate their school discipline policies and identify red flags

NWLC and Teach For America's Black Community Alliances are currently working together to train and mobilize teachers around the issue of Black girls' pushout in education.

"These conversations are hard, because people don't go into education to push kids out. Confronting your own internalized biases that can contribute to push out is difficult--even for educators of color," Nia says. "But these are biases that we all hold, so being able to evaluate them and unlearn them is really important. All teachers need to ask the question: 'How can we do better by girls? How can we do better by Black girls?'"

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Black Leaders Work to Solve 3 Educational Issues Essential To Their Community | Teach For America

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This Black History Month, we're highlighting our partnerships with the National Women's Law Center around school discipline reform and Black girls' school pushout, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity around educational access and opportunity for Black men and boys, and UNCF around college access and the continued importance of historically black colleges and universities.

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This is the fourth in a series of blog posts that the American Psychological Association (APA) will publish regarding racial/ethnic socialization practices, programs, and approaches. APA is putting together a clearinghouse of resources to help parents/caregivers to protect youth of color and themselves from the psychological damage of discrimination and racism. For more information regarding APA's new initiative and to provide feedback as we continue to engage in this series, please visit: www.apa.org/pi/res

By Chelsea Derlan, PhD (Asst. Professor of Developmental Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University)
In their daily lives, children receive many direct and subtle messages involving their racial-ethnic background from others:

"But how can he be your dad? You don't match."

"You should put on sunscreen because you don't want to get too dark."

"I always thought Black people couldn't swim. You act White though, maybe that's it."

Although we cannot control every interaction our child has with others, what we can do is build up positive messages that influence the effect these interactions have on them. For example, what if we had engaged in racial-ethnic socialization (RES) that involved the following messages:

"You are such a perfect mix of mine and your fathers' cultures."

"You have beautiful brown skin. I love how you get darker in the sun."

"Your ancestors are Black kings and queens. You can do anything you put your mind to."

The RES we provide can have profound effects on our children's well-being. Here are a few tips:
1. RES is important for all children.
It is important that we talk about race-ethnicity with children - all children. A recent ethnic-racial identity intervention study provided an opportunity for teenagers to explore their culture and develop a clearer sense of what their ethnicity-race meant to them. Participating had positive effects on youth from all racial-ethnic backgrounds.

As caregivers, we can set up similar opportunities by providing a space for our children to ask questions, process, and learn. Given our unique histories and everyday realities, we will want to tailor messages based on our children's specific culture and experiences. For example, we might choose to prepare children for bias they may encounter, highlight stories of their ancestors, or build pride in their appearance. For ideas and activities, check out 25 mini-films for exploring race-ethnicity.
2. It is never too early to start.
Caregivers often wonder when it is the right time to begin RES. The answer is that it is never too early to start. Research tells us that by kindergarten, many children already know what their race-ethnicity is, and use race-ethnicity as a way to understand themselves and others. We know that when caregivers engage in RES it has positive effects on children's academics, behavior, and language skills.

An important thing to keep in mind is to craft messages so they make sense to children based on their age and level of understanding. Very young children tend to focus on the parts of culture that they can see, such as skin tone and hair. For example, with Black children, you might start with books or videos that highlight how all hair is good hair, skin comes in lots of wonderful shades, or that feature Black boys and Black girls as main characters. Sometimes it is easiest to simply start talking, and other times it is helpful to read a book or watch a video, and then build a conversation afterwards.
3. Don't give up!
Despite our most dedicated efforts, there will be times when children question and/or disagree with our teachings.

I came across an article in which a mother wrote about a time when her daughter said: "Mommy, I don't want to be Black like you." A fter talking to her daughter she realized that

"... it wasn't that my daughter didn't want to be Black, she was simply struggling to deal with her perception and understanding of who she is. Realistically, I know how the world will view her, and I can't shield her from it. What I can do is make sure she knows who she is, that she is loved, and that she loves herself, fully."

Although times like these can be discouraging, we can't give up. We have to listen, and remember that the ways our children are understanding and interpreting their experiences may not always match our own.

RES is a process that involves many lessons over time. As children have different experiences, new things will pop up. Our goal is to create a support system so they know there is someone they can go to who will talk and/or listen. It is about planting those positive seeds for them that they can water when they need to. It is an opportunity for us to show our children love and compassion, to help them understand themselves, and to prepare for a better tomorrow with our children today!
Learn more:
Start healthy conversations about race/ethnicity with your kids today. Download APA's RESilience Parent Tip Tool
Biography:
Chelsea Derlan, PhD, is an assistant professor of developmental psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Broadly, her work examines how risk factors (e.g., discrimination) and resilience factors (e.g., cultural socialization) inform ethnic-racial minority youths' positive psychological, academic, and health outcomes. Guided by cultural ecological models, she considers the role of family, school, and other key contexts. Her research is focused in two main areas:

(a) assessing what young children understand and feel about their culture (i.e., ethnic-racial identification), and how this plays a role in development, and

(b) examining the interplay between individual and contextual factors as they inform adolescents' ethnic-racial identity and adjustment.
Image source: iStockPhoto.com

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3 Essential Tips to Help All Kids to Embrace Their Race and Ethnicity

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It is important that we talk about race-ethnicity with children - all children. A recent ethnic-racial identity intervention study provided an opportunity for teenagers to explore their culture and develop a clearer sense of what their ethnicity-race meant to them. Participating had positive effects on youth from all racial-ethnic backgrounds.

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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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This board is to help students feel comfortable in their own skin and embrace who they are.  As educators we need to be aware of racism in schools and know how to go about making our students feel welcome no matter their racial background. It is particularly critical to bring awareness to this issue in the middle childhood age because students are really developing how they see the world at this stage in life. The resources provided will give students information on how to handle racism and emotional stressors along with  how to go about embracing themselves.