by Karisa Cole
Resources for parents and children learning how to actively support racial justice.
Recent protests in our communities, and throughout the country, remind us of the systemic injustices that have permeated our nation’s culture, politics, and economics for generations. The scope of changes required can be overwhelming and leave many wondering what they can do to effect change. As we reflect on our own education and environment and ponder ways to have courageous conversations with our children, it can help to know that there are resources to help. Change will not come overnight, and our efforts must be enduring. While the following list of resources is not an exhaustive, it is a guide for where you can begin based on where you are currently.
TEACH
- Why Talk About Whiteness?
- Teaching Tolerance designed for ages 5 & under
- Teaching Tolerance designed for ages 6+
READ
For Kids & Tweens
- An Activity Book for African American Families: Helping Children Cope with Crisis
- The ABCs of Diversity: Helping Kids (and Ourselves!) Embrace Our Differences by Carolyn B. Helsel and Y. Joy Harris-Smith
- Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD, and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP
- Resist: 35 Profiles of Ordinary People Who Rose Up Against Tyranny and Injustice by Veronica Chambers
For Teens
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Making It Right: Building Peace, Settling Conflict by Marilee Peters
- Tell Me Who You Are: Sharing Our Stories of Race, Culture, & Identity by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi
- No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row by Susan Kuklin
For Adults
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
LISTEN
For Kids & Tweens
- But Why? A Podcast for Curious Kids: In this episode the host has a discussion about race and racism with the authors of ABCs of Diversity, Y. Joy Harris-Smith and Carolyn Helsel.
For Teens
- This American Life Podcast: Burn It Down: In this episode we hear the story of a fire department that gets a new boss who starts a war with his own firefighters to change their macho, racist culture.
For Parents
FOLLOW
- The Conscious Kid: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- NAACP: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
DONATE
- The Bail Project – Join our thousands of donors who are helping post bail for people who can’t afford it, reuniting families, and restoring the presumption of innocence – one person at a time.
- Black Lives Matter – Support the movement and ongoing fight to end state-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever.
CARE
- How Black Americans can practice self-care during these trying times. And how everyone else can help them by Elizabeth Wellington | The Philadelphia Inquirer (June 4, 2020)
- Talking About Race: Self-Care | National Museum of African American History & Culture/Smithsonian
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
– Barack Obama
