Seek out and try new recipes from different communities, read poetry and fiction by/about Black/Indigenous/People of Color. In the midst of all this self education, which can at times feel so heavy, take some time to learn about and savor the beauty, joy and resilience found in non-white cultures. Freedom’s Daughters: Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement by Lynne Olsen.Uncivil podcast (looks at the untold stories of the American Civil War). Some of my favorite history resources include: Knowing a bit more about what came before now can also help you find quality picture books (more on that in a later post) and find exciting heroes like Ron McNair or Claudette Colvin to share with children. It is, however, helpful to have some context. While you do not need a PhD in history to have honest and thoughtful conversations about race and racism with four year olds. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (also available in downloadable audiobook through the Columbus Metropolitan Library).On Being’s interview with Eula Biss (author of the essay White Debt).While there are countless resources that could work for you, here are the three that helped me make sense of my own position and complicity within the systems of racism: White supremacy isn’t something “those bad people over there do,” It’s in the air and water and laws and systems that make our daily life. In other words, racism is a White people problem.ĭid that last sentence make you feel a bit uncomfortable? Good! THAT is the place to start-by reckoning with your own privilege and unearthing how White supremacist thinking shows up in you. I feel okay about this for two reasons-one, I can only ever be true to my own experience and two, systems of oppression are for the oppressor, not the oppressed, to dismantle. Before going further, I do want to offer a few very big caveats: because self-reflection is by definition personal, because my own life has been lived as a White person, and because White privilege allowed me to live most of my life without thinking about racism, a lot of the resources I will be sharing will be especially relevant to White parents and educators just getting started. The more your own anti-racist work is grounded in self-reflection and knowing/understanding the forces behind systemic racism, the more comfortable and confident you will be in approaching every conversation with the children in your care, whatever your context. Our approach to anti-racist work with young children at CMA is to begin with ourselves-with some honest self reflection and ongoing self-education. But with something as big and heavy as racism, where do you even begin? There is no “too young” to start talking about race and racism with children.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |