Created by: Alyssa Tocci and Sadie Elliott-Hart
Children notice and are shaped by our racialized realities at a young age. As caregivers, mentors, and church family, we need to help children understand the realities of racism and develop a positive racial identity from a Biblical perspective. One of the first steps to doing this is to learn how to talk to young people about race and expose them to race-related conversations. See below for resources to help you talk to children about racism.
Organizations
Wee The People (WTP) is a Boston-based social justice project founded by two Black mothers with the mission of engaging kids in topics of activism and social change through dance, movement, storytelling, and the arts. Their programming is aimed at children ages 4 to 12 and is rooted in the core WTP values: empathy, equity, racial justice, and social justice. WTP also hosts workshops and seminars for parents to strategize and prepare for challenging conversations with their children. Their goal is “to create high-impact, celebratory experiences that promote uncomfortable conversations parents often avoid with young children.”
Raising Race Conscious Kids is designed for adults learning to talk to children about race, diversity, and justice. Their primary media are blog posts, webinars, and workshops, created to equip parents and caregivers for conversations that prepare young people to work for racial justice. Many of their resources are aimed at White people, but “a community of guest bloggers represent diverse backgrounds and the strategies discussed may be helpful for all.”
Raising Little Allies To Be by @wanderandwonder.studio
Raising Little Allies to Be is a free resource available in pdf form created to facilitate conversations between caregivers and children. It includes book suggestions, activities such as drawing and writing, and opportunities for questions and reflections.
Diversify Their Imagination by @thedignityeffect
Diversify Their Imagination is an Instagram Live series from The Dignity Effect, a page founded by Nya S. Abernathy that promotes peacemaking and social-emotional wellness for families. This resource and reflection series is designed to engage parents in dialogue regarding raising children with an “anti-racist, equality- & empathy-focused worldview.”
Podcast
Coffee + Crumbs Episode 51: Talking With Kids About Race with Tasha Morrison
In this episode, host Indiana Adams and guest Tasha Morrison, author of Be the Bridge, discuss conversations about race with children and leading by example in the fight for racial justice. Several key points that Tasha addresses are the difference between diversity and racial reconciliation, being ‘color brave’ versus color blind, and equipping children to stand up against injustice.
Articles
“How to talk to your children about protests and racism” by Sandee LaMotte, CNN
Written in the wake of George Floyd’s death, this article provides parents with steps to help their children understand recent racial events as well as more general guidelines for talking to kids about race. It provides descriptions of various age groups' development stages and suggestions about what kind of conversations are appropriate and productive to help children understand race and racism.
Books
Diverse Bookfinder is a unique database created to help users find children’s picture books that feature Black and Indigenous people and People of Color. Their comprehensive collection includes all depictions featuring BIPOC characters published or distributed in the US since 2002, making it an excellent resource to explore and borrow books that represent a range of experiences and identities.
Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race is a book about race and racism to read with children ages 3-5. Filled with vibrant illustrations, engaging questions, and tips for parents on how to continue the conversation, this book provides a helpful onramp to start a developmentally appropriate conversation with your little ones.
The Gospel in Color: A Theology of Racial Reconciliation for Parents and The Gospel in Color: A Theology of Racial Reconciliation for Kids explain race, racism and reconciliation from a Biblical perspective. The parent’s version is written with the goal of equipping parents to educate their children, and the kids’ version is designed to facilitate conversations between kids and parents. Both books make complex ideas accessible with engaging illustrations and text, and celebrate the power of the gospel to bring reconciliation.
Family Guides
These guides come in different versions aimed at different family identities and give both an education for caregivers and curriculum to use with children. They are downloadable books that can be read at any pace. You can purchase and read more about the three different guides here. You can also learn more about how to use these guides on Naomi or LaNesha’s blogs or Instagram accounts.
For more teaching children anti-racism tools, click here.
Take Action
If you are interested in Staying Connected to Alyssa and others Who Are Passionate about teaching children anti-racism, click Below.
Alyssa Tocci is an apostolic leader of a house church network in Boston. She is responsible for the launching of multiple expressions of local church in the city. She has been involved in a variety of other ministry roles since 2010. She is a fruitful ministry coach for children's ministry leaders, disciple making movements, and domestic church planting. Alyssa has two boys and lives in Roxbury.