We’re Not Born Racist. We Learn It. Teach Your Children to Learn the Right Thing.
Discussing racism and discrimination is treated as a shunned taboo topic when it is an unfortunate everyday reality. Not being proactive about your children’s knowledge on these topics puts them at great danger
“Racism thrives in silence. When we refuse to talk about race at an early age, children absorb our silence as shame. We’re taught that if we have nothing nice to say — say nothing at all. Well — white folks are aggressively silent when it comes to race! Does that mean that being Brown or Black is something to be ashamed of?
Kids pick up when we refuse to acknowledge racial difference — and how we treat people of color. Why are we surprised then, to see nice, well-behaved children reflect unconscious bias against people of color, then grow into adults who blame people of color for violence and harm against them? We can help our children understand racism — and empower them to work toward racial equality.”
“ Adults often worry that introducing these topics too early could be harmful [and] early childhood educators who wish to make space for learning about race and racism in their classrooms may feel unprepared to approach these complex issues” However, “multiple studies document the ways that young children take notice of racial differences and note that as early as preschool, children may begin excluding their peers of different races from play and other activities.” Here’s a resource on being an educator or parent of children and how to begin to move in the right direction:
This CNN article segments how to have these necessary and sometimes uncomfortable conversations by age group:
“Pretty Good’s purpose is to make good information easier to understand and share on social media” by making infographics and blog posts.
“The Unity channel highlights stories from underrepresented groups, along with titles to help children better understand how to process their feelings during these significant times.”
If you prefer to go back to an old reliable, PBS, here are their resources on navigating these important conversations:
Hopefully, with these, along with Google.com, you can feel equipped to start building a better world. The future is the youth but what kind of future does that look like if the youth are not being raised with the information that they need to know?
