Parent & Employee Resources:

Speaking with Children and Youth about Race and Racism 

JUNIOR SCHOOL RESOURCES
Common Sense Media has a useful article for parents on How to Talk with Kids About Racism and Racial Violence as well as a recently recorded panel conversation with child-development experts on Helping Kids Process Violence, Trauma, and Race in a World of Nonstop News.

ALSO WORTH READING:

• 8 Tips for Talking to Your Child About Racial Injustice
• For our youngest learners, Sesame Street in Communities has a specific page on racial justice. There are resources including workshops, articles and videos.
• Anti-Racism for Kids 101: Starting to Talk About Race. This site has tips and principles for starting conversation, including some book titles.
• 10 Tips for Teaching & Talking with Kids About Race 
• How to Talk to Kids About Racism: An Age-by-Age Guide
• Want to Disrupt Racism? Change Your Everyday Behaviour
• Talking to Kids About Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News

BOOK, PODCAST & VIDEO:

• Something Happened in Our Town (YouTube reading of the book - 8 minutes)
• Talking Race With Young Children (NPR)
• The Agenda with Steve Paikin: Diversity, Not So Black & White - Shakil Choudhury (2015)

BOOKLISTS:

• Anti-Racist Books: The JS Library Team has curated an online collection of picture books, chapter books and non-fiction books for students. There are only a few picture books on this list. For more picture books, please see the Epic Book List below or the other recommended lists for more ideas. To access these books, login to Sora via Clever or via your Sora app.
• Epic Booklist: Start a Conversation About Race  
• Anti-Defamation League booklist: This list has over 800 titles divided by category and then by age.
• Books About Racism and Social Justice - Common Sense Media

5 WAYS PARENTS CAN REDUCE RACIAL BIAS IN THEIR CHILDREN: Parenting & Family, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley

1. Expose children to positive images of racialized people
2. Help your kids develop cross-group friendships
3. Cultivate cross-group friendships yourself
4. Talk explicitly about race and the effects of racism
5. Work to combat biases yourself

SENIOR AND MIDDLE SCHOOL RESOURCES
SELF-CARE RESOURCES: Branksome Hall’s self-care toolkit or the Girl’s Leadership Emotional First Aid Kit. You can also explore these resources for yourself, or together with youth.

ABOUT THE DEREK CHAUVIN MURDER TRIAL AND FACILITATING CONVERSATIONS:

• What to Know About the Trial of Derek Chauvin (NYTimes)
• How Parents Can Talk to their Children About the Derek Chauvin Verdict (USA Today)
• Supporting the Black Community: Resources for Stronger Allyship (HubSpot.com)
• Guilty on All Counts: Derek Chauvin (Universe - Parlay)

OTHER THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO READ:

• Sometimes it helps to read an article from a teacher’s perspective to help think about your space before developing a lesson. Here is an article that not only provides reasons for having these conversations, but also ideas on starting the conversation in your classroom: Learning for Justice—Don't Say Nothing.