Choosing a school that will help my child dismantle systemic racism and White supremacy

Choosing a school that will help my child dismantle systemic racism and White supremacy

by guest blogger Cathy Rion Starr This post is part of a week-long series highlighting supporters of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), both in their parenting of race-conscious children and their activist work for racial justice. SURJ is a…

A is for Anti-Racism

by guest blogger Amy Dudley This post is part of a week-long series highlighting supporters of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), both in their parenting of race-conscious children and their activist work for racial justice. SURJ is a national…

“Mom, why did God create matching?”

“Mom, why did God create matching?”

by guest blogger Lauren Jordan We took the 18 hour flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in December of 2009. EJ was just seven months old when we first saw him. We knew we owed it to him to be the…

It’s time to make race talk more common and less awkward

It’s time to make race talk more common and less awkward

by guest blogger Brigitte Vittrup, Ph.D. Back in October I participated in one of the Raising Race Conscious Children webinars, and it was great to see the interest and willingness of parents (and a few teachers) to explore the issue…

We cannot walk alone: The White parent’s role in ending racism

We cannot walk alone: The White parent’s role in ending racism

by guest blogger Katie Nachman Recently, after seeing a very hurtful video making the rounds on social media, I impulsively posted a response video of my own White daughters with the Black American Girl dolls they received for Christmas. My…

White lies we tell our children

White lies we tell our children

by guest blogger Colin Stokes I was driving my family through a part of Boston we don’t usually traffic, and I heard my ten-year-old daughter from the back seat: “Why do so many Black people live in this neighborhood?” I…

The N-word and my daughter

by guest blogger Martha Haakmat I woke up this morning thinking about what it means to raise race conscious children, and how some of us have no choice. I am sure this is on my mind heavily because I am…

Windows and mirrors: Reading diverse books with young children

Windows and mirrors: Reading diverse books with young children

by guest blogger Georgia Lobban Less than a year ago, my daughter (then four-years-old) expressed a dislike for her hair and skin as compared to the characters see often enjoys in books. “Mommy, my hair looks so silly!” or “Am…

Transparency about the lack of racial diversity in children’s books

by guest blogger Sarah Halter Hahesy I am a White educator of third grade students in Brookline, Massachusetts. I teach in public school within a very wealthy and somewhat diverse population. Our minority enrollment is 41% (mostly Asian, and only…

"Why Didn't Her Real Mom Want Her?"

“Why Didn’t Her Real Mom Want Her?”

by guest blogger Kathleen Dennehy I’m standing by this ice cream trough, which is maybe 20 feet long, narrow and silver- just like a gutter one might put on a house. But this gutter is lined with aluminum foil and filled…