“Why bring it up?” Pushing back against White supremacy

“Why bring it up?” Pushing back against White supremacy

by Sachi Feris The other day, my dad was showing my children a video of his wife’s daughter’s circus performance and my three-year-old asked, “Are they girls or boys?” “They look like they’re wearing costumes that ‘girls’ more commonly use…but…

Reading race: Pro-active conversations with young children

Reading race: Pro-active conversations with young children

by guest blogger Sarah Bender Miller Children’s books have been an incredibly important part of my parenting journey. Not only have books helped me answer questions, bond with my children, expand world views, and start conversations, but books have also…

Vegas, Charlottesville, and Remembering Hope

Vegas, Charlottesville, and Remembering Hope

by guest blogger Martha Haakmat Watching the news about Las Vegas over the last week or so, I remembered spending the final week of summer vacation with family in Maine, watching the news every evening about the terrorism of White…

"I wish I were Black": Talking about White privilege with my six-year-old

“I wish I were Black”: Talking about White privilege with my six-year-old

by guest blogger Ruthie Vincill As a child playing in the ocean, I was taught about the undertow and its power to sneak up on you. As a White child (and beneficiary of White privilege), I was not, however, taught…

What Charlottesville means for our Black family

What Charlottesville means for our Black family

by Lori Taliaferro Riddick A few weeks ago my family and I visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D. C. As we walked to the museum from our car, my husband warned my children…

“Who is directly impacted?”; Learning to be an effective White activist with my nine-year-old

“Who is directly impacted?”; Learning to be an effective White activist with my nine-year-old

by guest blogger Sarae Pacetta I’m the White, cisgender (defined as when one’s gender corresponds to their assigned sex) mother of a White child, and a preschool teacher in Columbus, Ohio. I live with my partner and our nine-year-old, who…

In honor of May Day: Challenging conversations about domestic work

In honor of May Day: Challenging conversations about domestic work

by guest blogger Makeba Sergeant Rasin When my son was younger, talking about race felt simple. I’d read “Whose Knees Are These,” with my one-year-old and then coo, afterwards, about how beautiful his brown skin is; his brown knees, toes,…

Using books to jump-start family conversations on race

Using books to jump-start family conversations on race

by guest blogger Andrew Maraniss When my kindergartner learned our family would be marching in Nashville’s Martin Luther King Day parade, she knew just what she wanted to carry: the MLK poster she had created in her art class. We…

Trump and the Muslim ban: A conversation with my eight-year-old

Trump and the Muslim ban: A conversation with my eight-year-old

by guest blogger Michael Loeb My daughter is eight years old and lives with me, Michael Loeb, a NYCDOE administrator, and Julia Davis, a civil rights attorney, in Brooklyn. This conversation was part of an ongoing attempt to help my…

My daughter asked me what Black Lives Matter meant. Here’s what I said…

My daughter asked me what Black Lives Matter meant. Here’s what I said…

by guest blogger Allison Kenny I am a White woman married to a Black woman raising a mixed race girl. We adopted her through the foster care system as a six-year-old. Conversations about race are something I am learning to…