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…

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What (Colors) Do You See?"

“Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What (Colors) Do You See?”

by Sachi Feris I have been reading the book, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?” by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle for over a decade to my kindergarten Spanish students (“Oso pardo, oso pardo, que ves ahi?”)….

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…

My daughter’s charmed life and her contact with the service industry

My daughter’s charmed life and her contact with the service industry

by Sachi Feris As a White, upper middle class woman, my contact with the service industry provides a constant reminder that the legacy of slavery is inextricably connected to our present-day reality. I live near a block that houses a…

Explaining “race” versus skin color to my three-year-old

Explaining “race” versus skin color to my three-year-old

by Sachi Feris Since we often talk about skin color, I wasn’t surprised when my daughter, while sitting on a bench in San Cristóbal, Mexico the other day, noted that her baby brother’s skin color is pinker and paler than…

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…

In light of Spring Valley (Part Two): Activism, the police, and my three-and-a-half-year-old

In light of Spring Valley (Part Two): Activism, the police, and my three-and-a-half-year-old

by Sachi Feris Almost a year ago, when I was launching Raising Race Conscious Children, I wrote a post about what I would say to my future four-year-old about Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Well, my daughter is almost three-and-a-half…

In light of Spring Valley (Part One): Race, board books, and my 5-day-old baby

In light of Spring Valley (Part One): Race, board books, and my 5-day-old baby

by Sachi Feris I often get comments from readers of Raising Race Conscious Children, who have babies or young, pre-verbal children. These parents tell me that they are interested in this work, but feel it is a little early to be talking about race. This is not meant as a defensive posture…

The problem with “Curious George”

The problem with “Curious George”

by Sachi Feris The Spanish version of the original “Curious George” found its way to our bookshelf via hand-me-downs and my three-year-old daughter discovered it after diligently searching for a “new, new, new book that I’ve never, ever read.” It’s…