“I want to be Mexican like Dora!”; Creating meaning of my children’s identities, Part One

“I want to be Mexican like Dora!”; Creating meaning of my children’s identities, Part One

by Sachi Feris Like many children, my daughter’s first introduction to cartoon characters has been through marketing. She first met Dora, for example, on a band aid. A year ago, during a one-month stay in San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico, we…

What I tell my son about the sexist media

by guest blogger Janet Alperstein After attending “Fiddler on the Roof” my eight-year-old Jewish Day School-educated son, made it his business to memorize the verse about the sons in “Tradition:” “At three I started Hebrew school, at ten I learned…

My Family Builders: Talking race, gender and family structures

My Family Builders: Talking race, gender and family structures

by guest blogger Shannon Cofrin Gaggero Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are those of the author. I’m always on the hunt for children’s books and toys that are diverse and feature individuals and families beyond the typical “white-and-heterosexual-as-norm” narrative. We…

Five-year-old White kids can stand up and say “stop”; And so can police officers

by guest blogger Jennifer Harvey Dear White people, and particularly police officers and those who have police officers in their lives, I am White mother to my two White children. Now let me share a story: A few months ago, my nephew…

What I could have said: Addressing racial stereotypes in kindergarten

What I could have said: Addressing racial stereotypes in kindergarten

by guest blogger Courtney Woods It was just another moment in kindergarten, when the teacher (me) was ushering, begging, pleading that all the energetic and excited little bodies stop what they’re doing and come to the carpet for a story. There…

Preparing children for critical race consciousness: A resource for parents and teachers

Preparing children for critical race consciousness: A resource for parents and teachers

by guest blogger Dr. Elford Rawls-Dill, PhD  I can still remember reading the words penned by Paulo Freire, “…No one is born fully-formed: it is through self-experience in the world that we become what we are.” I first read these…

De-segregation is not enough: Why building strong, integrated schools matters

De-segregation is not enough: Why building strong, integrated schools matters

by Sahba Rohani At Community Roots Charter School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, where I work as the director of community development, we have ten years of experience running a purposefully integrated school. That’s been possible for a few reasons. Home…

Race conscious talk as a daily practice: A day with my 11-month old

Race conscious talk as a daily practice: A day with my 11-month old

by Sachi Feris This is an account of the daily opportunities I have to be race conscious versus “color blind” with my children. My 11-month-old baby loves ducks. So when he woke up fussy from a two-hour morning nap (on…

A Bed Time Routine for Black Lives Matter

A Bed Time Routine for Black Lives Matter

by guest blogger Chris Crass With my heart breaking throughout the day, learning more and more about #‎KorrynGaines‬, the latest Black women, the 9th this year, murdered by the police, I began preparing for my kids’ bed time routines. I sat…

The Value of Black Bodies: talking with my Black son about race based violence

The Value of Black Bodies: talking with my Black son about race based violence

by Lori Taliaferro Riddick This past weekend my family watched the start of NBA free agency, when NBA players choose their teams and as players moved to new cities, we watched fans display their indignation by burning jerseys. We have…