Repeated in our history far too many times, racism is one of the biggest challenges we face. How can we ensure that our children don’t fall prey to this source of hatred and divisiveness? How do we break this vicious cycle of systemic inequality?

While this is truly a daunting task with deeply embedded roots, I wanted to share some resources that may be helpful in initiating conversations with our children. Obviously, this is by no means a comprehensive list….

The Colors of Us: A children’s book written by Karen Katz that celebrates not only the similarities, but more importantly, the differences that connect all people. We have read this book to all our children countless times since our oldest was a toddler. A book I will hold onto for my grandchildren.

Teaching Tolerance: Like most everything they provide for students, Scholastic does a fantastic job providing stories, questions and conversation starters on various topics. This particular one works on teaching tolerance to children through story.

Tolerance.org: A great resource on race and ethnicity. Provides tools to build positive identity formation while encouraging students to confront racial and ethnic injustices. It can help facilitate discussions and has lesson plans for preparing kiddos to live and work together in a diverse world.

Edutopia: A George Lucas Foundation that dedicates itself to transforming K-12 education so that all students can acquire knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives. Their topic, Teaching Young Children About Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice was insightful.

Beyond the Golden Rule: A Teaching Tolerance Publication is a parent’s guide to preventing and responding to prejudice. Having tough conversations like racial injustice and discrimination isn’t always easy. This guide helps you with those conversations. It is written by Dana Williams Illustrations by Vincent Nguyen.

I hope you find these resources helpful to you and your family. Let me know of other resources you found helpful so we can share with others. In the meantime, remember that we are all humans - let’s love one another and look at each other as brothers and sisters. Hugs!