Raising Our Children to be Anti-Racist

Our commitment to dismantle white supremacy and live into a world where Black Lives Matter begins within our own hearts and at home. Thanks to the commitment of the Racial Justice Task Force here at UUCP, this month I am participating in an online workshop with the Center for the Study of White American Culture called “Raising Anti-racist White Children”.  Studies show that long before kindergarten children learn racial biases. This is often not because they were taught bias at home but often because conversations about race, specifically in white families, are not happening at home.

What are these conversations you ask?

Well that is a good part of what I’ll be learning in this webinar and sharing with you. I commit to do so because our work to be anti-racist is deeply spiritual work. Our UU ancestors believed our call was to “create heaven here on earth” and “heaven” is a place where we are realized fully equal in the Spirit of Life and Love. To start us off, I am sharing the following Story Times, Lessons, Podcasts,  Texts and Music as resources for you to use in your conversations with the children in your life right now:

Stories & Videos for Children and Their Grown-Ups

  • The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul (not specifically about race, but about how children feel the emotions their grown-ups feel and how they try to make sense of them) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-U3lF5Ei_E
  • Woke Read Alouds: Wings by Christopher Myers (put together by Woke Kindergarten, a fantastic lesson-based reading for younger children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgVgZVBS-oY&fbclid=IwAR1bY7ykyHYvufBVPmzrcsc_OyANd_YpeAIBaRUfqzk2wVODU0WMkWtsT2Y
  • Sesame Street explains Black Lives Matter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBUFcv0y0yk
  • Black Parents Explain How to Deal with the Police | Cut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coryt8IZ-DE
  • Animation Series: Something Happened In Our Town by Marianne Celano (directly addresses the killing of black person by police officer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcOhOFGcWm8&fbclid=IwAR0z-OXkPlZZGZJogDfTiyKAK3nSXv5v1mueY46IZg-jXDsMvLYk_MSQj6I

●   Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YJW445R/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

ADULT AUDIO

●   How White Parents Can Talk To Their Kids About Race, NPR https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/869071246/how-white-parents-can-talk-to-their-kids-about-race

●   Brené Brown with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-ibram-x-kendi-on-how-to-be-an-antiracist

ADULT TEXT

Beyond the Golden Rule, A Teaching Tolerance Publication. Parents Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice.

PDF Download: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/beyond-the-golden-rule

MULTIGENERATIONAL MUSIC

  • Common Hymnal: Rose Petals featuring Dee Wilson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-3KikfQo_E
  • I Need You to Survive: Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout leading a gathered community (at the Unitarian Universalist General Asssembly in 2016) in the song, “I Need you to Survive” by Hezekiah Walker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GURBo8jk_n8
  • Stand Up! By DGLS (the Douglas Family)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0CpVSvhFeo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1b33SWj1gVdiyT3rK7PRsRB6xIYNE6yPTlGwC5A1RmgOCYhwQBdcWCFbk

You are most welcome to share with me any additional resources you may have that help us talk with our children about race and ethnicity. When we gather back after summer learning and excursions, I’ll share more articles, stories, videos and podcasts aimed to advance our commitment to anti-racism.

With abiding love, Rev. Jennifer Kelleher, Assistant Minister