Parent and Family Resources
Parent and Family Resources
We have gathered a collection of free, online resources to support and engage parents and families in learning and talking about race and antiracism. In addition, visit the Student Resources page to find book titles for young children through teens, a collection of stories read aloud for children from pre-K to grade 5, and online resources specifically designed for school-age students.
Videos
Raising Antiracist Kids: Ibram X. Kendi with Dereka Purnell
How do families raise actively anti-racist children? A new uprising across the country demanding racial justice is a powerful reminder that families of all backgrounds need to be pro-active in raising children to understand racism and discrimination, and helping our kids to be a force for anti-racist change in the world. Haymarket Books presents a discussion about raising antiracist kids with author of the new book, AntiRacist Baby, Ibram X. Kendi in conversation with Derecka Purnell.
Is My Skin Brown Because I Drank Chocolate Milk?
When her 3-year-old son told her that a classmate told him that his skin was brown because he drank chocolate milk, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, was surprised. As a clinical psychologist, she knew that preschool children often have questions about racial difference, but she had not anticipated such a question. But through conversations with her preschool son, followed by talking to teachers, colleagues and parents, she came to realize it is the things we don’t say and the matters we don’t discuss with our children that find their way into racist dialogue and thinking.
Additional Online Resources
100 Race-conscious Things You Can Say to Your Child to Advance Racial Justice
In honor of Raising Race Conscious Children’s 100th post, this list lifts a quote from each and every blog post to date, modeling language that has actually been used in a conversation with a child regarding race (and other identity-markers such as gender and class).
60+ Resources for Talking to Kids About Racism
This topic featured on the “bounce back” parenting blog by Lorien Van Ness offers mixed media resources that are meant to introduce tolerance an acceptance from the babies to preteens.
Anti-racist Parenting While White: an Inquiry
In a Medium: Idenity, Education and Power post, leadership coach and educator, Sherri Spelic asks, "What does white anti-racist parenting look, sound and feel like?" She is not white, so she asked questions of her white friends whose anti-racists stances and actions she deeply respects and from whom she consistently learns.
Children's Books That Celebrate Diversity, Inclusion and Feature Black, Indigenous and People of Col
Reading gives children the opportunity to broaden their view of the world and the diverse individuals in it. Couple this with the bedtime routine of reading a story. This blog post, by Matress Advisor, focuses on the importance of sleep and provides a list of 50+ books that make for a great bedtime experience with children. Visit to find book selections that affirm and validate stories of, for and by communities that are historically and politically underserved and underrepresented.
How to Talk to Your Children About Protests and Racism
As cities and social media explode with anger over the killing of yet another black man at the hands of police, worried parents struggle with how to protect their children from seeing the worst of the violence while simultaneously explaining the ravages of racism. For CNN Health, Sandee LaMotte writes, it couldn't have come at a worse time.
How to Talk to Your Kids About Anit-racism: a List of Resources
A list of resources offered by PBS partners in public media and the education space. Some items are articles or curations offered by institutions and academic experts, while others are collective works by community members. They help to embrace the wealth of knowledge spilling out of formal and informal systems to education each other toward a more inclusive future.
How White Parents Can Talk About Race
In this All Things Considered segment, NPR's Michel Martin talks to Jennifer Harvey, author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, about how to talk with white kids about racially charged events.
MY 6-YEAR OLD GRANDSON THOUGHT A BOOK CHARACTER'S SKIN Was 'Too Dark.' Here's How I Handled It.
Dr. Aisha White, program director of the P.R.I.D.E. Program in the Office of Child Development at the University of Pittsburgh, talks about how she worked to resolve the issue of colorism with her Black grandson.
Talking to Kids About Race
A resource from National Geographic for parents to have conversations about race with their children and tools to equip them with when dealing with race.
Teaching Your Kids Not to "See" Race Is a Terrible Idea, Studies Have Found
For parents of black children in the US, where bigotry continues to take people’s lives and freedom, talking about race is often not optional. But acknowledging and naming race in conversations with children is something all parents must do, experts say—early and often.