Inside This Issue

Position Statement and How-To 1

Discussing Current Racial Injustices with

Children 2

Creating an Environment that is Anti-

biased/Anti-Racist 3

Teaching Social Justice 4

The Importance of Self-Reflection 5

JUNE 2020

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Social Justice, Anti-Biased, and

Anti-Racist Education

Abilities Network Project ACT

ANPROJECTACT.ORG crcbc@abilitiesnetwork.org

Abilities Network Position Statement

We work hard to support individuals and families with the complex feelings they experience about their lives, their goals and their dreams. And especially this year and under the current circumstances this is a huge responsibility. Our community faces additional feelings of fear, anger and loss with the tragic and senseless murder of George Floyd and all others who have needlessly suffered at the hands of individuals and systems that have brought about persistent racial disparities. Abilities Network is a social justice organization. Our mission is to challenge the community to acknowledge the value and equality of people of all abilities. While our focus is on advocacy for and with individuals with disabilities, we stand in solidarity with all those seeking justice. We acknowledge that there is much work to be done, and reaffirm our commitment to our mission of creating an inclusive and just society.

Most of this newsletter is a gathering of articles and resources to help you create the best environments for the children you serve. It is by no means an all-inclusive list of resources on race and racism and their impact on early childhood programs. There may be articles that are hard to read. For some there may be discussions that are very different from your view points. It’s okay to have big feelings about these topics. It’s okay to take a break and just sit with something. Creating socially just and anti-bias programs is a journey. It is the hope that these resources help you on your journey. It is the hope that you come back to these resources over time when you feel unsure.

A “How-To” Guide for this Resource

PAGE 2

Discussing Current Racial

Injustices with Children

The many images and conversations happening around the children we care for on Blacks Lives Matter, George Floyd, and protests has ultimately brought the question, “What do I tell the kids?” Experts say that it is important to have these conversations with young children, but what’s most important is that you understand what lens you are speaking from when having these conversations. Children will understand what’s happening in the world through how you understand what’s happening in the world. If you are still working on learning more about your own perspective on racism, bias, and the role social justice plays in our country, there are additional resources for that within this newsletter in the “Where to Begin” section. Sadly, even within the time it took to write this guide, more people of color are losing their lives to the racial injustices occurring in this country. To stay up to date on those who have lost their lives due to racial inequalities follow the hashtag #saytheirname on any social media platform.

Here are a few resources to support you in your conversations about the recent deaths of Black Americans.

Social Story for George Floyd

Perspectives: Talking With Kids about Racial Injustice from Understood.org

Supporting Kids of Color in the Wake of Racialized Violence from Embrace Race

Talking to Kids about Ahmaud from Beccastone

Bringing Black Lives Matter into the Classroom from Teaching Tolerance

Something Happened in our Town; A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice

by Marianne Celano PhD, Marietta Collins PhD, Ann Hazzard PhD and illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin

Social Justice, Anti-Biased, and Anti-Racist Education

PAGE 3

Creating an Environment that

is Anti-Biased/Anti-Racist

Research shows that children as young as infancy can begin to show bias by 6 months old. This shows us that creating an anti-biased/anti-racist environment requires intentional work and exposure to and appreciation of diversity.

Is My Skin Brown Because I Drank Chocolate Milk by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Our Children, Our Workforce Why We Must Talk about Race and Racism in Early Childhood Education” by Kelly Matthews and Ijumaa Jordan

Episode 43: A Lesson In Humility: Diving into Anti-Racist Early Education Practices and Policies with Ijumaa Jordan by Pre-K Teach and Play

Resources for Talking About Race, Racism, and Racialized Violence with Kids by Center for Racial Justice in Education

Racial Bias May Begin in Babies at Six Months, U of T Research Reveals by Lindsey Craig

Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books by Louise Derman-Sparks

Anti-Racist Teaching: So…How Do I Do It? by Rafa Pérez-Segura

Books for Children

How Mama’s Love Their Babies by Juniper Fitzgerald illustrated by Elise Peterson

All the Colors We are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color by Katie Kissinger and illustrated by Chris Bohnhoff

Lovely by Jess Hong

Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester

Social Justice, Anti-Biased, and Anti-Racist Education

If You Need a Starting Point

Some people may need a guide to set things into motion, knowing that creating an anti-racist classroom is not checklist to move through. Here are two self assessments, you can use by yourself or with your team members.

Self-Assessment Checklist for Personnel Providing Services and Supports In Early Intervention and Early Childhood Settings created by National Center for Cultural Competence Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development

Anti-Bias Classroom Observation Check List Environmental Evaluation Adapted from Derman-Sparks & Edwards

PAGE 4

Resources

Mindful Activism: Being A Healthy Social Justice Educator by Mawule A. Sevon

Social Justice Standards from Teaching Tolerance

Empathy Journal for Children by GoZen

Black Boys Matter: Strategies for a Culturally Responsive Classroom by Brian L. Wright

“What About People Like Me?" Teaching Preschoolers About Segregation and “Peace Heroes” by Nadia Jaboneta

We Need Diverse Books

Teaching the Movement by Teaching Tolerance

Children’s Books on Social Justice

Woke Baby by Mahogany L. Browne and illustrated by

Theodore Taylor

The ABCs of the Black Panther Party by Chema Morales-James and S.

Khalilah Brann

26 Big Things Small Hands Can Do by Coleen Paratore and

illustrated by Mike Reed (Illustrator)

Somewhere Today; A Book About Peace by Shelley Moore Thomas and

photographed by Eric Futran (Photographer)

Social Justice, Anti-Biased, and Anti-Racist Education

Teaching Social

Justice

When equity is prioritized all children benefit. Ensure that conversations are balanced in discussing racial pride and understanding systems of oppression. And yes, these topics can be shared with young children. A few key topics to remember when teaching social justice in your program are:

1. Identity: Help children to develop a healthy and positive sense of identity.

2. Diversity: Help children to appreciate the differences in each other.

3. Justice: Help children recognize stereotypes, unfair acts, and the harmful impacts of injustice.

4. Action: Help children express empathy, stand up to injustice, speak up respectfully, and collectively act against bias and injustice.

PAGE 5

The Importance of Self-Reflection

Experiences impact beliefs and beliefs impact actions. Self-reflection is an important piece in teaching young children about race, bias, and social justice. Below are resources to support self-reflection.

Our Children, Our Workforce: Why We Must Talk About Race and Racism in Early Childhood Education by Kelly Matthews and Ijumaa Jordan

10 Ways Well-Meaning White Teachers Bring Racism Into Our Schools by Jamie Utt

This was a good week (resources for being anti-racist) by Karen Walrond

Project Implicit

OPINION: Let’s never see another first-grader in handcuffs by Shantel Meek and Roy L. Austin Jr.

Seeing White Podcast by Scene on Radio

Anti-Racism Resource Collection by Resource Sharing Project

Movies and Documentaries

13th by Ava DuVernay

When They See Us by Ava DuVernay

Time: The Kalief Browder Story by Jenner Furst

The Hate U Give by George Tillman Jr.

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross presented by PBS by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

People to Follow

Ibram X. Kendi; Ijumaa Jordan; Nikkolas Smith; Rachel Cargle; Brittany Packnett Cunningham; Candace Andrews; The Conscious Kid; Equality Labs; Black Lives Matter; No White Saviors; Check Your Privilege

Books

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope by Jasmine L. Holmes

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

The Miseducation of the Negro by Carter Goodwin Woodson

The Souls of Black Folks by W.E.B. Dubois

How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Books by Juwanza Kunjufu

Social Justice, Anti-Biased, and Anti-Racist Education