Suggested Resources for Caregivers and Educators  ​

Compiled by SURJ Bay Area Youth and Families Committee
For more information, contact: youthandfamilies@surjbayarea.org

These are some of our favorite resources for having honest, age-appropriate conversations with kids about race, systemic racism, and police brutality. There are of course many, many more resources available online -- do your own research, be curious and open to new ideas, and follow and listen to the voices of BIPOC writers and educators. Remember to pay for your education wherever you can.

Table of Contents 
1. Interrupting White Supremacy at the Root - Part 1 (Webinar Recording)  
2. Resources for Talking With Kids About Racial Justice 
3. Children’s Books and Book Lists
4. Suggested Reading for Adults
5. Suggested Curriculum for Educators

1. Interrupting White Supremacy at the Root

Interrupting White Supremacy at the Root - Part 1 (Webinar Recording)

2. Resources for Talking With Kids About Racial Justice

Recordings of “We Keep Us Safe” Teach-Ins for parents and kids, led by Abundant Beginnings and Movement Generation
Talking with Kids About Police Brutality: An Community Resource List by the The Intergalactic Conspiracy of Childcare Collectives  
  • A living document with many resources, including videos, podcasts, articles and more for Black, non-Black POC, and white caregivers.

A White Families’ Guide for Talking About Racism by Education With An Apron 
  • Written by two Black educators, this resource has questions and discussion prompts for having honest conversations about racism, white supremacy culture, and how to be an ally/accomplice. Note that this is a paid download -- it’s well worth it!

16 Ways to Help Children Become Thoughtful, Informed, and Brave About Race from EmbraceRace 
  • Quick guide with suggestions for getting started on talking with your kids about race and doing your own work to understand your own biases and privileges.

How to Talk to Kids About Race from The Conscious Kid 
  • Helpful framing for the urgent need to have discussions with kids of all ages about race.
 
Ending Police Brutality Family Action Toolkit from Raising Luminaries 
  • Toolkit with activities for families such as letter writing and poetry writing, aimed at preschool/elementary age. Includes conversation suggestions and a glossary.
 
Raising Race Conscious Children 
  • Blog and podcast with resources for talking about race with young children.
 
Talking with Kids About Race from PBS Kids 
  • Resources such as videos and book lists for young children and their caregivers.
 
The Talk: Race in America 
  • PBS documentary about the conversation taking place in homes across the country between parents of color and their children about how to behave if they are stopped by the police. Recommended for watching and discussing with teens.
 
Zinn Education Project 
  • People’s history resources for middle/high school youth.
 
1619 Project Curriculum to accompany The 1619 Project 
  • Suggested lesson plans and reading guides for middle and high school students -- and adults.

3. Children’s Books and Book Lists

When selecting books, look for #ownvoices authors and choose books by authors of color whenever you can. Buy books from and support BIPOC authors and bookstores.

Teaching For Change  
Black Lives Matter Instructional Library 
  • Books for preschool-elementary with links to read-aloud videos

The Conscious Kid: Book Lists 
  • A great place to start for thoughtful selections of beautiful picture books addressing race, racism, and resistance.

The Brown Bookshelf: Book Lists 
  • Includes book lists for all ages, including YA (young adult)

The Bullhorn 
  • Website by activist children’s book authors with many author interviews, guest blog posts, and book spotlight.

American Indians in Children’s Literature 
  • Blog with in-depth analysis of Indigenous representation in children’s books, also includes book lists and recommended/not recommended titles.

Books for Littles/Raising Luminaries 
  • Thoughtfully researched book lists on a variety of topics, including the Anti-Racism 101 book list linked here.

Peace Library 
  • Book lists for young children, organized around topics in the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s book Anti-bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves.

Reading While White 
  • Blog from a group of white librarians organizing to confront racial bias in childrens’ books -- note their list of folks of color to read first, before you read them. 

Jambo Books 
  • Black-owned subscription book club that sends you two books a month featuring characters of color, with options from babies to tweens.

4. Suggested Reading for Adults

It’s Time For White Folks to Dismantle the Master’s House 
  • Article by S. Rae Peoples

How To Join the Conversation on Race 
What Is Owed 
  • Article by Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 project

a word for white people in two parts  What I Am Teaching My White Son About Race
  • Article by Anna Blackshaw

How Do I Make Sure I’m Not Raising the Next Amy Cooper? 
Healthy White Children (book excerpt) and Community Guide with Discussion Prompts   
The Top 5 Reasons Well-Meaning White Parents Do Not Discuss Race with their White Children 
  • Article from A Striving Parent that addresses and refutes common worries about raising racial topics with kids 

Justice in June 
  • Antiracist reading list organized by the amount of time you have to spend.

SURJ Defund the Police Toolkit 
  • Overview of the ongoing BIPOC-led movement to defund the police.

Racial Literacy Definition (from France Winddance Twine)
  • Understanding racism as a contemporary problem rather than as a historical legacy
  • Understanding the intersectionality of race, class, gender and heterosexuality
  • A recognition of the symbolic value of whiteness
  • An understanding that racial identities are learned and an outcome of social practices
  • The possession of a racial vocabulary to discuss racism
  • An ability to interpret racial codes and racialized practices.

5. Suggested Curriculum for Educators

Learning for Justice 
  • A non-profit organization partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that provides trainings, lessons, articles, and social justice standards for educators and families

Abolitionist Teacher Network  
  • Resources to develop and support those in the struggle for educational freedom, while utilizing the intellectual work and direct action of Abolitionists in many forms

Teaching While White
  • Resources and tools for white educators to reflect on their practices and work toward dismantling white supremacy in education

Rethinking Schools 
  • A non-profit publisher that publishes magazines, books and curriculum ideas with a social justice lens

Anti-Racism Project  
  • The Anti-Racism Project seeks to educate participants about how institutionalized racism, internalized racism and white privilege feed oppression
     
Shareable Anti-racism Resource Guide 
  • Resource Guide provided by Anti-Bias Anti-Racism Educator Tasha Ryals that helps in the process of doing your own identity work and leads into resources for inside the classroom

Cult of Pedagogy 
  • A website of best teaching practices, including podcast episodes and lessons, as well as a list of social justice resources 

Teachers for Social Justice 
  • Bay Area community to educators who connect through workshops, resources, and an annual fall conference 

MPD 150  
  • Resources brought together by the organization MPD 150 centering around talking about defunding police and prison abolition for the classroom. 

10 TIPS FOR TEACHING AND TALKING TO KIDS ABOUT RACE
  •  EmbraceRace’s guide for beginning conversations about race in the classroom. 

Educate Yourself: Virtual Racial Equity Workshops 
  • A collection of Online Workshops (continually being added) to learn in community and engage with others doing the work of anti-racism in the education setting. 
 

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