Every Parent Must Talk With Children About Race and Racial Violence

*I am a white parent and my reflections are from a white perspective directed to fellow white parents.*

The country is burning. That’s the sentence that kept playing in my mind over and over again last night. A Black man had his neck crushed by a police officer, while three of his colleagues stood by and did NOTHING. Another story in the chapter upon chapter upon chapter of police brutality against a person of color. And now the country is burning…again. Enough. Action starts at home. If you’re not having talking with children about race and racial violence at home, now is the time.

Below are several resources to have conversations about race and racial violence with children. And even if you’ve had a talk, these conversations need to be routine. As the folks over at EmbraceRace point out, “Race is a topic you should plan to revisit again and again in many different ways overtime.”

Talking With Kids About Race and Racial Violence

10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids About Race (EmbraceRace)

How To Talk To Your Kids About Race, Racism And Police Violence (NPR WBUR)

Talking With Children About Racism, Police Brutality and Protests (Aha! Parenting)

White Kids Need to Start Using Their Privilege for Good — Here’s How to Teach Them (she knows)

How to Talk to Your Kids About Race and Being Anti-Racist (Mommy Brain)

Multicultural and Social Justice Books for Children (A Teaching for Change Project)

How White Parents Can Talk To Their Kids About Race (NPR Life Kit)

I’m Tired of Being Angry (The Mom Set)

As a Black Parent, I need to Update ‘The Talk’ I Have With My Kids About Police (Los Angeles Times)

Why Teaching Black Lives Matter Matters (Teaching Tolerance)

Becoming a Parent in the Age of Black Lives Matter (The Atlantic)

How Race And Racism Affect Our Friendships (NPR Life Kit)

My hope is this collection helps you create and maintain space to continue having conversations about race and racial violence with the children in your lives. Every single one of us must show up to have those talks. They cannot be left to just Black parents who fear their children will become victims of police brutality and other racial violence.

This is everyone’s responsibility. It’s also the only way things will ever change.

Written by Erin Prather Stafford
Top image by munshots on Unsplash
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