You may think that the last thing your child needs is anti-racist educational resources. You’re so cutting edge, no spawn that issued from your radical loins could ever be anything other than the leader of the revolution of righteousestness.
Then one day (or two days, or three), amidst the daily nuggets of platinum wisdom that spill from their lips will fall an insect. You may ponder the insect in frozen horror, or you may quickly sweep it under the rug and subconsciously hope that no one (ie your conscious mind) has noticed it.
Well, I’m here to tell you that your child may need a little anti-racist education. ‘Cause guess what! Kids see colour, just like adults do! And guess what else? You and your crew just being your glorious selves may do subtle wonders on your kids’ budding politico-psyche, but really, what’s wrong with a little pedagogical swag* to ease the path?
Me, I think it could be mighty useful.
http://antiracistchildrensbooks.pbworks.com/w/page/13324915/FrontPage: A wiki for educators and parents to find anti-racist children’s picture books and anti-racist parenting information.
http://antiracistchildrensbooks.pbworks.com/f/beyond_golden_rule_web.pdf: An online book with some basic info and tips for parents.
http://www.racismnoway.com.au/: An anti-racist resource developed for varying age groups within the Australian school system. Includes activities, e-challenges and more.
***I’m no fan of tolerance-talk. But it’s a point of departure.
yesterday’s day trip: 5 year old disney princess obsessive says to 6 year old disney princess obsessive;
look, im lighter thatn you, look, look, my skin is lighter than yours! aunty ayesha, im lighter than @*~!
i was stunned and have never encountered this in my 10.5 years of parenting and could only muster a “SO?”
laden with confusion and slight contempt (i couldnt help it) and a smile to the delightful 6 year old who was made to feel insecure about her colour…
she kept prattling on about it and i just handed her over to her mum to deal with. but i was pretty alarmed and did not handle the situation with much wisdom, rather, instant protectiveness for 6 year old and instant challenge towards 5 year old and instant antagonism towards their ideals of beauty. i didnt know how to handle it and so resources for that would be so useful too!
what i should have said was and what beautiful skins you both have….
This kind of insidious weirdness is some of what I’m thinking about. I’ve also been wondering if there’s something deeper than straight-up anti-racism ed required here – it taps into beauty ideals and colourism and probably much more. Have you come across the doll preference studies? It’s a little depressing (ok, it’s actually terrifying). http://pd-online.abpsi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=313%3Awill-colorism-ever-fade&catid=78%3Ageneral-articles-v44-5&Itemid=250