South Loop Family,
In light of everything that’s going on, I want to continue sharing resources with our school community as we seek to find ways to engage with our children appropriately around topics that can be challenging to approach. Some resources might include data that surprises you or causes you to pause for a moment, because sometimes these conversations are difficult to have and to see ourselves in. I ask that you please view whatever resources we send from a context of change. We send these resources out of love for our students and families and as a vehicle to continue having the necessary conversations to impact that change.
Do you want to talk to your young child about issues of social justice, but don’t know how? You’re not alone—most adults find topics like race, gender, and class difficult to talk about with children. But if we don’t find ways to talk about it, children will learn whatever they can glean from unspoken messages, and that doesn’t often work out very well. The staff at CCS is always available to help you find strategies. Also, you may find some of the resources below useful.
“They’re Not Too Young to Talk about Race”
Perhaps you’ve seen this infographic we made. Feel free to share with families and educators!
Click for print-resolution PDF (with clickable links).
Resources Tips and Approaches
- 7 Things to Do When Your Kid Points Out Someone’s Differences, by Rachel Garlinghouse.
- Talking With Children About Racism, Police Brutality and Protests, by Laura Markham.
- 6 Things White Parents Can Do to Raise Racially Conscious Children, by Bree Ervin.
What Can One Little Person Do?
Perhaps you heard the song “What Can One Little Person Do?” on our album, and don’t know how to talk to your children about the historical figures mentioned. Here are one sentence answers you can use if your child asks, “Who is that?”, plus suggestions for children’s books about each of them.
- Rosa Parks is famous for refusing to obey a law that said people with dark skin could only sit at the back when they rode the bus, and for helping to change unfair laws like that one. More reading: Rosa, by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier.
- Fannie Lou Hamer worked to make sure black people would have the same right to vote as white people, even when people tried to scare her and hurt her. More reading: Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes.
- For a long time, an unfair law said that children with different color skin couldn’t go to school together; Ruby Bridges was the first black child to go to a school with white children when the law changed. More reading: The Story of Ruby Bridges, by Robert Coles, Illustrated by George Ford; Ruby Bridges Goes to School, by Ruby Bridges.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in the civil rights movement, who helped thousands of people come together to say that people should be treated fairly, no matter their skin color. More reading: Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr., by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney.
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