5 Ways For Your Family to Support Race Equity
How can your family contribute to making a positive change to support race equity? Here are five ways to teach, model and actively participate in creating a more equitable world:
Read books with diverse characters and different points of view . Books by Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) authors that feature diverse characters open up conversations about race as a family. While a knowledge of history is important, intentionally reading books about BIPOC in roles other than enslavement and the civil rights movement is also important for children. Visit https://www.first5la.org/parenting/articles/first-5-las-resources-for-talking-to-kids-about-race-and-racial-inequity/ for some great book ideas.
- For more information on the importance of reading book with diverse characters, visit: https://www.first5la.org/parenting/articles/support-race-equity-by-reading-books-with-diverse-characters/
Understand your own bias. We sort others into automatic categories without even knowing it at times. Harvard University has developed a set of interesting online quizzes to check your own implicit biases surrounding race, sexual orientation and other subjects. Visit implicit. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
- For more information on racial bias, visit: https://www.first5la.org/parenting/articles/supporting-race-equity-check-your-own-bias/
Increase your knowledge. Learn more about race equity and social inequality and what you can do here: https://www.racialequitytools.org/plan/issues/children-families-and-youth-development
- For ideas on small steps you can take to support race equity in L.A. County, visit: https://www.first5la.org/parenting/articles/supporting-race-equity-small-steps-that-can-make-a-big-difference/
Talk about race and racism. According to the multiracial online community EmbraceRace, by the age of six months, babies are aware of race; by the age of four, children show signs of bias. Talking early and often about how skin color affects the way people see each other, racial inequity, and your own experiences can help. Visit https://www.embracerace.org/resources/teaching-and-talking-to-kids
- For more information on how to talk to kids about racism and race, visit: https://www.first5la.org/parenting/articles/talking-with-children-about-race-and-racism/
Watch and learn together. For all family members, the CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall special addressing racism, “Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism,” is a must-watch. Visit https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/06/app-news-section/cnn-sesame-street-race-town-hall-app-june-6-2020-app/index.html
- For more insights and information, visit: https://www.first5la.org/parenting/articles/watch-and-learn-about-stereotyping/
