Teaching resistance on the eve of the inauguration

by Lori Taliaferro Riddick The day after the election, my seven-year-old told his class that we were moving out of the country. Now, on the eve of the inauguration, he continues to have a lot of fear and anxiety about…

Raising children who sparkle: Gender, patriarchy and interrupting Shame

Raising children who sparkle: Gender, patriarchy and interrupting Shame

by guest blogger Jardana Peacock What if our children were allowed to be who they really are? In Nina Benedetto’s book. About Chris, a children’s book that re-tells the true story of a pre-school transgender boy, Benedetto asks readers to…

Sharing the Injustice Boycott and Daily Action with my daughter in 2017

Sharing the Injustice Boycott and Daily Action with my daughter in 2017

by Sachi Feris Since the conversation with my daughter the day after the election, I have found inspiration as an individual and as a parent by participating in the Injustice Boycott and Daily Action. Injustice Boycott describes itself as “relentless, principled, organized…

The Black Santa Claus at our local pharmacy

The Black Santa Claus at our local pharmacy

by Sachi Feris I am Jewish. I did not grow up with a Christmas tree, nor did I have Christmas tree envy, or wish for Santa Claus. Though Chanukah is often considered a “Hallmark holiday,” I have always loved watching…

White bias and dolls: Helping children create meaning around race and gender

White bias and dolls: Helping children create meaning around race and gender

by Sachi Feris A friend once told me the following story: She and her daughter, a blonde-haired, White, three-year-old, were surveying her large collection of dolls. “All of the dolls are blonde,” her daughter observed. “It’s true,” my friend affirmed,…

“Why are all the White dolls sitting together on the Target shelf?

“Why are all the White dolls sitting together on the Target shelf?

Supporting kids to push back against racial injustice by guest blogger Melissa Giraud “I guess they only like White people,” my five-year old said the first time she noticed the Our Generation doll section at Target. Screeeech! I stopped our…

Stop profiling Muslims: How you can take action with your children

Stop profiling Muslims: How you can take action with your children

by guest blogger Alissa Wise As a White, Jewish family, we are inspired by the Jewish tradition to mark your doorposts with a mezuzah (a piece of parchment containing verses of Torah in a decorative case) by marking our home…

Interrupting White silence with my children

Interrupting White silence with my children

by Sachi Feris On Wednesday, November 9th, the day after Election Day, I picked up my four-and-a-half-year-old daughter from school with my fourteen-month-old in the baby carrier and told her that we were headed to Manhattan to a protest Trump’s…

The curriculum I created for my children: Combating “Why is the bad guy brown?”

by guest blogger Martha Haakmat My teenage daughters now tease me about the number of times the words “diversity” and “race” came up at our dinner table as they grew up in our family. My middle daughter does an imitation…

"But are we Arab?"; Creating meaning of my children's identities, Part Two

“But are we Arab?”; Creating meaning of my children’s identities, Part Two

by Sachi Feris To read Part One of this post, click here. When I was little, I always claimed, somewhat proudly, that I was “a quarter Lebanese” and that “my dad was born in Cuba” perhaps because it made me different….