In Honor of Critical Race Theory and Derrick Bell

In Honor of Critical Race Theory and Derrick Bell

The willful misunderstanding and skewing of Critical Race Theory in recent news has saddened and angered me. Without Critical Race Theory, there would be no Raising Race Conscious Children. I was in college when a short story, “The Space Traders,”…

“Why bring it up?” Pushing back against White supremacy

“Why bring it up?” Pushing back against White supremacy

by Sachi Feris The other day, my dad was showing my children a video of his wife’s daughter’s circus performance and my three-year-old asked, “Are they girls or boys?” “They look like they’re wearing costumes that ‘girls’ more commonly use…but…

White as “right:” Why I don’t normalize Whiteness with my children

White as “right:” Why I don’t normalize Whiteness with my children

by Sachi Feris Around the corner from my apartment is a coffee shop with a poster-sized photograph of Marilyn Monroe. My two-year-old son and I have made many trips to this coffee shop and he always points out this image…

“Are all Muslims terrorists?”: My child’s Muslim identity

by guest Blogger Valarie Budayr, co-founder of Multicultural Children’s Book Day “Why isn’t our religion the same as everyone else?” my seven-year-old son Omar asked. “Nathan came up to me and said I was going straight to H-E-double toothpicks, AND…

Vegas, Charlottesville, and Remembering Hope

Vegas, Charlottesville, and Remembering Hope

by guest blogger Martha Haakmat Watching the news about Las Vegas over the last week or so, I remembered spending the final week of summer vacation with family in Maine, watching the news every evening about the terrorism of White…

What Charlottesville means for our Black family

What Charlottesville means for our Black family

by Lori Taliaferro Riddick A few weeks ago my family and I visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D. C. As we walked to the museum from our car, my husband warned my children…

The problem with “Crazy” Hair Day

The problem with “Crazy” Hair Day

by guest blogger Sara Leo   This post has been edited from its original which generated largely positive feedback from other White people and critical feedback from people of color. I have learned a lot through this process and I believe…

In honor of May Day: Challenging conversations about domestic work

In honor of May Day: Challenging conversations about domestic work

by guest blogger Makeba Sergeant Rasin When my son was younger, talking about race felt simple. I’d read “Whose Knees Are These,” with my one-year-old and then coo, afterwards, about how beautiful his brown skin is; his brown knees, toes,…

Playing Monopoly and my “anti-Monopoly” talk

Playing Monopoly and my “anti-Monopoly” talk

by Sachi Feris My almost-five-year-old has attended her fair share of protests since November. Even my 19-month-old raises a fist in protest when my daughter prompts a call and response: “One!” “We are the people!” “Two!” “A little bit louder!” “Three!”…

Interrupting Whiteness with my White family

Interrupting Whiteness with my White family

by guest blogger Shannon Cofrin Gaggero I am a White, cisgender woman, married to a White, cisgender man and we have two White children. I started naming race with my kids about two years ago, when my son was three and…