Resources and Readings on Racism

Copyright © 2019 Maureen E. McCauley
For more information: maureen@LightOfDayStories.com

Definitions

Here are some basic definitions of a few terms often used in discussions about racial equity. There is a lot of material available; we encourage you to do more research.

Ally vs. Accomplice: An ALLY engages in activism by standing with a marginalized individual or group. An ACCOMPLICE focuses on dismantling the oppressive structures that keep people marginalized, led by stakeholders in the marginalized group. (Source: Teaching Tolerance)

Micro-Aggressions: Small daily insults and indignities perpetrated against marginalized or oppressed people, including against people of color. Regular exposure to micro aggressions causes a person of color to feel isolated and invalidated. (Source: So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Olua)

Prejudice vs. Racism: Prejudice is an attitude based on limited information, often on stereotypes, and can be positive or negative. Racism is a system of advantage based on race, a system of oppression based on race, and a system of white supremacy. (Source: Dismantlingracism.org)

Systemic Racism: How the racist and discriminatory practices of institutions intersect to create a network of opportunity for white people while blocking opportunity for people of color (Source: DismantlingRacism.org) Frequently cited examples are disparities in health care for black women, pay differences/wealth gaps among different races, incarceration rates, suspension rates for black children, access to housing, likelihood of being pulled over by police, and more.

Other types of racism: Casual, structural, cultural, environmental, internalized, institutional, colorism, and more.

White Privilege: Having greater access to power and resources than people of color (in the same situation) do. (Source: Teaching Tolerance) It doesn’t mean that white people don’t struggle, or work hard, or have difficult challenges. It means your skin color isn’t one of the things making it harder. More info at https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/07/what-privilege-really-means/

Articles

From Color-Blind to Color-Brave: Conversation building blocks to talk with kids about race
https://www.parentmap.com/article/talking-to-kids-about-race

10 Children’s Books Handling Race and Identity in a Smart Way
https://www.romper.com/p/10-childrens-books-handling-race-identity-in-a-smart-way-15955367

Privileged—An article by white NBA Player Kyle Korver about racism and white privilege
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kyle-korver-utah-jazz-nba

Redefining Process to Close Gaps
https://fakequity.com/2019/05/10/redefining-processes-to-close-gaps/

Want to Close Achievement Gaps? Close Relationship Gaps
https://fakequity.com/2017/03/17/want-to-close-achievement-gaps-close-the-relationship-gap/

Avoiding Racial Equity
http://www.edchange.org/publications/Avoiding-Racial-Equity-Detours-Gorski.pdf

Dear White Teachers: You Can’t Love Your Black Students If You Don’t Know Them
https://mobile.edweek.org/c.jspcid=25919971&bcid=25919971&rssid=25919961&item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Few%2Findex.html%3Fuuid%3DA2414B06-4734-11E9-913A-0199B3743667

Why Restorative Justice Is About More than Reducing Suspensions
https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/51686/how-restorative-justice-is-about-more-than-just-reducing-suspensions

“I’ve Never Had a Black Teacher:” Seattle Students Discuss How Educators’ Lack of Diversity Has Affected Them
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/students-share-how-diversity-among-teachers-can-affect-grades-comfort-and-discipline/

White Teachers Three Times as Negative with Black Students, Rutgers Study Finds
http://www.dailytargum.com/article/2019/02/white-teachers-three-times-more-negative-with-black-students-rutgers-study-finds

The Racist History of Mispronouncing Names
https://www.kuow.org/stories/a-rose-by-any-other-name-would-not-be-me?fbclid=IwAR07MHF6ktDey6u4vV91drSE6u9i4tj9IstCsX4JVrl4ynYFzcAXLa1YcBM

Talking Race, Controversy, and Trauma
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/02/talking-race-controversy-and-trauma

Why James Baldwin’s ‘A Talk To Teachers’ Remains Relevant 54 Years Later
http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/10/03/james-baldwin-talk-to-teachers

Ten Simple Ways White People Can Step Up to Fight Everyday Racism
https://mic.com/articles/97900/10-simple-rules-for-being-a-non-racist-white-person#.ka7jwgG7o

Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Resource Guide
https://www.splcenter.org/20170814/ten-ways-fight-hate-community-response-guide

Five Valuable Ways to Use Your White Privilege to Fight Anti-Black Racism
https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/using-white-privilege-fight-racism/

How to talk to kids about racism: An age-by-age guide
https://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-racism-an-age-by-age-guide/

What it means to be black in the American educational system
https://theconversation.com/what-it-means-to-be-black-in-the-american-educational-system-63576

Study: Americans Adultify Black Girls as Less Innocent Than Their White Peers
https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/study-americans-adultify-black-girls-view-them-as-less-innocent-than-their-white-peers/

We cannot teach race without addressing what it means to be “white”
https://theconversation.com/we-cannot-teach-race-without-addressing-what-it-means-to-be-white-43827

Reading Racism in Dr. Seuss
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/08/reading-racism-in-dr-seuss/536625/

We need to deal with our discomfort and talk to our kids about racism
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/we-need-to-deal-with-our-discomfort-and-talk-to-our-kids-about-racism/2015/06/30/ec6db7e8-1a9a-11e5-ab92-c75ae6ab94b5_story.html?utm_term=.510da8496a76

Approaching Race in the Classroom, Actively
https://blogs.brown.edu/choices/2016/02/22/approaching-race-in-the-classroom-actively/

But I didn’t mean it! Why it’s so hard to prioritize impacts over intent
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/psysociety/e2809cbut-i-didne28099t-mean-ite2809d-why-ite28099s-so-hard-to-prioritize-impacts-over-intents/

Intent vs. Impact: Revisiting Why “All Lives” Can’t Matter if “Black Lives” Don’t
http://www.theinclusionsolution.me/intent-vs-impact-revisiting-why-all-lives-cant-matter-if-black-lives-dont/

Micro-Aggressions Matter
https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/406090/

 Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People
https://arrow-journal.org/why-people-of-color-need-spaces-without-white-people/

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
http://www.ywca.org/atf/cf/%7B6EDE3711-6615-4DDD-B12A-F9E0A781AE81%7D/White%20Privilege%20Unpacking%20the%20Invisible%20Knapsack.pdf

Diversity Toolkit: A Guide to Discussing Identity, Power, And Privilege
https://msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/diversity-workshop-guide-to-discussing-identity-power-and-privilege/

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk With White People About Racism
https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/white-fragility-why-its-so-hard-to-talk-to-white-people-about-racism-twlm/

Anti-Racist Handout: Basic Tenets of Anti-Racist Education
https://robindiangelo.com/2014site/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Anti-racism-handout-1-page-2016.pdf

Strategies and Resources For Talking About Race With Young Children
http://www.raceconscious.org/strategies/

100 Race-Conscious Things to Say to Your Child to Advance Racial Justice
http://www.raceconscious.org/2016/06/100-race-conscious-things-to-say-to-your-child-to-advance-racial-justice/

Your 5-year-old is already racially biased. Here’s what you can do about it.
https://medium.com/embrace-race/your-5-year-old-is-already-racially-biased-heres-what-you-can-do-about-it-d72de0480ba3

Reading and Listening

Tonya Mosley: Black in Seattle KUOW
http://tonyamosley.com/portfolio/black-in-seattle/

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo;Interview with author
http://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2018/01/14/talking-about-race

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
and How to Be an Anti-Racist, both by Ibram X. Kendi

Kimberlé Crenshaw’s many books, including Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color

The National Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Our Schools  https://www.facebook.com/The-National-Black-Lives-Matter-Week-of-Action-in-Our-Schools-192373061312325/

Embrace Race: Raising a Brave Generation
http://www.embracerace.org

Raising Race-Conscious Children
http://www.raceconscious.org

Teaching Tolerance: Educating for a Diverse Democracy
https://www.tolerance.org

Black-Led Racial Justice Organizations
http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/black_led_racial_justice_organizations

 

Copyright © 2019 Maureen E. McCauley
For more information: maureen@LightOfDayStories.com