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Raising Race-Conscious Kids

  • Writer: Ayanna
    Ayanna
  • Jul 7, 2020
  • 3 min read

What a time this is to be alive, to be Black and to live in America.


There are so many things I've been challenged with during this time. I've been dealing with my own feelings of sadness, fear, confusion, anger, hopelessness and so much more. We are dealing with death from a global pandemic and the trauma is only compounded by the videos and images of the sad reality of racism we knew existed but allowed ourselves to ignore.


Now be a parent... you are not only dealing with your own challenges, fears and emotions but you have to explain all of this to your children. I am thankful that my kids are too young for social media and I had hoped I could wait just a little longer before having to have some of these tough conversations. But, as luck would have it, the timeline has been accelerated and we've had to have MANY tough conversations with our kids about race, racism and why we are STILL fighting for justice and equality.


While, I am no expert, here are the things I've learned during this process:


  1. There is NO right way to raise race-conscious kids! We will all figure it out the best way we know how. There are SO many articles and videos and books; it's overwhelming! However, what I do know is that we must have the conversations; silence in our household isn't an option.

  2. Listen to them, ask them questions about how they feel, what they're hearing... you'd be surprised as to what our kids are learning from their friends or things they watch on television. Better yet, you'd be surprised at how many conversations they overhear from you (this one gets me all the time 😫)! Give them some time to express their thoughts, and process all that they're hearing.

  3. Teach and lead by example. Our kids will be who we are not just do what we say. So when my husband and I went out to protest, we took our kids with us! Now I know, some people may be concerned with taking such action - that's ok - it was our choice and it worked out well. I've also gone out and protested, participated in rallies, etc. My kids were aware, understood the why and I was able to talk to them about it when I returned.

  4. Empower them to understand that even at the young ages of 6 and 8, they too can make a difference. We have been teaching them about children of the movement both leaders and advocates as well as those who lost their lives due to racism.

  5. We are teaching them about investing in black owned businesses and how to start their own businesses. It's important for them to see us supporting black owned - we take them with us to black owned restaurants, they hear us when we are searching for black-owned products and establishments. It's part of the fabric of our family.

  6. Advocacy with and for them has also been important. We are holding their schools accountable for diversifying the curriculum and better preparing the teachers to be anti-racist. Also teaching them how to speak up for themselves in tough situations.


This is a long journey and we won't always get it right but my hope is that my two young men are able to change the world around them because of the example my husband and I have set for them.


Here are some additional resources we've leveraged for the kids:



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