Raising Anti-Racist Children

curated by the Christian Formation department

Fiction Books:

Momma, Did You Hear the News? by Sonya Whittaker Gragg and Kim Holt. Ages 5 and up.

Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazard, and Jennifer Zivoin. Ages 4-8.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D Taylor. Older elementary and middle school.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. High school.

The Hate U Give and On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. High school.

Nonfiction:

Anti Racist Baby by Ibram X Kendi and Ashley Lukashevsky. Ages 1 and up.

Shades of People by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M Kelly. Ages 1-6.

All the Colors We Are by Kate Kissinger. Ages 3 and up.

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama. Ages 4 and up.

This Book is Anti Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell and Aurelia Durand. Ages 10 and up.

Anti Racism Starts With Me: A Kids Coloring Book by Kadeesha Bryant. All ages.

Raising White Kids by Dr Jennifer Harvey. For parents, grandparents, and caregivers.

Great Book Lists to Find More:

Picture Books for Antiracists from Building Faith, a ministry from VTS

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards List

Not an Easy Read: 22 Books about Hate and Prejudice by Parents’ Choice Foundation. Please note 13 of these books are about race, 9 about the Holocaust.

Social Justice Books

Videos:

“The Children’s March, Birmingham, 1963”

“Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks”

Podcasts:

“Talking Race with Young Children“ from NPR, for parents, grandparents, caregivers.

“The 1619 Project Podcast” Middle and high school.

“Short and Curly“ While not strictly about race, this podcast teaches children to think critically about ethics and the social contract.

“Raising White Kids with Dr. Jennifer Harvey,” the Integrated Schools Podcast. Adults.

Websites and Social Media Accounts:

Embrace Race: Raising a Brave Generation. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Equal Justice Initiative: Racial Justice The illustrated videos on this page do a great job of clearly telling the history of American White Supremacy. Adults should watch first to decide what to share with children. 

Og History from Teen Vogue Best for high school and older middle school with adult guidance.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture 

Color of Change Follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Articles:

“Becoming a Parent in the Age of Black Lives Matter” by Clint Smith. 

Movies:

Just Mercy tells the true story of young lawyer Bryan Stevenson attempting to save the lives of black men on death row. PG-13.

Selma dramatizes of the 1965 March for Civil Rights from Selma to Montgomery, AL. PG-13.

The Hate U Give is based on the novel by Angie Thomas, rated PG-13.