What do we teach when Black folks are dying?
You can not teach Black children and be silent about the injustices against them.
On this page you’ll find:
“The Talk”
Talking about race, racism, and police brutality is unavoidable for Black families.
For Younger Children
For younger children of all races: discussions surrounding police brutality, racism, and death can be difficult to navigate. Here you’ll find a comprehensive list of picture books to help kickstart conversations.
For Older Children
Text about how these books might defer from the younger children books.
Teaching Resources
From general Race and Racism resources to more specifically Black History, Civil Rights, and Ferguson topics; find them here.
“The Talk”
Parents of Black children find themselves teaching their children lessons like how to deal with white people touching their hair, dealing with police, or how to survive a traffic stop.
One parent blogger noted,
“I was waiting to discuss race with my kids, but then someone beat me to the punch—with a very different message”.
Be the first person to discuss this with your children. Be open, honest, and receptive to questions.
10 Rules of Survival if Stopped by Police, PBS
Constructing a Conversation on Race, New York Times
What Black Parents Tell Their Sons About the Police Gawker
For Younger Children:
Oftentimes confronting conversations surrounding brutality and death can be difficult with young ones, yet death and violence on Black bodies is something our youth hear and constantly consume, and with each new death, each new example of an old injustice, renews our grief.
Our youth are not too young to talk about race and Black grief, nor are they too young to receive the truth when they start to ask questions about it. As educators and caregivers teaching and caring for our youth, we must dignify their understanding with support and care. Here are various resources and picture books to help kickstart conversations.
Read this:
“Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice”
By authors, Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard
Using accessible language, this story follows two families — one white and one black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community.
#TRAYVONTAUGHTME Toolkit:
This digital campaign highlights the beginnings of the Black
LivesMatter movement, and how Trayvon’s extrajudicial murder and his family’s
commitment to ending gun violence and strengthening communities catalyzed a
generation
of organizers and activists to take action for Black lives.The #TrayvonTaughtMe toolkit contains sample content for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as images to share on social media. BLM chapters, M4BL partners, and non-white allies can use the toolkit to:
1) Commemorate the anniversary of Trayvon’s death
2) Share, support, and offer donations for the important work of the Trayvon Martin Foundation
3) Continue the conversation about the serious implications of anti- Blackness and prejudicial policing and legislation on Black people
For Middle Grade and Young Adults
Books about police brutality that are targeted at middle-grade kids and young adults.
Middle-Grade Chapter Books
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa More Remee
Young Adult Books
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina
The Day Tajon Got Shot by the Teen Writers of Beacon House
50 Books for Both Kids and Young Adults:
List gathered by Bored Teachers: In order to confront, dismantle, and abolish institutional white supremacy, we need knowledge and empathy– both of which can be gained by resources such as these amazing empowering books. We are all called to listen to the voices of Black folks. These 50 intergenerational and intersectional books give readers a great place to start.
Additional readings for young adults
Teaching Race & Racism
“The Danger of a Single Story” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, TedTalk
How to Teach Kids About What's Happening in Ferguson - The Atlantic
Constructing a Conversation on Race by Charles M. Blow, New York Times
“A Talk to Teachers,” in The Price of the Ticket, Collected Non-Fiction 1948-1985, James Baldwin
“Constructing a Conversation on Race” Charles M. Blow, New York Times
Teaching Black History/Civil Rights in the United States
“SNCC Women, Denim and the Politics of Dress” Tansha Ford, Journal of Southern History
100 Years of Lynchings, Ralph Ginzburg
African-American Identity in the Gilded Age The Library of Congress
Stalking the Angel of Death: The Lynching Calendar
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America, Melissa Harris-Perry
“Black Power”, Speech delivered by C.L.R. James, 1967
“How the Children of Birmingham Changed the Civil-Rights Movement”, Lottie L. Joiner, The Daily Beast
Black Liberation in the Midwest: The Struggle in St. Louis, Missouri, 1964-1970- Kenneth Jolly
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr.
A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn
Teaching Ferguson
“Ferguson Killing Inspires Young Black Activists” Frederica Boswell, NPR
“On Recognizing My White Privilege as a Parent in the Face of Ferguson” Elizabeth Broadbent, xoJane
“5 Ways to Teach Michael Brown and Ferguson in the New School Year” Christopher Emdin, blog
“#FergusonSyllabus” Kathee Godfrey, blog
“Teaching About Ferguson” Julian Hipkins, Teaching for Change
“On Ferguson, Missouri: History, Protest, and 'Respectability'” Clarence Lang, Labor, and Working-Class History Association blog
For White Children and Classrooms:
Every resource on this page should be utilized by white teachers in white classrooms.
We also suggest, Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
Written for white children, it tackles the tough realities of racism and explains why white people should care. The title, Not My Idea, comes from the defensiveness that can arise when we white folks are confronted with our own privilege — no, racism and police violence were not our ideas, but we still have a role to play in ending them.
“Racism was not your idea. You do not need to defend it. You can bring your curiosity to learn about it and see that it’s true.”
This book folds police violence into the greater problem of systemic racism in the United States, and despite the hard topic, I think it’s really great for reading with kids ages 6 and up. It’s a book every white family needs to read.