I  write this today with heartache (again). Our country and community are broken open. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have reminded us (again) that racism and hatred are pervasive within our society, our communities, and our neighborhoods. The response of peaceful protestors, police, and groups that manipulate the unrest has further underlined the deep pain of our community. 

Monday, we postponed our scheduled year-end parade. This parade was already a “not-quite-right” end to a school year, which would normally be marked with an ice cream social. We moved the parade due to fears of violence in the vicinity. 

A parade is a minuscule thing when compared to systemic racism. But, we know now more than ever that disruptions to school and school events create stress and mental health issues for all of us. In the face of racism, we need education. Education remains a powerful pathway to gaining an understanding of the underlying causes and effects of racism. Your children may be asking big questions. You are likely asking those questions yourself. 

I encourage you to neither hide from the questions nor to preach to your children. Rather, I encourage you to be in the conversation. Race is a charged topic, and it is up to us to keep the conversation with our children open rather than to shut it down through avoidance or neat answers. 

I hope that whatever age you are or your child is, you will find a way to begin and further conversations about race. They are important. 

I am including several resources here to support you in that. I share these resources humbly, acknowledging that I do not have all the answers and that I am also a product of a racially unjust world. 

Let us all stand up for what is right.

In peace,

Elizabeth

Online Resources:

embracerace.org

prettygooddesign.org

Books for Children:

These lists of children's books, compiled by a variety of sources, have themes that aim to accurately reflect the many people, cultures, and traditions of our world; help dispel myths and biases; and promote peace and understanding.

 "Books for Peace: An Annotated Bibliography," from AMS's Montessori Life magazine, Spring 2016.

"Power Picture Books: Tools for Teaching Peace," from Montessori Life, Winter 2008 – 2009. 

 "Children's Books That Tackle Race and Ethnicity," by Maria Russo, from the New York Times, September 23, 2016.

Books for Parents:

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice by Paul Kivel

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Raising White Kids: Bringing up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey