Would you like to have an open and honest conversation with your children or students about race and racism?
From as early as 6 months of age, babies are able to recognise differences in skin colour. By grade school age, children begin to figure out that skin colour has an associated meaning (as a result of questions from other children, information in mainstream media, or other daily interactions). Combined, these interactions begin to shape their notion of race, influencing how they see, understand, and treat others.
Having early, honest, and age-appropriate conversations about race (and other types of differences) are essentials to how children make sense of the world around them.
The Let’s Talk About Race (LTAR) Toolkit resource includes a sample of diverse picture books, Recommended booklist, guided activities and games or toys that can serve as a starting point for encouraging questions about race, and for helping foster open discussions about racial differences. Diverse books are a powerful tool for starting and continuing the conversation about race because they:
- Show children diversity early
- Feature diverse children and families in everyday life
- Help instill pride and confidence in children of colour
- Address fairness and discrimination
- Discuss and address racial bullying
- Help children become allies
- Inspire children to change the world
The combination of books and manipulatives each Toolkit, is intended to provide you with a discussion focus and a starting point for your family and/or classroom to have open, positive discussions about race and racial identity.
Goals and Objectives
This toolkit is designed to encourage families, caregivers, and educators to have open, accurate and constructive conversations about race, racial differences, racial inequity and racism, with their children/students, in an age-appropriate way. The main objectives are to:
- Provide users with resources to encourage and facilitate discussions about race/racism
- Increase children’s exposure to racially (and ethnically) diverse stories and characters
- Promote positive and accurate learning experiences about human differences and similarities