Talking to kids about race can be a hard for some families.  Here are some resources and tips to guide and support you.  Reading books with your child is a great way to start the conversation about race, injustice, tolerance and diversity.  Building our own self-awareness, knowledge, understanding the perspective of Blacks in the US, being curious and open to learning is crucial to reducing our own biases, prejudices and racist behavior. Ignoring racism and injustice in the US and avoiding conversations with children about race will not solve the problems that our country is facing.

Children have the capacity to notice race from a very early age—infants will stare longer at faces of people from races they are unfamiliar with, which tells us they notice differences. Yet the difference is a long shot from racism. An awareness of stereotypes and racism doesn't begin to happen until about age 6 (McKown and Weinstein, 2003).

Reading and Media Resources by age group

Elementary level

Books on racism, the fight for civil rights, protests, and police violence

• The Bainbridge Island School District encourages discussions about race and racism. Provided here are some resources that will support and encourage discussions about race and racism for elementary-aged children. While there are many more resources out there, these can get discussions started. We believe even young children can and should discuss race. These resources provided below should support these valuable discussions.

  Children’s Books About Race and Racism

  • The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
    • PreK through 2nd grade
  • Skin Like Mine by Latashia M Perry
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • A Kid’s Book About Racism by Jelani Memory
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • I am Enough by Grace Byers
    • Kindergarten through 3rd grade
  • Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds
    • Kindergarten through 3rd grade
  • It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr
    • Kindergarten through 3rd grade
  •  Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins and Ann Hazzard
    • PreK through 3rd grade
  • Malcolm Little: A Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz
    • 1st through 5th grade
  • Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X Kendi
    • 5th grade and up – Young Readers Edition
  • This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell
    • 4th through 5th grade
  • Blended by Sharon Draper
    • 2nd through 5th grade
  • Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper
    • Kindergarten through 2nd grade
  • Stella by Starlight by Sharon Drapers
    • 3rd through 5th grade
  • One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
    • 3rd through 5th grade
  • Linda Brown – You Are Not Alone: The Brown vs. Board of Education Decision by Joyce Carol Thomas
    • 4th through 5th grade

  Additional Resources for Families about Race and Racism

  • TED Interview with the Founders of the Black Lives Matter Movement
    • 4th through 5th grade
  • NPR – Talking Race with Young Children
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • NPR – What to Say to Kids When the News is Scary
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • Sesame Street: Coming Together, Standing Up to Racism
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • Ted Talk – Liz Kleinrock: How to Teach Kids to Talk About Taboo Topics
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • Teaching Tolerance – Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • WBUR – How to Talk to Your Kids About Race and Justice
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • How White Parents Can Use Media to Raise Anti-Racist Kids
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • Teaching Tolerance
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade
  • Virtual Library with Multiple Picture Books and Read-Alouds for Kids
    • Kindergarten through 5th grade

Videos and read-a-loud books for elementary students

• Henry's Freedom Box, by Ellen Levine
• Moses, by Carole Boston Weatherford
• The Story of Ruby Bridges, by Robert Coles
• Let the Children March, by Monica Clark-Robinson
• Back of the Bus, by Aaron Reynolds
• Hair Love, a full short film by Sony Pictures Animation
• The Case for Loving - The Fight for Interracial Marriage - Words On Screen
• I Am Enough, by Grace Byers
• Don't Touch My Hair!, by Sharee Miller
• Bippity Bop Barbershop, by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
• Feast for 10, by Cathryn Falwell

Social Justice Through Craft and Conversations (Ages 3-10)

• https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/thinking-about-social-justice-through-crafts-and

Secondary Level

Book recommendations for young adults (Grades 5-12)

• The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
• Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Table Talk: Conversation Starters for Families on George Floyd, Racism and Law Enforcement (Ages 11+)

• https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/george-floyd-racism-and-law-enforcement

High School Students and Adults

Books to read to learn about racism in the United States

• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson, Ph.D.
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson
• Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-first Century by Monique W. Morris
• The Invention of the White Race by Theodore W. Allen
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Please note the rating of the videos, as some can be graphic.