As mamas, we always want to make sure we are educating our children and raising them to be kind and loving humans, which includes teaching them about race. If you’re wondering how to approach racial equality, we’re sharing local resources to help you get the conversation started among your family, friends, and kids, as well as ways you can do something to support racial equality—because taking action is the pathway to change.
featured image via @katieksturg
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5XMEYAAAv/?igshid=1rh7l6dbd1t10
Donate to a charity that fights against racial injustice
New Jersey Institute For Social Justice
The NJISJ seeks to ensure that urban residents live in a society that respects their humanity, provides equality of economic opportunity, empowers them to use their voice in the political process, and protects equal justice.
YWCA Northern New Jersey
YWCA Northern New Jersey’s Racial Justice initiatives help build collaborative partnerships with those who share their vision of peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. They work diligently with individuals, community groups and government agencies to uphold racial equality.
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Talk to your kids
Start the conversation at home with an age-appropriate book, A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory is a clear description of what racism is, how it makes people feel when they experience it, and how to spot it when it happens. The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler, delivers an important message of social acceptance to young readers. Likewise, having your child play with diverse toys can help support compassion and understanding—Kids Play Tricks recently posted a guide to diverse toys for littles.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAknGpRHgNS/?igshid=1akchw9zkrxuk
Support local black-owned businesses
Diversifying from where you buy from can help, too: As Fast Company reports, “COVID-19 had already hit businesses owned by people of color: 40% of black-owned businesses and 35% of Latinx-owned businesses have gone bust, compared with 15% of those owned by white people. Among those that remain, 21% of black business owners say they don’t think they’ll be able to keep their companies afloat, compared to 5% of white business owners.” On a local level, we’re partial to helping NJMOMprenuers like Marie Onyeani of Cafe Du Pain in Lawrenceville and Laura Diaz of LaDi maternity clothing, and also Kika Stretch Studios in Short Hills and Summit, Willow and Olivia Dessert Cafe in West Orange, and Coffee & Cornbread in Teaneck.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA3w9qxpXKT/
Follow accounts talking about racial equality
Social media is a way to learn and be a part of the conversation and has in many ways produced concrete change. Follow accounts that speak to racism and offer solutions as well as a diverse perspective. Here are two— The Conscious Kid, a website dedicated to parenting and education through a critical race lens. Here Wee Read is run by a black mama of 2 littles, who loves connecting people through books, and on her Bookshop.org store, she recommends a ton of kid-friendly books on race, diversity, and inclusivity.
