Talking to Students about Racism
HMS Family,
In light of the terrible and unjust recent events regarding George Floyd, we, your school counselors, wanted to let you know that we are here for you. School counseling offices are safe spaces where you can privately share your experiences. We are trained in facilitating these discussions and believe in working towards greater degrees of systemic change. It is our job to listen, to see you, to hear you, and to stand with you.
Below you will find a list of resources that we have compiled to help facilitate conversations about race, racism, and to help work towards a better, more understanding society. We hope that these help, and also hope that you will reach out to any of us for further discussion, support, and love.
- Talking to Kids About Racism - Video
- Racism and Police Violence - links
- Anti-Bias Tools and Strategies
- Helping Kids Make Sense of News Stories About Bias
- Beyond the Golden Rule
- Resources for Talking About Race, Racism, and Racialized Violence with Kids
- How to talk to kids about racism, racial violence, and police brutality
- 5 Tips for Talking with Children About Hate Incidents - Anti-Defamation League
- Talking to Children After Racial Incidents
- Confronting White Privilege
- Resources for Discussing Police Violence and Addressing Trauma with Students
Books
- Social Justice Books
- 10 Children’s Books that Help White Kids Understand What Children of Color are Up Against
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust American by Jennifer Harvey
- Daddy Why Am I Brown?: A healthy conversation about skin color and family by Bedford F. Palmer
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: and other conversations about race
Other Resources to Check Out:
The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation: Actor Taraji P. Henson’s foundation works to end the stigma around mental illness in the African-American community. Earlier in May, the foundation joined with The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation to provide free access to therapy for people affected by the coronavirus crisis.
Crisis Text Line: On Friday, Crisis Text Line shared a graphic with the caption, “We can’t talk about mental health without addressing factors like systemic racism.” Their free, 24/7 mental health support is available by texting HOME to 741741.