I Want To Know.
How do we begin to wrap our minds around race in America? Race – and racism – has grown adept at shapeshifting to maintain power and privilege for some and suffering and oppression for others. To begin to dismantle racism and inequity, many things must happen simultaneously: historical understanding, community building, personal reflection, and committed anti-racist practice. Choose a topic below to begin to dive in more deeply.
Start your journey by exploring one of the Talking About Race topics.
No one is born racist or antiracist; these result from the choices we make. Being antiracist results from a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily. These choices require ongoing self-awareness and self-reflection as we move through life. In the absence of making antiracist choices, we (un)consciously uphold aspects of white supremacy, white-dominant culture, and unequal institutions and society. Being racist or antiracist is not about who you are; it is about what you do.
A bias is a tendency, inclination, or prejudice toward or against something or someone. Even people who are not deliberately prejudicial may have implicit biases. Let’s learn more about this and other types of bias and their real-world impacts.
Community building is something we do together to share perspectives, create brave space, and foster relationships. We are members of a community dedicated to ending racism. Let’s build a national community and grow your local one.
American society developed the notion of race early in its formation to justify its new economic system of capitalism, which depended on the institution of forced labor, especially the enslavement of African peoples. To more accurately understand how race and its counterpart, racism, are woven into the very fabric of American society, we must explore the history of how race, white privilege, and anti-blackness came to be.
The scientific consensus is that race has no biological basis – that we are all one race, the human race. Racialized identity, however, is very real. And, in a racialized society, everyone is assigned a racial identity whether you are aware of it or not. Let’s broaden our awareness.
Self-care is what we deliberately do to care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Our well-being is critical to sustaining our work in dismantling racism. Let’s take care of ourselves – and each other.
An oppressive system is built around the ideology that some groups are superior to others. These systems take on many forms, but they all have essentially the same structure. Let’s recognize our role within them.
Socially and politically constructed, whiteness is not simply referring to skin color but is an ideology that reinforces power at the expense of others and strengthens systems of oppression. Let’s dig deeper.
Whether you are teaching infants, adults, or any age in between, you are an influential part of your students’ learning and development. What and how the history of race in America is presented is a chance to engage in thoughtful, respectful, and productive conversations. Start or expand the conversation with us.
There’s no quick or foolproof way to talk about the complexities of race with your children. But, it’s a conversation all families need to have, no matter your race, background, education or experience. Caregivers too can play an important role. Let’s get begin the conversation together.
You care about making the world a more equitable and just place for all. You may just be starting to think about your role and ability to impact others, or, you may be further along on your journey. Wherever you are, what you do and say matters. Explore how to speak and engage constructively about race.
