For Adult Reading/Learning (*= specifically for White People):
- Chicago Is Not Broke: Funding the City We Deserve, edited by Tom Tressler
- A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki (also on Hoopla…CPL free audiobks)
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D.
- The Color of Law: The Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
-Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook got Wrong by James Loewen
- So You Want To Talk About Race? By IjeomaOluo
- When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America
- A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
- The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It: The Memoir of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson
- Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
* What Does It Mean To Be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy by Robin DiAngelo, Ph.D.
* Waking Up White by Debby Irving
* White Like Me by Tim Wise
* Raising Race Questions: Whiteness and Inquiry in Educationby Ali Michael, Ph.D.
For Early Childhood Educators/Families with Young Children:
-NurtureShock: How Everything We Thought About Children is Wrong by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman (2011) – chapter called: Why White Parents Don’t Talk About Race (UPLOADED to my site!)
-The First R: How Children Learn Race and Racism by Debra Van Ausdale & Joe R. Feagin(2001)
-Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children by Louise Derman Sparks (1989) –(cheap)
-Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman Sparks (2012) (pricier)
-Rethinking Early Childhood Education edited by Ann Pelo (Rethinking Schools Pub) (2008)
-Kids Like Us: Using Persona Dolls in the Classroom by Trisha Whitney (1999)
-More Mirrors in the Classroom: Using Urban Children’s Literature to Increase Literacy by Jane Fleming (specific to early childhood, but excellent!)
-The Southern Poverty Law Center’s 2016 report: The Trump Effect: The Impact of the Presidential Campaign on our Nation’s Schools (free downloadable PDF – just Google it)
-Black Ants and Buddhists: Thinking Critically and Teaching Differently in the Primary Grades by Mary Cowhey (a 2nd grade teacher)
-Are We Born Racist? New Insights from Neuroscience and Positive Psychology (2010)
-Confronting Our Discomfort: Clearing the Way for Anti-Bias in Early Childhood by Tamar Jacobson
Documentaries/short films/TedTalks/podcasts for Adults:
-CRITICAL TO WATCH (5 minutes) – how racism effects young children -
-(FREE) Slavery By Another Name: :
-(FREE) The Fault Lines: The Lives of Black Women (specific to Chicago police killings of black women)
-Chicago Contract Buyers League (10 min)
-Seeing White Podcast (and if you only have time for some, DEFINITELY #5 & #13!!)
-BRIEF history of systemic racism in housing -
-Intersectionality (Race & Gender)
-Racial Bias in St. Louis-
-Miss Representation (website: )
-Suffragette
-13th (Netflix)
Workshops/Trainings:
-online - - $99 ($79 reduced for groups of 10 people) LIFE CHANGING
-online -
-online -
-Follow Elizabeth “Biz” Lindsay-Ryan on Facebook (often has free trainings for parents/educators in Evanston)
Subscribe to Blogs/non-dominant media sources: (I know there are a TON more!)
-Good Black News -
-Integrated Schools -
-A Striving Parent -
-Color of Change:
JOIN (FREE):
-The Illinois Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education: Advancing and Advocating for Social Justice & Equity (free) or e-mail:
-Families for Racial Justice Chicago (if you have a child/children/nieces/nephews/are a teacher):
NOTE:
There are no “perfect” books…and there are not even the “best” books for all kids. Every child and every classroom of children are SO different…the “best” books for your group, will be chosen by you.
That said, here are some that I love/recommend…that might be useful for some kids/classrooms.
Children’s Books Referenced today/recommended:
RECOMMENDED BOOK SHOP: (& sign up for their newsletter)
(BOYCOTT Amazon…it funds Trump family businesses/profit)
General (celebrating differences/bullying/organizing):
-Two Eyes, A Nose, and a Mouth by Roberta GrobelIntrarater
-Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers
-PEOPLE by Peter Spier
-The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
-Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
-The Sneetches and other Stories by Dr. Seuss (The Sneetches is the best one!)
-Swimmy by Leo Lionni
-Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose – AMAZING for Perspective Taking/empathy!!!
-Recommended by participant: Bein’ With You This Way by W. Nikola-Lisa
Race:
-All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color/Todoscolores de nuestrapiel: La historia de porqué temenos diferentescolores de piel by Katie Kissenger
-All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka
-The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
-We’re Different, We’re the Same by Bobbi Kates & Joe Mathieu
-Say Something by Peggy Moss
-All the Colors We Are by Kate Kissenger
-Black is Brown is Tan by Arnold Adoff
-The Skin You Live Inby Michael Tyler
-Brown Like Me by Noelle Lamperti
-Skin Again by Bell Hooks
-It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr
-Shades of People by Shelly Rottner & Sheila M. Kelly
-Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra Pinkney
-Mixed – Portraits of Multiracial Kids by Kip Fulbeck
-Part Asian – 100% Hapaby Kip Fulbeck
-Mixed Me by Taye Diggs
-Chocolate Me by Taye Diggs
-Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (her classmates tell her she can’t be Peter Pan because she’s a girl and because she’s black)
-Keep Climbing Girls by Beah E. Richards (fights the stereotype that girls are not supposed to climb trees)
-When We Were Alone by David Robertson & Julie Flett
Children with different abilities
-Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis (Susan is in a wheelchair)
-My Friend Isabelle by Eliza Woloson (Isabelle has Downs Syndrome)
Gender
-Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (her classmates tell her she can’t be Peter Pan because she’s a girl and because she’s black)
-Keep Climbing Girls by Beah E. Richards (fights the stereotype that girls are not supposed to climb trees)
-I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jenngings (transgender, but also stereotypical about “girl” things)
-(OLD BOOK to CRITICIZE: A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats (1968!))
-(OLD BOOK to ANALYZE: I Wish That I Had Duck Feet by Theo LeSieg, aka Dr. Seuss (1965!!))
-Recommended by a participant: Meet Polkadot by Talcott Broadhead
Family Composition:
-and tango makes three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell
Muslim
-Deep in the Sahara by Kelly Cunnane & HodaHadadi
Sources for EXCELLENT Children’s Books:
- (Chicago based founder, Jane Fleming, formerly of UIC and then Erikson)
-Children's Books that Include Diverse Family Structures
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-Indians in Children’s Literature: Best Books
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-Native Women’s History: American Indian Heritage
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-Latinas Who Made a Difference
-Board Books and More: Hispanic Heritage
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-50+ Picture Books About Mixed Race Families
-Essential Children’s Books to Empower Black Girls to Love Their Hair
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-10 Books That Empower Kids to Stand Up and Speak Out
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-Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Childhood Children’s Book List
-Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books
-African-American Experience Children’s Literary Reference Guide (2011-2016)
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-Top 100+ Recommended African-American Children’s Books
-The End of Bullying Begins with Me: Bullying Prevention Books for Young Children
-Children’s Books that Break Gender Role Stereotypes
-12 Children’s Books that Challenge Traditional Gender Roles
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-Looking at Gender Identity with Children’s Books
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-Children’s Books on Bullying/Friendship Issues
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-Culturally Relevant Books in the ELL Classroom
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