How to Respond to Racism

Lesson Planning

What do we teach our children about how to respond when they experience racism?

When did you teach your children about racism? How did you advise them to respond?

I was called the n-word for first time when I was 6 years old. It was at the playground and by a little White boy. I didn't know what the word was or meant, but for some reason I knew it had to do with me being different from him.

I ran home and told my mom and she just gave me a list of terms I could call him lol. Didn't really help me with understanding racism.

When I was in the 5th grade, after my parents moved us to a town known for having the former grand wizard of the KKK, I was called a "Blackhead." I told my teacher. She physically yanked him back by his collar. Now that gave me a little satisfaction haha. This same teacher, during Black History Month, gave me space to address the class in saying that African Americans didn't like to be called "Colored" any more. (This was in 2002 y'all). By this point, I had already watched all of Roots by myself.

Both of my parents were born during segregation, my mama in North Carolina. My parents were 11 when Dr. King was assassinated.

I marched with the Black Lives Matter Movement in 2014-2015 in response to the police killings of Mike Brown and Eric Garner. I learned that our intended audience was not gonna listen.

Me in a Black Lives Matter Protest in San Diego 2014

I moved to Oakland, California; learned the real history of Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party and chose to build within our own.

But my 2.5 year old daughter was watching her favorite show Karma's World, and they had an episode about Karma's brother experiencing racism. I did not know that was what the episode was about so it caught me off guard, but I instinctively condemned what the racist was saying. In the show though, how they helped the brother deal with the racism was by singing, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around."

I immediately paused the show and showed my daughter my first exposure to this song. From Selma, Lord, Selma with Jurnee Smollett.

A couple days after, my daughter was by herself singing the song. I joined her and then took the time to explain racism. I said, there are people in this world who do not like us simply because of the color of our skin or the curls in our hair. I said can you imagine that? Cause we love our brown skin and we love our curly hair.

I have been teaching her James Brown's Say It Loud since she was maybe 1.5 so we did that.

Gracie's Corner has a song called, "I Love My Hair" so we sang that.

I taught my daughter the Black National Anthem when she was around 20 months so we sang that.

Then I added some extra affirmations, "Our Hair defies gravity and reaches towards the sun." And the life motto I lived by since h.s., "Black is Beautiful no matter the shade."

But all of these have to do with feeling pride in ourselves and celebrating our greatness.

But what do you do when you actually face racism?

I told her, that there isn't much we can say or do to change the minds and hearts of other people.

But what we can do is say...

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round

Turn Me 'Round

Turn Me 'Round

Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round

Gonna keep on walking lord

Keep on talking lord

Marching to the freedom land

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round

Turn Me 'Round

Turn Me 'Round

Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round

Gonna keep on walking lord

Keep on talking lord

Doing the best I can.

And as I raise a Black child during these turbulent times in Amerkkka, it is with self-determination, Black pride, and creating and supporting of our own.

It isn't our job to educate the ignorant.

But they also ain't gonna stop our greatness.

My daughter is home with me until TK, but I have always said, I want to be her first teacher. I do not want her to learn about racism (nor sexism) the hard way without any context.

So before TK, we will be watching

Selma, Lord, Selma

The Color Friendship

Proud Family's episode where they go back in time to segregation.

There's also a Smartt Guy episode about racial profiling.

How will you teach your children about racism?

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