A Moving Evening With Dr. Ibram X. Kendi & Nyzia Newman
The kids will be alright.
As antiracist parenting educators who work with both adults and children, we’re going to be honest with you about something.
It is super hard to host an event about antiracism that is applicable and appropriate and engaging for BOTH adults and kids.
Tabitha here: Well, it happened in Montclair, NJ this week and it was an honor to be a part of it.
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s new young adult biography, Malcolm Lives! is a riveting story that highlights Malcolm X’s imperfections, struggles, goals and aspirations. It was a delight to be in conversation with him and a young artist, Nyzia Newman, and it was really exciting to see so many kids, some as young as 7, in the room. I had a major proud mama moment when our son stuck his hand up and asked a really thoughtful question about the book related to Malcolm’s mother and where our stories begin. Our brave boy told Dr. Kendi that even though he usually doesn’t like biographies, he was actually interested in this one. And Dr. Kendi took his words to heart with grace and kindness.
It made me realize that, through it all, when we stick to this work as parents, when we infuse the 6 Building Blocks of Antiracist Parenting into our parenting practices, the kids absorb more than we think. They are navigating the readings, the experiences, and the activism in their own way. This event definitely showed us that the kids will be alright.
Tabitha here: Dr. Kendi spoke about the impact of teaching factual history and stressed the importance of books like this one. Us parents can have a hand in the way our children interact with history, particularly as it relates to race, racism and antiracism, by providing them with the tools they need to know the truth. We also touched on the role of disinformation then and now. Malcolm X tackled disinformation in his time, and our children are facing the overarching and dominating presence of disinformation in their lives right now. Educators in the room asked questions about their roles navigating fact-based teaching. It reinforced the idea that we need to engage young people in identifying facts on and offline, and how this should be critical in our parenting practices.
Here are some more highlights from the evening:
Adam here: One of the very impactful aspects of the evening was the comfort with which kids asked questions. The welcoming atmosphere set up by Nyzia, Dr. Kendi, Tabitha, and the event organizers encouraged them to raise their hands and use their voices. We marveled at these kids being bold and brave in their pursuit of answers, in their quest for understanding. Tabitha and I talk often about one of the 6 Building Blocks of Antiracist Parenting: Intentional Environment. Being intentional about the activities your kids partake in can also include events like this one: book talks where they can make the connection between what they read to the real-life author that is in front of them. Bringing antiracism to life for kids is a crucial part of this journey. Yes, do the reading. Yes, do the learning. But when these lessons that happen within the walls of your home are brought into the community and brought to life…well, that’s a special kind of powerful.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this event into a moving evening for community building and learning.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend and that you get to spend a bit of time outdoors in the healing power of nature.
Tabitha & Adam
