Tabitha here: Amidst the firestorm of attacks on our freedoms, on our communities and on our education system, there remains a pressing need to raise our children with knowledge and awareness as it pertains to antiracism. With attacks on DEI all around us, it increases the need for us parents to lead our children’s education about race and antiracism with empathy, truth and directness. Raising our children with antiracist values gives them the tools to fight oppression.
During my graduate studies at Boston University, I got the chance to delve really deep into antiracist parenting. I studied the 6 Building Blocks of Antiracist Parenting, a framework that Adam and I developed to support parents who aim to raise antiracist kids.
In my work, I came across a study by Sarah A. Matlock and Robin DiAngelo that struck me as so helpful and necessary for white parents on this antiracist journey. Though this study was done in 2015, it’s still relevant to this day.
The name of the study is “We Put It In Terms of Not-Nice: White Antiracists and Parenting”. The study’s goal was to examine how white parents who identify as antiracist infuse antiracism into their lives and the lives of their families.
The findings may (or may not) surprise you.
Now, if you have ever dabbled with academia, you know that the published studies are written in a style that isn’t always the easiest to absorb. So as part of my work at BU, I broke the findings of this study into bite size learnings that I’m excited to finally share with you. I also share some tips on possible next steps for white parents at the end.
Thank you so much to Sarah A. Matlock for working with me on accuracy.
The above is pretty clear, right? Intention isn’t the same as action. And infusing antiracism into parenting takes lots of work, consistency and creativity. And, though we are all exhausted from parenting under capitalism, fascism and more, you’re here and reading this. You know we all have some learning to do (yup, even me). Below is just one actionable and simple (ish) habit you can develop when communicating with your child about race and antiracism.
It starts with communication. It begins with keeping those lines open so that when kids need to talk to us, we know HOW to.
If you’re a white parent, today’s email isn’t meant to discourage you. It’s meant to reinvigorate you. Even if it makes you a bit pissed off, I hope that drives you to want to shift things in your home. We, the parents, are our child’s first teachers and boy, does that come with a lot of power and pressure. But together, in this community we’re building on Substack, we can hold each other (virtually) and support each other and keep each other accountable in this work. You got this. I know it may not feel like it all the time. But you’re here and you’re trying and that counts for a lot.
If you’re white, take a moment to reflect and see if any of the findings apply to your lived experience. Leave a comment and let me know how this landed for you.
That’s it from me for today. Take good care, okay? And remember, we’re in this together.
Tabitha