Racial Equity Resources
A Message from the Superintendent
June 8, 2020
Dear Humboldt County Community,
The troubling events of recent days require us to once again come together as community to share our unified outrage regarding the injustice and blatant disregard for the life and murder of Minnesota-resident, Mr. George Floyd and also for countless other people of color, both in recent years and over the centuries of our nation’s history.
Humboldt County Office of Education (HCOE) stands in solidarity with those voicing anguish, anger, and frustration. As educators, we have an obligation to support our young people and community. Our responsibility is to utilize this moment to model and take a stand against injustice and inequity. Now is the time to serve our young people by listening, communicating with honesty, uniting against racism, and against violent and destructive behavior.
Every student has the right to learn in an inclusive culture that grows and is enriched from the incredible strength of diversity. Let us educate and raise our voices on behalf of our children and use this moment as an opportunity to bring about lasting change. We must identify the racism and biases within ourselves and be courageous in identifying and eliminating the same in our schools and community.
This week’s edition of our Weekly News is solely dedicated to providing resources, examples of local school-based activities and programs, as well as upcoming events that can help our young people make sense of what they are seeing and hearing. I am so thankful for the incredible work of our local educators who are embracing this moment as a catalyst for growth, for justice and for action.
With Gratitude,
Chris Hartley , Ed.D
Superintendent
Recommended Reading
HCOE has compiled a brief list of books, organized by audience (adults, children, educators, and teens) on the subjects of racism and equity. A more extensive list can be found below, in the Resources for Community Members section.
Things to Consider in Conversations
- Be sure to center the voices and feelings of students of color. If white students and teachers dominate the space with their voices and feelings, we are not teaching for equity. Work to do this even in an all-white space. What is the anti-racist perspective to be centered?
- Be sure to center the systemic and institutional and interpersonal need to value Black people and Black lives. In conversations about protests, many are quick to center the importance of property and not destroying property.
- As Dr. Kendi, author of How to Be an Anti-Racist states, there is no such thing as a neutral position of “not racist”. There is only “racist” and “anti-racist”.
Organizations to Support and General Resources
Local Resources
- MUSD Non-discrimination/Harassment Resources
- Humboldt County Library Anti-Racism Reading Guide for All Ages
State Resources
- CDE – State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Calls on Schools and Community to Take Action to Address Institutional Racism and Educational Inequities.
- Email: createracialjustice@gmail.com to share your voice and ideas for promoting racial justice
- State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces Multi-Pronged Partnerships, Initiatives to Address Implicit Bias and Racism
Local Organizations to Support
National Organizations to Support
Resources for Educators
Resources for Families and Children
Books
- Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: books for children and young adults
- 27 Books to help you talk to your kids about racism
Podcasts
- Fare of the Free Child podcast
- Integrated Schools podcast episode “Raising White Kids with Jennifer Harvey”
Articles
- PBS’s Teaching Your Child About Black History Month
- Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup from Pretty Good
- 7 Difficult Questions About Racism
- Black parents describe “The Talk” they give to their children about police
- Black Parents Know about “The Talk” – White Parents, It’s Your Turn
- Raising Race Conscious Children
Talking to Kids About Racism
Talk to your children with compassion about the pent-up frustration of the protesters so they know and understand the actions they are witnessing are a direct result of historical injustices.
- Teaching Tolerance provides resources for talking to kids about race and racism
- Talking to Children about Racial Bias – HealthyChildren.org
- Some Guidance for Talking with Kids about the Protests that are Sweeping this Country
- Affirming Black Lives without Inducing Trauma
- 9 Children’s Books about Police Brutality
- Anti-Racism for Kids 101: Starting to Talk about Race
- 31 Children’s Books to Talk Support Conversations on Race, Racism, and Resistance
- Talking to Kids about Racism and Justice
- Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism CNN and Sesame Street
- 10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids about Race
- Kojo for Kids: Jason Reynolds Talks about Racism and the Protests
- 10 Young Racial Justice Activists You Should Know
Resources for Community Members
Books
- Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
- Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
- Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
- How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold
- Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander - The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century
by Grace Lee Boggs - The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga
- When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
- Divided Sisters by Midge Wilson and Kathy Russell
- They Can’t Kills Us all by Wesley Lowery
- Fatal Invention by Dorothy Roberts
- Locking Up Our Own by James Forman
- The Miner’s Canary by Lani Guiner and Gerald Torres
- The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
Podcasts
- 1619 (New York Times)
- About Race
- Code Switch (NPR)
- Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
- Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
- Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
- Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
- Seeing White
Articles
- PBS’s Teaching Your Child About Black History Month
- Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup from Pretty Good
- 7 Difficult Questions About Racism
- Black parents describe “The Talk” they give to their children about police
- Black Parents Know about “The Talk” – White Parents, It’s Your Turn
- Raising Race Conscious Children
Videos
- Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives: Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers (50:48)
- “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” | Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)