I hope we not only read Dr. King’s words today, but put them into action throughout the year. Here are some resources for talking with kids about the holiday, and also about race and racism—conversations we should be having regularly.
I’ve found these sites and articles thought provoking. I hope they motivate you and your kids to discuss these important topics and explore further resources. May they help us work further towards being anti-racist and dismantling oppression.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Himself
- Many of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches are now easily available on YouTube. Watch one (or part of one, or more than one) with your kids, if they’re old enough. Ask them what parts of the speeches resonate with them today, given their experience of the world.
- Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke with 11 Alive recently on “how to keep her father’s dream alive.” Adults and older kids will find much food for thought (and action!) here.
- For younger kids, or even to refresh your own memory, check out National Geographic Kids’ page on Dr. King. It’s a simple timeline, but with actual photos of Dr. King throughout his life.
- Black Children’s Books and Authors shares a list of “10 Books to Celebrate M.L. King Jr. Day” for elementary, middle, and young adult readers.
- Learning for Justice offers a number of resources that “provide students with a more complete, radical context of King’s fight for justice.”
- On a similar note, Charles Blow in New York Times wrotes of “The Agitated M.L.K. I Came to Love,” which feels like a fuller picture of the man both for adults and for children old enough to understand it.
- Also from Learning for Justice is this piece on connecting MLK’s work with the present: “From MLK to #BlackLivesMatter: A Throughline for Young Students.”
- Of course, we should avoid framing MLK as the sole leader of the Civil Rights movement. I’ll note here the excellent recent picture book A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the 1963 March on Washington. See also the book lists below for more about other Civil Rights leaders.
Talking with Kids About Race and Racism
- EmbraceRace is full of resources for racial learning, specifically for younger kids. Try “10 tips for teaching and talking to kids about race” to start.
- Raising Race Conscious Children is another site to put on your regular reading list, whose purpose “is to support parents and teachers who are trying to talk about race and diversity with young children.”
- Meghna Chakrabarti and Hilary McQuilkin of NPR station WBUR spoke to “How To Talk To Your Kids About Race And Justice.” There are several links to additional pieces on the topic.
- Denene Miller at Scholastic Parents writes, “‘Kids Are Missing a Crucial Piece of History’: How to Talk About Martin Luther King Jr. With Your Children.“
- Mater Mea’s Meilan Carter-Gilkey responds to her son’s assertion in “‘I Want my Skin to be White’: How I Taught my Son to Love his Skin.”
- HapaMama’s Grace Hwang Lynch also addresses “When Your Kids Experience Racism,” starting with her own son’s experience. She expands on the topic in a post at The Mother Company, “Why You Need to Talk to your Kids about Race.”
- Mixed Up Mama offers “10 Things Every Parent Should Do When Raising Mixed Heritage Kids,” including “Talk About Racism”—and while this post isn’t about racism per se, it ties into her post on “Preparing for Racist Bullying at School” in which she writes, “What I hope more than anything though is that if it does happen, my daughters will be secure enough in who they are to be able to dismiss such comments as they would any other.”
- Tabitha St. Bernard-Jacobs at HuffPo shares “What I’ve Learned About Race and Motherhood From Having a Son Who Can ‘Pass’ as White.”
- PBS Kids for Parents site offers many resources, often tied to episodes of their shows, on “Talking to Young Children About Race and Racism.”
- In the Seattle Times piece, “How white families with young children can undo racism,” Maggie Beneke, Manka Varghese and Caryn Park offer advice from their positions as both academic researchers and parents.
- NPR’s Michel Martin explains, “How White Parents Can Talk To Their Kids About Race.”
- The New York Times’ KJ Dell’Antonia discusses “Talking About Racism With White Kids,” sharing links to many other articles, but also the story of conveying to her 13-year-old “the commitment that white people have to make to consider and combat racism, whether it’s overt or not.”
- Learning for Justice’s Jonathan Gold, in “Teaching About Stereotypes 2.0,” talks more broadly about stereotypes from his perspective as a teacher—but his advice seems relevant for parents as well.
- The Center for Racial Justice and Education has even more “Resources for Talking about Race, Racism and Racialized Violence with Kids.”
- Before you continue on to the book lists below, remember this advice from Jason Basa Nemec at the Washington Post: “Children’s books can help start a conversation about race. Parents have to continue it.” The piece has some very thoughtful tips on how to have these conversations even with the very youngest children, no matter their racial identities.
For Older Children
- The TED Talks Live Short, “Unconscious Bias,” is a three-minute live and animated video from the perspective of one Black boy as he grows up under the oppression of racism. (Also includes one scene with smoking and alcohol use.)
- Informative for older kids and parents is Mellody Hobson’s TED Talk, “Color Blind or Color Brave,” a great 14-minute talk for anyone who’s ever said or heard someone say that “Race doesn’t matter to me” or “I don’t see race.”
- Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk, “We Need to Talk About an Injustice,” while a little longer (23 minutes) is also well worth it for parents and older kids.
Book Lists
While my own Database of LGBTQ Family Books includes many books with Black characters and other characters of color (though more need to be published!), and some books that touch on issues or race and racism, my focus is on LGBTQ inclusion, not race and racism per se. I rely on others who are more expert than I am to cover such topics in full. Below is just a small selection of the many lists that exist.
- We Need Diverse Books has book lists and much more among its Resources for Race, Equity, Anti-Racism, and Inclusion.
- Black Children’s Books and Authors offers these books on civil rights and social justice as well as biographies and more.
- Pragmatic Mom has numerous lists, including these Civil Rights Movement Book Lists for Kids and African American Books for Kids.
- The Cooperative Children’s Book Center lists include March On: Selected Books about the Civil Rights Movement for Children and Teens and Race and Racism: Selected Books for Pre-K to Grade 12.
Adults may also want to read “Anti-CRT Mania and Book Bans are the Latest Tactics to Halt Racial Justice,” by Ishena Robinson at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Children’s books about race and racism are being banned across the country along with books that include people with LGBTQ identities. I am reminded of another quote from Dr. King, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Taking Action
- To take action on this national day of service, visit www.MLKDay.gov to find MLK Day volunteer opportunities near you. Bring your kids, if they’re old enough!
Inspiration
- Finally, President Obama’s MLK Day Proclamation still makes good reading. I particularly like this part, which speaks to why we must both remember the origins of the holiday and carry its spirit onward:
Only by drawing on the lessons of our past can we ensure the flame of justice continues to shine. By standing up for what we know to be right and speaking uncomfortable truths, we can align our reality closer with the ideal enshrined in our founding documents that all people are created equal. In remembering Dr. King, we also remember that change has always relied on the willingness of our people to keep marching forward.