My main takeaway was not to shhh children when
they bring up race, or mention a racial stereotype – in that way we influence
children not to be color-blind, but to be color-silent. Instead of hushing students
when race inevitably comes up, we should use misconceptions as a conversation
starter. We should not be afraid to acknowledge the nation’s tainted history of
slavery. We should avoid trauma by making it clear that slavery is no longer
the reality – that students are not in danger of becoming slaves again. We
should also not tell the story in such a way that makes blacks passive victims,
and whites as always the enemy… we should include the accounts of active black resistance
as part of the narrative, as well as making it clear that white allies are part
of the story as well.
