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From Civil Rights to Black Liberation: They're Not Too Young to Young to Talk About Race (or Gender)!

"As the civil rights struggle widened into a national liberation struggle, many activists began looking for political strategies that went beyond the integrationism of mainstream civil rights groups." Liberation School

Development

Jodie Patterson: Gender is Obsolete

"I am an author, activist, beauty explorer and mother of 5. I hold the position of Chair of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Board, our nation’s largest LGBT organization. As a globally recognized activist, I speak on topics of radical parenting, identity, and gender. When my son announced at the age of 3 “Mama I’m not a girl. I’m a boy”, I set out to inform myself, shift my own bias and change the way my community understood gender. I chronicle that journey in my memoir, The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation – hailed by Alice Walker as “Marvelous”. Cosmopolitan Magazine filmed a mini documentary on my family in 2016 – reaching over 11 million views. My second book, Born Ready: The True Story Of A Boy Named Penelope allows my children’s voice to be heard. They show us how an entire community can be flexible and change for those they love." Jodie Patterson 

 

 

“The story of trans people, to me, was shaping up to be very similar to the story of Black people,” Patterson observes. “Stories in which some have tried to rewrite people’s identities to serve their own needs.” A pleasant surprise came when they explained to Penelope’s religious Ghanaian grandfather, to refer to Penelope as “he”: “Ayy! It’s no problem at all! In my language of Twi, Jodie, we don’t use gender pronouns,” he replied. Patterson’s raw tour de force illustrates the strength of a loving and determined mother." Jodie Patterson

Black Lives Matter at Schools

Bias Isn't Just A Police Problem, It's A Preschool Problem

Southern Poverty Law Center

#BlackBoyJoy

Professional Resource

Talking to small children about race

Opinion | Black Kids Don’t Want to Read About Harriet Tubman All the Time

Black, Latino Two-Parent Families Have Half The Wealth Of White Single Parents

Kid-Friendly Language Around Black Lives Matter

Creating a Brave Space for Dialogue

A Critical Race Reading of Dr. Seuss

Diverse Books Authors Will Help NEA, RIF Celebrate Read Across America

Forget Wealth And Neighborhood. The Racial Income Gap Persists

NY Times

As a Black Mother, My Parenting Is Always Political

Learning About U.S. Slavery Through Trade Cards

#ReadingBlackout

1000 Black Girl Books Resource Guide

Teaching your kids not to “see” race is a terrible idea, studies have found

It’s never too early to talk race with your kids

Black Girls Viewed As Less Innocent Than White Girls, Georgetown Law Research Finds

Lee & Low Blog