December 15, 2025 Education Organization Compiles Experts’ Advice on How to Talk to Children About Race and Racism Talking about race or situations involving racism or discrimination can be challenging for caregivers and children, so The Hechinger Report has compiled experts’ advice on the topic in a new article. Learn More The Hechinger Report – an organization that covers inequality and innovation in education – has put together an article filled with experts’ advice on how to answer children’s questions about the mistreatment of communities of color by police, white privilege, racism, and other topics. The article cites a caregiver who had texted its author, Jackie Mader, in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020. The caregiver’s twins understood racism but not why people categorize others by race. The article noted that research shows it is critical to have such discussions with children because, by kindergarten, children express many of the same racial stereotypes as adults. By talking about race, racism, and differences, parents and teachers can intercept harmful stereotypes and normalize differences. Experts cited in the article noted that parents should start introducing children at an early age to different races and cultures through books and toys that have diverse characters. Kenya Hameed, a clinical neuropsychologist with New York City’s Learning and Development at the Child Mind Institute, said that age 4 is a good time to start having those discussions. Mercedes Samudio, a licensed clinical social worker, said that caregivers should take time to face their own biases and learn as much as they can about race and racism before talking to their own children. “A lot of parents are being forced into this space because of the world and the way things are going,” Samudio said. “So, before parents jump in and answer questions, it’s OK to say, ‘You know, I need to do more reading on this and figure it out and we can talk tomorrow.’” To read about more topics addressed by experts on the topics of race and racism, check out The Hechinger Report’s article.
June 7, 2023 Organizations Publish New Education and Equity Resources for Families and Educators The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice and the Erikson Institute have recently published new education and equity resources for parents, caregivers, teachers, policy makers, and child care providers. Find a list of these resources below. Recently Published Resources on Education & Equity Resource on Confronting Racial Discrimination in Student Discipline – U.S. Departments of Education and Justice About The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice share with educators around the country the goal that all students attend schools where they are supported, safe, and able to access an excellent education. A school environment that is free from discrimination is essential to meeting that goal. However, decades of enforcement activity have demonstrated that discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in student discipline was, and continues to be, a significant concern. Discrimination in student discipline forecloses opportunities for students, pushing them out of the classroom and diverting them from a path to success in school and beyond. Significant disparities by race—beginning as early as preschool—have persisted in the application of student discipline in schools. The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice created this resource to to support schools’ efforts to confront the issue of race discrimination in student discipline effectively. Content In it, the authors: provide examples of the Departments’ investigations of discrimination over the last 10 years; describe how the Departments resolved investigations of 14 school districts in 10 states; discuss concerns of discrimination in schools’ use of: out-of-school suspensions expulsions school-based arrests referrals to law enforcement involuntary discipline transfers informal removals and other discipline against Black, Latino, and/or Native American students; demonstrate the Departments’ ongoing commitment to the enforcement of laws that protect students from discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in student discipline; and demonstrate ways school districts can take steps to proactively improve their administration of student discipline Access this resource or learn more about it on the U.S. Department of Education website. Pre-K in Family Child Care Project: Strategies Toward the Equitable Implementation of Pre-K in Family Child Care – The Erikson Institute About The Pre-K in Family Child Care (PKFCC) Project explores strategies, successes, and challenges in the implementation of public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) in family child care (FCC) settings across states and locals in the U.S. through an equity lens. This brief presents key findings about how pre-k systems address curriculum, assessment, developmental screening, and monitoring requirements to ensure FCC settings are equitably included in pre-k delivery. Findings are based on data collected through focus groups in November 2022. These groups included 14 state and local pre-k administrators representing seven states and three cities or locals. Content Highlights from the report include: Many pre-k systems that include FCC require educators to use designated curriculum, assessment, and/or screening tools and to participate in monitoring. Some pre-k systems allow FCC educators to select a curriculum, assessment, or screening tool from the same approved lists offered to center-based preschools. Pre-k systems generally do not offer FCC-specific curriculum options that address mixed-age groups or are culturally representative. Few pre-k systems differentiate requirements for FCC educators or intentionally include FCC educators’ voices and perspectives in decision making. Approved or vetted tools are often not available in providers’ or children’s home languages. Additionally, they do not often represent the culture of the FCC educators and children they serve. Requirements for FCC educators implementing pre-k are often the same as center-based pre-k settings. Pre-k systems invested in including FCCs offer individualized supports to meet curriculum, assessment, developmental screening, and monitoring requirements. Coaching and professional development are provided through some pre-k systems to support FCC implementation of curriculum and assessment standards and requirements. Fiscal supports are provided in some pre-k systems to offset the costs of curriculum, assessment, and developmental screening requirements. However, more supports are offered for curriculum implementation than for assessments and developmental screening. Access this resource or learn more on the Erikson Institute website. Learn More To learn more, visit the U.S. Department of Education and Erikson Institute websites.
February 9, 2022 Overcharged and Undervalued: How Blackness Colors the Worth of a Home Join the Homewood Community Engagement Center for a virtual panel exploring discriminatory home valuation. Learn about home valuation disparities in Pittsburgh, PA. Panelists will discuss the barriers to equitable taxation, how we got here, and what we can do to repair the broken systems. Home value estimates play an important role in property taxation system. However, throughout U.S. history and up to present day, biased home evaluation practices and intentional price manipulation have produced a property tax landscape that favors the white and wealthy at the expense of all others. Register to Attend Registration is available on the Homewood CEC website. Participate in the conversation virtually (via Zoom) or in-person (at the Community Engagement Center in Homewood or the Mattress Factory Museum). Additional Information Overcharged and Undervalued: How Blackness Colors the Worth of a Home is part of a series of virtual programming around Sed Valorem, an installation by Harrison Kinnane Smith currently on display at the Mattress Factory Museum in Pittsburgh, PA as part of the making home here exhibition. This event was organized by the Mattress Factory Museum in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Community Engagement Center in Homewood and the University Art Gallery.
June 4, 2020 Anti-Racism Tools As caregivers, community members, and early childhood educators, we have a responsibility to ensure each child, family, and caregiver is safe from racism and discrimination and has equitable opportunities to thrive. To do this, we must begin with ourselves. With the correct anti-racism tools, a community can continue to grow and learn. Set aside time in your day to do a personal inventory. What thoughts, feelings, and behaviors have you contributed to upholding systems of racism? Are you making assumptions? What actions or inactions have you taken that contribute to systems of oppression? Next, consider your family and your friends—which behaviors, statements, or jokes have gone unchecked? What actions or inactions have you taken within your interpersonal relationships that have contributed to an unsafe community for our Black and Brown children, neighbors, and colleagues? How might you begin to lead by example within your own family or community? Anti-racism work is something that has to be attended to in an ongoing way. To support this work, we have compiled the following anti-racism tools. Note that this list is not exhaustive. Anti-Racism Tools for Adults Videos & Podcasts: Video: ‘I Can’t Breathe: From Agony to Activism’, Pitt Diversity Podcast: Notice the Rage, Notice the Silence, On Being with Krista Tippett Video: What I am learning from my white grandchildren – truths about race, TEDx Talks Video: Juneteenth Round Table with Rep. Chris Rabb & Rep. Ed Gainey, For Our Future Pennsylvania In My Skin Podcast, University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development Tools & Reading Lists: Anti-Racism Resources, Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein An Anti-Racist Reading List, The New York Times Exploring & Understanding Structural Racism, Embrace Race Implicit Bias Test, Harvard Center for Race & Gender Equality, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Race Research Online Directory, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work Race and Equity Resource List, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services After Atlanta: Teaching About Asian American Identity and History, Learning for Justice Resources to Help Empower Asian and Pacific Islander Communities, Online MSW Programs Health-Related: Mental Health Support and Education, Steel Smiling Antiracism Meditation Mental Health Issues Facing the Black Community, Sunshine Behavioral Health Black Lives Matter, Substance Abuse, and Addiction Recovery in the United States, Addicted.org Not Equal: Racial Disparities In Addiction/Substance Abuse Treatment, AddictionResource.net Black Men Matter – Examining Mental Health Issues Among Black Men – A Guide To Freedom, Drug Rehab USA Race and Ethnicity: How it affects your risk of cancer, HealthMatch Racism is a Public Health Crisis, Milken Institute School of Public Health Take Action: 5 Ways White People Can Take Action in Response to White and State-Sanctioned Violence, Medium The critical role white parents play in shaping racism — and eradicating it, PBS How Not to be an Ally: Common missteps and advice for effective allyship, Psychology Today Talking About Race, National Museum of African American History & Culture Want to support Black Lives Matter? Here’s where to start in Pittsburgh., Kidsburgh Confronting Prejudice: How to Protect Yourself and Help Others, Pepperdine University Citizen Journalism and Political Protests, Syracuse University Asian Americans Advancing Justice Family-Related: How to raise anti-racist kids: 20 resources for parents, Motherly Why Raising Kids to ‘Not See Color’ Doesn’t Help Fight Racism, HuffPost Our Family’s Commitment to Being Anti-Racist, PBS Kids Black Boys Matter: Cultivating Their Identity, Agency, and Voice, NAEYC Things to Know If You Love a Multiracial Child, Embrace Race “Love is not enough”: Supports for Transracial Adoptive Families, Embrace Race Nurturing Resistance & Joy in Black Children, Embrace Race Raising Muslim American Children Who Thrive, Embrace Race Observance-Related: African American History: From Emancipation to the Present, Yale Anti-Racism Tools for Educators Personal/Professional Development: Talking to Kids About Racism and Justice: a list for parents, caregivers & educators, Oakland Library Video: Identity, Challenge and Dismantle: A Few Sociocultural Strategies for Teaching About Racism, SPSSI An Essential Reading Guide for Fighting Racism, BuzzFeed News Teacher’s Corner, University of Pittsburgh School of Education Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement, NAEYC Becoming Upended: Teaching and Learning About Race and Racism with Young Children and Their Families, NAEYC Teaching #BlackLivesMatter, Teaching for Change A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators, Edutopia NEA activists launch series of video “primers” for anti-racist white educators, NEA A Simple Way to Self-Monitor for Bias, Edutopia What White Colleagues Need to Understand, Teaching Tolerance Building Antiracist White Educators Classroom/Community Development: ‘All we are asking for is change!’ How schools are taking steps toward justice-centered learning, Kidsburgh Black Students Are Not ‘Marginalized,’ They Are the Center of Our Work, Education Post Asian Americans K-12 Education Curriculum, Asian Americans Advancing Justice The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health, The American Academy of Pediatrics Talking About Race, National Museum of African American History and Culture Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum, NAEYC How to Root Out Anti-Black Racism From Your School, EdWeek How Indigenous, Black, and POC Educators Envision a Better School Experience, KQED Racial inequities in education can start as early as preschool, AXIOS How to create anti-racist virtual classrooms: Strategies for teachers and families, Kidsburgh How do you teach antiracism to the youngest students?, The Hechinger Report How to Better Support Your Black Colleagues, Edutopia Building Anti-Racist Early Childhood Programs with Implicit Bias Trainings & Resources, HiMama Inclusion of All Children in Early Childhood Education Programs in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning One School’s Commitment to Equity Using Student-Centered Learning, Students at the Center Hub Mere Engagement: Reflections about the Connections Between Online Learning, Student Agency, and Student Engagement, Aurora Institute How to Provide a Multicultural Education, Baylor University Resources: Black Lives Matter Resources, Writix Early Childhood Education Elementary Education Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education (P.R.I.D.E) – Understanding PRIDE in Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Education P.R.I.D.E. Speaker Series, University of Pittsburgh School of Education In My Skin: A P.R.I.D.E Podcast, University of Pittsburgh School of Education What is Race?, Flocabulary Tools for Anti-Racist Teaching, PBS Teachers Lounge Advancing Equity Initiative, NAEYC Race & Ethnicity Resources, Teaching Tolerance My Racial Journey, University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development Equity Services, Pennsylvania School Boards Association The Cultural Proficiency Framework, The Robbins Group Learning for Justice Public Health Resources for Understanding Environmental Racism, Public Health Degrees 135 Racial Equity Resources For Education, Professional & Community Development, Health, And Civil Rights, College Consensus Anti-Racism Tools for Children Discussing Racism with Children Video: A Clinical Perspective on Talking to Kids About Racism, Child Mind Institute Transcript: A Clinical Perspective on Talking to Kids About Racism, Child Mind Institute ‘Raising White Kids’ Author On How White Parents Can Talk About Race, NPR They’re not too young to talk about race! The Children’s Community School Talking to Children About Racial Bias, HealthyChildren Talking Race with Young Children, NPR How to Talk to Kids about Race and Racism, Parent Toolkit 10 tips for teaching and talking to kids about race, Embrace Race Talking about Race with Kids and Teens, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh How to talk to kids about racism, explained by a psychologist, Vox 21 Anti-Racism Videos to Share With Kids, We Are Teachers Experts answer your kids’ tough questions about race and racism, The Hechinger Report Talking to Children Authentically about Race and Racism, PBS Kids Video – PBS KIDS Talk About Race & Racism, PBS Kids Talking to Young Children About Race and Racism: A Discussion Guide, PDB Kids Raising Kids Who Embrace Race, National PTA So You Want to Raise a Young White Ally? Embrace Race Supporting Children’s Leadership & Activism, Embrace Race Supporting Healthy Racial Learning in Early Childhood, Embrace Race Discussing Racism, Violence, and Protests with Children Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News, Child Mind Institute Talking to Children About Race, Policing and Violence, The New York Times Addressing Race and Trauma in the Classroom: A Resource for Educators, The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Resources for Talking about Race, Racism and Racialized Violence with Kids, Center for Racial Justice in Education George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children?, USA Today Video: “How do I make sure I’m not raising the next Amy Cooper?” with Jennifer Harvey, Embrace Race How to Talk with Kids About Racism and Racial Violence, Common Sense Media Resources for Talking About Race, Racism and Racialized Violence with Kids, Center for Racial Justice in Education How to Talk to Your Children About the Protests, The Wall Street Journal Talking with Children About Racism, Police Brutality and Protests, Aha! Parenting How To Talk To Your Kids About Race, Racism And Police Violence, WBUR How To Talk About Race And Protests With Your Kids, Explained By A Child Psychologist, WBUR Talking to Kids About Racism and Violence, Child Mind Institute Children’s Books I Too Am America, by Langston Hughes, ages 5+ Baby Blessings: A Prayer For The Day You Were Born, by Deloris Jordan, ages 0-6 Lullaby, A Poem, by Langston Hughes, ages 0-6 Welcome, Precious, by Nikki Grimes, ages 0-5 Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grow Up to Become Malcolm X, by IIyasha Shabazz, ages 6+ CROWN: An Ode To A Fresh Cut, by Derrick Barnes, ages 3-10 Turning 15 On The Road To Freedom: My Story of 1965 Selma Voting Right March, by Lynda Blackmon, ages 12+ A Child’s Introduction To AA History, by Jabari Asim, ages 5+ 10 Children’s Books About Racism And Activism To Help Parents Educate Their Kids, HuffPost 31 Children’s books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance, Embrace Race These Books Can Help You Explain Racism and Protest to Your Kids, The New York Times Books About Racism and Social Justice, Common Sense Media Books on race and racism, by age, recommended by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Kidsburgh Reading Race in Picture Books with Children, Embrace Race Anti-Racism Tools for Social/Emotional Development Helping Children Cope With Frightening News, Child Mind Institute How to Foster Resilience in Kids, Child Mind Institute What to Do (and Not Do) When Children Are Anxious, Child Mind Institute NASP: Managing Strong Emotional Reactions to Trauma, National Association of School Psychologists Supporting Young Children after Crisis Events, NAEYC Coping with Grief After Community Violence, SAMHSA The Brown Mama Blueprint Podcast, Pittsburgh Brown Mamas Resources to Support Children’s Emotional Well-Being Amid Anti-Black Racism, Racial Violence, and Trauma, Child Trends Asian Mental Health Collective
May 2, 2019 2019 PA Community Alliance Summit The Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council invites you to a day of networking, discovering alliances and collaboration building among diverse organizations throughout Pennsylvania led by and/or supporting underserved/unserved populations who experience marginalization and oppression. About the Summit Oppression affects many of us, for different socially constructed reasons: racism, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual identity and orientation, disability, economics, rural/urban location, religion, and so much more. Although our discrimination experiences may be different, we can be a valuable support and resource to each other in our struggles for equality, inclusion, and social justice. Join the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council on May 21 and 22 to participate in the discussion. This year, the Summit will focus on the goal of meeting and engaging new potential allies, stimulating learning from one another, and exploring opportunities for partnerships and collaboration. Download the Summit agenda. Registration Registration is free and may be accessed via the event page. Availability is on a first come first serve basis. More information on the event, hotel accommodations, travel, and more can be found on the event page. Questions For questions, contact Dana Thompson at 717.214.8103 or danathomps@pa.gov.
