Teaching children how to be anti-racist can feel intimidating. It is also necessary in a world that often divides people by race and then celebrates some groups and discriminates against others. Children in marginalized communities need to know about bias to protect themselves and resist negative stereotypes perpetuated by the dominant culture. Children who benefit from white privilege need to recognize that they can resist racism and promote racial equity.
Dr. Ashley Woodson has created a series of lessons about race and racism for children and their families to explore together. This one focuses on how colonialism created the idea of races. Read the rest of this post with children ages 5-12 years and engage in the italicized activities together.
Four hundred years ago, people all over the world traded and traveled. People from European nations started to claim or colonize land in other countries. They wanted to use the land to grow and sell products like sugar, cotton, tobacco, and rum.
Colonization is a violent and unjust practice that involves taking over someone else’s land, resources, and power. Millions of indigenous people were killed or removed from their homes. Indigenous means that a community of people has lived in a place for a very long time. Indigenous people were members of many different tribes that stretched across the land that would become North and South America.
Millions more people were kidnapped or sold from West Africa as slaves. They were forced to build new cities and work on farms in the Americas. West African people were members of many different tribes, too.
Close your eyes and imagine how you would feel if someone took over your home. (pause) Now imagine that they are forcing you to work for nothing. (pause) How do you feel? (pause) Use your face and body to show your feelings.
The colonists made laws so that it was almost impossible for indigenous people to keep their homes, languages, and cultures. They also made laws that kept West African people and their children in slavery for many generations. The new laws said that the darker your skin was, the less freedom and respect you received.
The new laws created race. All indigenous people were grouped together and called Native Americans. All West African people were grouped together and called African American or Black. The European colonists were from many different countries. The new laws grouped them together and called them White. As more cultures came to the Americas, laws were made to define and control them, too. The new laws created racism and division among people that still affect families and communities today.
What are some examples of racism and division in your community? Act out some problem situations and more just ways of being a community that address those problems.
Race does not have a happy history, but we can still celebrate our racial identities. We can also acknowledge the harm that has been caused by racism and work towards creating a more just and equal society for all races.
What are some ways that you celebrate your racial identity? Draw a picture of you celebrating your culture and identity.
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