by Soyoung O.

The San Bruno Parents Club is committed to being a supportive community for all local families. This mission statement is a guiding principle that helps shape the resources we choose to share with our community.

In the past several months, we have been reminded again and again of the fundamental injustices that the Black community faces in the United States. This is not a new reality, but one coming to light for a larger audience, as video and social media allow for broader communication of these injustices.

The San Bruno Parents Club strongly condemns racism and firmly believes in justice and equality for all. We believe that the goals of raising children who have empathy, compassion, and a sense of justice cannot be achieved without engaging with these issues–and honestly questioning our blind spots, thinking about the values we want to model for our children, and encouraging future conversations. There is a long way to go in this fight, and it starts with educating ourselves as parents, educating our children, and then committing to actions to stand against racism.

We understand that addressing the issue of racism can feel difficult and uncomfortable for many people. To aid our families we are providing a variety of resources below. Some of the resources we have included are geared specifically towards adults, while others are more parenting focused (e.g. how to talk to your children about race, books on race/diversity, etc.), and we have also provided links to organizations and Black-owned businesses in the Bay Area that you can support during this time.

We hope this will make it easier for our families to start or continue the journey of education and action. We will continue to update this post as additional resources come to light.  The SBPC Board is also actively working on developing other ways we can foster diversity and anti-racism in our community. Please feel free to share any suggestions you may have.

Anti-Racism Resources for Parents

Jump to section

• Adult-focused resources on Anti-Racism/Allyship
• Parenting resources
• Talking to Kids About Race
• Books for kids
• Other Media for Kids
• Support Black-owned Businesses

Adult-focused resources on Anti-Racism/Allyship

• Anti-racism resources for white-led organizations: Group and coalition-building in an anti-oppression framework
• Anti-racism resources for white people: This document is intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen anti-racism work.
• Scaffolded Anti-Racism Resources: This is a working document for scaffolding anti-racism resources. The goal is to facilitate growth for white folks to become allies, and eventually accomplices for anti-racist work.

Parenting resources

• The Conscious Kid on Instagram: Parenting and Education through a Critical Race Lens. Diverse #OwnVoices Books. Black and Brown Owned.
• Tinkergarten – 17 Resources to Help Parents Raise Anti-Racist Kids: A list of books, digital resources, upcoming educational events, and experts to follow.

Talking to Kids About Race

• CNN/Sesame Street Racism Town Hall: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms takes questions along with CNN’s Van Jones and Erica Hill about how to combat racism, and shares a message with kids about how to make a change
• Child Mind Institute – Racism+Violence: Helping Kids Handle the News: guidelines parents can keep in mind to help kids deal with troubling news about race and violence
• National Museum of African American History and Culture – Talking About Race: Tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversation.
• The Atlantic: How to Talk to Kids About Race: In a new episode of Home School, The Atlantic’s animated series about parenting, Tisby offers advice on how to have a conversation with children about race, from experiential learning to watching classic animated films.
• Pretty Good Design – Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race (Resource Round-up): Resources to start talking about race with young children.
• Embrace Race – 10 tips for teaching and talking to kids about race: Tips to help parents of all backgrounds talk to and guide their children about race early and often by lifting up age-appropriate activities that can be incorporated easily into your daily life.
• NPR – Talking Race With Young Children: LIFEKIT for Parents episode to help parents navigate tough conversations about race with children.
• CNN – How to talk to your children about protests and racism: Expert advice about talking to children about protests and racism.
• National Geographic – Talking to kids about race: An article about how recent protests are sparking questions from children, and how not shying away from those conversations is the first step in raising an anti-racist child.
• Books For Littles – Anti-Racism For Kids 101: Starting To Talk About Race: An article about acknowledging and celebrating racial diversity with kids.

Books for kids

• New York Times – These Books Can Help You Explain Racism and Protest to Your Kids: A list of books, broken down by age.
• Welcoming Schools – Looking at Skin Color with Books and Activities: Not only a book list; includes activities/lesson plans to go along with the books.
• Tinkergarten – 11 Places to Find Books That Teach Kids About Race
• Diverse BookFinder – Identify and explore multicultural picture books: A comprehensive collection of children’s picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC).
• The Reading Bug – Children’s book recommendations: Staff recommendation of a local book store on books around diversity and inclusion for young readers.

Other Media for Kids

• Alphabet Rockers: Music that makes change. This intergenerational group creates brave spaces to shape a more equitable world through hip hop.
• Vooks – Unity Channel (Free): The Unity channel highlights video books from underrepresented groups, along with titles to help children better understand how to process their feelings during these significant times.
• Sankofa Read Aloud on YouTube: Online African American Children’s Stories
• Happy Toddler Playtime: 20+ Anti-Racism Activities For Kids: Activities to help get the conversations of race and racism started with kids.

Support Black-owned Businesses

• Black-owned Restaurants in the Bay Area: A list of black-own restaurants and pop-ups curated by SF Chronicle’s food critic, Soleil Ho.
• Black Market: A searchable directory of black-owned businesses in the Bay Area.
• Marcus Books: The oldest Black-owned bookstore in the US. Based in Oakland, they are working to establish their online presence amid COVID-19 and are running an anniversary fundraiser.