Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide

by Britt Hawthorne, Natasha Yglesias (Editor)

Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A must-have guide to raising inclusive, antiracist children from educator and advocate, Britt Hawthorne.

Raising antiracist children is a noble goal for any parent, caregiver, or educator, but it can be hard to know where to start. Let Britt Hawthorne—a nationally recognized teacher and advocate—be your guide. Raising Antiracist Children acts as an interactive guide for strategically incorporating the tools of inclusivity into everyday life and parenting. Hawthorne breaks down antiracist parenting into four comprehensive sections:

-Healthy bodies—Establishing a safe and body-positive home environment to combat stereotypes and create boundaries.

-Radical minds—Encouraging children to be agents of change, accompanied by scripts for teaching advocacy, giving and taking productive feedback, and becoming a coconspirator for change.

-Conscious shopping—Raising awareness of how local shopping can empower or hinder a community’s ability to thrive, and teaching readers of all ages how to create shopping habits that support their values.

-Thriving communities—Acknowledging the personal power we have to shape our schools, towns, and worlds, accompanied by exercises for instigating change.

Full of questionnaires, stories, activities, tips, and tools, Raising Antiracist Children is a must-have, practical guide essential for parents and caregivers everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982185428
Publisher:	S&S/Simon Element
Publication date:	06/07/2022
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	312,980
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Britt Hawthorne (she/her) is a Black biracial momma, teacher, author, and anti-bias and antiracist facilitator. Together with her beloved partner, they are raising their children to become empathic, critical thinkers, embracing justice, and activism. To learn more, visit BrittHawthorne.com.

Tasha Yglesias is a writer and editor based in Northern California. She’s a fiction graduate of the Bennington Writing Seminars, and a submissions reader for several literary magazines. To engage in conversation, follow her on Twitter: @TashaYglesias. To learn more, visit NatashaYglesias.com.

Editorial Reviews

03/21/2022

Anti-bias consultant Hawthorne and editor Yglesias (Wild Witchcraft) offer a graceful guide to creating an environment in which children can “naturally take to anti-biased and antiracist ideals.” Focusing on five aspects—getting on the same page, healthy bodies, radical minds, conscious consumption, and thriving communities—the authors encourage parents to “model the attitudes, language, and actions” they’d like their kids to show, and to start by teaching kids how to set and enforce boundaries. Parents can start young with such prompts as, “We’re all unique. Do you know what that means?”—and with age, they can focus on analyzing media (watch out for inspiration porn, she warns, a “genre of media depictions of disabled people” which “assumes that disability is always a tragedy”). Hawthorne enriches her own point of view with those of outside experts: author Aja Barber, for example, writes about raising her kids to be conscious consumers, and educator Tiffany Jewel explains how her family ditched their white-centric Montessori school for a more diverse education at a public school. Hawthorne’s emphasis on “self-love” for parents makes this a resource worth returning to. Parents looking to “reimagine how homes will become liberated spaces” need look no further. (June)

Publishers Weekly

A must-read that covers an essential topic well and is jam-packed with ideas to implement.” – Library Journal, Starred Review

"I’m going to carry around this book in my pocket so I can refer to Britt’s gentle guidance at any time. She makes us reflect on how we are raising our children, recognise where we can do better, and give us the tools to make it happen.” -Simone Davies, Montessori educator and author of The Montessori Toddler

“Hawthorne has a gift for making complex, sensitive topics accessible, and her tone is both inspiring and comforting. . . Overall, the creativity, criticality, and compassion make this book is a must-read for parents and caregivers. A stunningly comprehensive, thoughtful, and practical guide to anti-racist parenting.” -Kirkus (starred review)

“Hawthorne’s emphasis on “self-love” for parents makes this a resource worth returning to. Parents looking to “reimagine how homes will become liberated spaces” need look no further.” -Publisher's Weekly

"The title Raising Antiracist Children doesn’t begin to cover the scope of what’s actually in this outstanding book. Full of anecdotes, tips, tools, activities, and insights from a range of contributors, Britt Hawthorne and Natasha Yglesias, have created and curated a spectacular resource for anyone who want to get smarter about intentionally creating a more just and sustainable world." - Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race

From the Publisher

★ 05/01/2022

Some parents, caregivers, and educators can feel overwhelmed when trying to raise anti-biased and antiracist human beings. Hawthorne, a Black biracial mother and an experienced teacher and advocate in antiracism for children, along with cowriter Yglesias, seeks to make starting this journey easier. They share ways to raise children by focusing on four key areas with implementable techniques: healthy bodies, radical minds, conscious shopping, and thriving communities. Discussion questions and reflective prompts are provided for both parents and children. Music playlists, ideas for arts and crafts, and other activities are included as well, making this an action-packed guide rather than an academic tome. The authors also address such issues as the misconception of color blindness, hidden biases, featurism, colorism, intersectionality, and the tendency to mute aspects of one's identity. VERDICT This is a must-read that covers an essential topic well and is jam-packed with ideas to implement.

Library Journal

★ 2022-03-15
This anti-biased, anti-racist (ABAR) parenting book centers the lived experiences of Black, brown, and Indigenous families.

Acclaimed ABAR trainer Hawthorne breaks the text into sections: “healthy bodies, radical minds, conscious shopping, and thriving communities.” Before moving on to those four primary elements, the author provides key language that caregivers can use to both structure their own ABAR journeys and to use when working with their children. Regarding healthy bodies, Hawthorne unpacks a wide-ranging set of issues, including featurism, colorism, fat phobia, and disability. The section on radical minds focuses on liberating language as well as mental health. In the discussion of conscious consumption, the author provides clear and practical advice for ethical consumption in a capitalist society and shows “how conscious consumerism connects to collective community care.” Hawthorne’s section on community lays out a vision for living in collectives in which diverse families can both give and receive support. Throughout, the author includes prompts that offer children and caregivers opportunities for reflection as well as hands-on activities for a variety of age groups. To supplement her arguments, Hawthorne explores the ideas of fellow ABAR activists and educators such as Aja Barbe, Tiffany Jewell, Emi Ito, and Kira Banks. The book’s resources range from reading lists to playlists, encompassing the needs of a variety of learners and developmental levels. Among the recommended songs for “self-affirmation and empowerment” are Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” and Bob Marley’s “One Love/People Get Ready.” Hawthorne has a gift for making complex, sensitive topics accessible, and her tone is both inspiring and comforting. Refreshingly, her approach is truly intersectional, seamlessly folding discussions about disability, queerness, and gender identity into a larger conversation about race. Overall, the creativity, criticality, and compassion make this book is a must-read for parents and caregivers.

A stunningly comprehensive, thoughtful, and practical guide to anti-racist parenting.

Kirkus Reviews