Education As an Agent of Change: A Racial Justice Reading List & Resource Guide Books School/Education

I’ve been in education for over 20 years. I am a firm believer that education can be an agent of change and that educators have the power to be change agents. However, education can happen outside of a school. We can learn and grow and change wherever we find ourselves, if we’re willing.

I’ve seen ample expressions of outrage about racial injustice on social media, and understandably so. But outrage without action tends to fall flat. Outrage alone doesn’t result in change. This is where education comes in. Lately I’ve noticed many people genuinely trying to educate themselves and their kids. In fact, the top 10 non-fiction books on the recent New York Times best sellers list are about race and racism. This gives me hope. Let’s teach ourselves, and our kids, about racial injustice and white privilege. Let’s teach them about social justice and how we can all be agents of change.

First, we must listen and learn. If you would like to educate yourself and your family about racism, anti-racism, white privilege, colorblindness, diverse kids’ books and more, please see the list below. You’ll find articles and books to read, websites to visit and videos to watch. If you want to know more, please don’t hesitate to ask someone. No one should be ashamed of (or shamed for) not knowing something and wanting to learn.

We can turn our outrage into education. With education we will be better prepared to share knowledge with others, to be agents of change. We all have the power to be change agents; we just have to be willing to do the (home)work.

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Photo: Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead

Articles

• 11 Things You Can Do to Help Black Lives Matter End Police Violence
• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
• My White Friend Asked Me on Facebook to Explain White Privilege. I Decided to Be Honest
• Unpacking the Invisible Backpack
• Anti-Racism Resources
• Don’t Even Try It: When Non-Black Folks Try to Show Up in Discussions on Black Death
• The Racism Virus: Questions for White People to Ask Ourselves
• Beyond the Hashtag: How to Take Anti-Racist Action in Your Life
• 4 Actions White People Can Take Today, After #BlackOutTuesday
• Martin Luther King Jr. Was More Radical than We Remember
• Colorblindness Is a Form of Racism, a Nemesis and a Barrier to Dismantling It
• Amy Cooper Is the Kind of White Woman Black Families Warn Their Children About

Videos

• How to Teach Kids About Racism, interview with Dr. Beverly Tatum, psychologist and author of Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
• The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf, TED Talk with author Grace Lin 
• The Power of Privilege, TED Talk with Dr. Tiffany Jana 

Web Sites

• EmbraceRace.org
• ChildrensCommunitySchool.org

Books