The death of George Floyd in the United States has sparked a discussion about racism, equality and discrimination in Ireland.
Research from Harvard University suggests that by age 5 white children are strongly biased towards whiteness. To counter this bias, experts recommend acknowledging and naming race and racism with children as early and as often as possible. Children’s books can be a very good starting point for initiating these critical conversations.
This is a list of books to help:
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
by Vashti Harrison
Can I Touch Your Hair?
Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship
by Irene Latham and Charles Waters
The Day You Begin
by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López
Something Happened in Our Town
by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
My Hair is a Garden
by Cozbi A. Cabrera
When We Were Alone
by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett
Malcolm Little:
The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X
by Ilyasah Shabazz,
illustrated by AG Ford
Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Stephen Alcorn
The Big Umbrella
by Amy June Bates
Racism and Intolerance (Children In Our World)
by Louise Spilsbury
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
by Margot Lee Shetterly
Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
by Duncan Tonatiuh
