During the month of February, our country observes Black History Month. At LMS, we are constantly having conversations about issues like race and anti-Blackness, and we do so not because we feel we have to at a certain time, but because it is always important to learn how these issues affect all of us.
In January, Lower Elementary teachers were having conversations around race with your children. This month, those conversations will deepen and will include racism. Teachers frame conversations about skin color around the idea that “we are all different, and yet we have so much in common.” We want children to know that their skin color is to be appreciated like any other part of their body. We want them to understand skin color without an assumption of value. At this age, children have already started to be aware that our society does assign value to skin color and race. Through these discussions, we aim to help them navigate that. We note skin color as one of the many physical differences among humans. We introduce some race-related vocabulary and the concept that race is a human construct and, as such, can be deconstructed.
Some of the books your children’s teachers will be reading include I See Color by Valerie Bolling and Kailei Pew; Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura; A Kid’s Book About Racism by Jelani Memory; The History of We by Nikkolas Smith; When I Say Black Lives Matter by Maxine Beneba Clark; The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B. Lewis; We Dream of a World by Renée King and Nicole Tadgell; and Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Isabel Roxas.
If you are looking for more books to read with your children and to celebrate Black Americans and their many contributions to our society during these weeks and beyond, here is a list for your reference.
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