How do you talk to your kid about differences?
My daughter is growing up with parents who have a strong judgement-free policy, but we don’t have the ability to introduce her to every type of person in the world. How are you explaining differences (physical, mental, racial, etc.) to your children?
Watch your language: how we emphasize family diversity when talking to our kids
We want to teach our kids that diversity comes in many shades — and telling them that sex is something only moms and dads do is the first thing to go.
Starting conversations about inequality in finding a home
In the recent foreclosure crisis in the United States, a disproportionate amount of women and racial minorities were the victims of subprime loans and mortgages with adjustable interest rates — statistics that speak to inequality in housing. For Anita Hill, there is a “sense of belonging that comes from being at home” – so what happens when one is without a home? Reimagining Equality reveals that these biases are historic in the American construction of what “home” means.
The Arizona book ban matters: to my kids, your kids, and kids all over the world
The ban on ethnic studies and ethnic literature in Tuscon, Arizona matters to your children. It matters even if they are not growing up in the Southwest, like my children, with names like Joaquin, Rodrigues, Donaciano, and Aragon. It matters even if they aren’t in the spectrum of browns redacted from history books. It matters even if they would never have read the authors and titles spirited off library shelves in Tucson.
I’m Human: a video from Alabama middle schoolers talking about what makes us different
The broadcasting team at Liberty Middle School in Madison, Alabama, is currently rocking my world. They put together this incredibly simple, yet incredibly powerful video called “I’m Human.” The video features students standing against a wall, each holding up a sign that tells you how they’re different. One is Christian, one is spoiled. Another is Mexican, and one girl has lost a friend — all of this in the first forty-eight seconds.
Would you call my daughters “black and white twins?”
My own daughters, whose in-utero nicknames were Roomba and Scooba, were born late in September that same year. But it didn’t occur to me until a few months ago that they, too, could be considered “black and white twins.” Scooba is as pale as I am, while Roomba is perhaps only a shade lighter than her father.
How I explain race to my mixed-race children
Being mixed has shaped my identity, made me who I am. I’ve always felt different, but in a good way. Sure, I’ve had my share of racist insults and rejection hurled at me, but nothing that I wasn’t able to shake off. Now, I’m raising mixed-race kids and I have the challenge of helping them discover and embrace their unique identity.
Biracial lesbian seeking known donor of color
At the beginning of my journey, “brown” was at the top of my list. I wanted, as much as it was (im)possible to control, to have a baby with whom I shared a skin color. I have struggled with this desire for a brown child on and off the entire first year of my search for a known donor.