Hundreds and Thousands of people of all races have gathered to say, “Enough is Enough” and “Black Lives Matter.” They speak up, they protest, they challenge the status quo and they ask for change following George Floyd’s murder by a white police office. The change needs to be wide and deep — education, housing, employment, law enforcement and a vast realignment of attitudes. However, when, where and how does racism begin? What are the origins of racism?
The baby on her mother’s back keeps me in her line of vision as I walk down a crowded street in Uganda. I am a white face in a sea of black people. The children in the second image appear to be about 2 years old. They show no fear or distain of me. They smile.
We know that infants are aware of racial differences. By the age of four, children begin to absorb the attitudes of others. If those attitudes are negative, children will begin to develop biases towards those who are different. How can we help our children value and respect divers races and ethnicities? As a first step we must be aware of our own attitudes, and we must talk to our children about race from the very beginning. The origins of racism begin young.
To learn more about your own racial biases and race awareness in young children please click on the following links:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
https://www.embracerace.org