Everyday racism
There are kids with light, brown and dark skin, with straight hair and curly hair. Let's find out that all colors are beautiful!
Jokes, nicknames, "bad hair," filters that lighten your skin. Racism almost never says its name. This route teaches you to recognize it and not repeat it.
"Bad hair," "improve the race," "my little black one." In our countries, racism almost never says its name. This route teaches you to recognize it and stop repeating it.
Lessons start at age 6. If you care for a younger child, here are ideas to plant this now, in everyday routines.
Each age has its own progress. People of the same age share this space and its logbook in this browser.
Based on cited studies. Not yet reviewed by an outside professional.It starts before age 6
- From 3 months, babies prefer the faces they see most. Give them dolls, books and friends of many colors.
- Talk about skin color warmly, like any other feature: “Your skin is brown, like grandma’s”.
- If they ask about someone’s color, answer without awkwardness: “People have skin of many colors, and they’re all beautiful”. Silence teaches them it’s a forbidden topic.
- If they hear a racist joke or comment, say it out loud: “That’s not okay. We don’t talk about anyone like that”.
It is normal: Asking or commenting out loud about someone’s color. It’s curiosity, not racism.
Source: Kelly, D. J., et al. (2005). Three-month-olds, but not newborns, prefer own-race faces. Developmental Science, 8(6). This does not replace a pediatrician: if anything about their development worries you, ask.
A story to read together
To read with an adult and talk about afterward.
- Nina Bonita
A white rabbit wants to be as dark as the prettiest girl he knows. A tender story about everyone's color.
View on Open LibraryRead it with an adult
Saying a skin color, a kind of hair or a pair of eyes is ugly or worse.
Whoever hears something about their color gets sad, even if it's meant nicely.
Friends of many colors and a place where everyone feels beautiful!
Treating someone differently because of their color, hair or features, even as a joke.
Memes, "affectionate" nicknames, noises at the stadium and filters that change your face.
A group where nobody has to hide their hair or their color, starting with you.
Treating someone differently because of their color, hair or features, even with affection or as a joke.
Inherited phrases, "affectionate" nicknames, different treatment depending on color, and beauty in a single shade.
A home where no child learns to feel ashamed of their skin, and dignified treatment for everyone.
Ten lessons, in order
Each one takes about 15 minutes (about 8 in the kids' version, done with an adult). We mark the next one for you, but they are all open.
- 10 short lessons
- Simulators to rehearse
- 7-day practice
- A badge at the end
- Songs for the road
- Books to read on
- Ideas for families, even before age 6
- Up nextThe mirror 🪞Does this happen to me?8 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextThe tricks that hide colors 🎭How do I notice?8 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextWhy do we have different colors? 🤔Why does it happen?8 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextWhen colors are missing 🌧️What happens if I don't notice?8 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextThe compass 🧭What does someone who does it differently look like?8 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextFill the box 🖍️How do I do it?8 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextAll the colors 🏠How do we make it bigger?8 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextHard situations 💪What do I do if this happens to me?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextMy superhero plan 🦸What am I going to do?8 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextYou made it! 🏅What changed?10 min · ✓ Done
- 7-day practiceOptional, after lesson 10. Each day is a 15 to 30 minute experiment in three parts: you get ready, you do it, and you look at what happened.
- Up nextThe mirrorDoes this happen to me?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextWhat it looks likeHow do I recognize it?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextWhere it comes fromWhy is it so deep-rooted?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextWhat it costsWhat do I lose if I keep going like this?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextThe compassWhat does someone who does it differently look like?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextTools for the momentWhat do I do when it shows up?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextTools for repairWhat do I do if they tell me it hurt?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextHard situationsWhat do I do if this happens to me?15 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextYour planWhat am I going to do?10 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextThe closeWhat changed?10 min · ✓ Done
- 7-day practiceOptional, after lesson 10. Each day is a 15 to 30 minute experiment in three parts: you get ready, you do it, and you look at what happened.
- Up nextThe mirrorDoes this happen to me?15 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextWhat it looks likeHow do I recognize it?12 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextWhere it comes fromWhy is it so deep-rooted?15 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextWhat it costsWhat do I lose if I keep going like this?15 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextThe compassWhat does someone who does it differently look like?12 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextTools for the momentWhat do I do when it shows up?15 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextTools for repairWhat do I do if they tell me it hurt?15 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextHard situationsWhat do I do if this happens to me?20 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextYour planWhat am I going to do?15 min · ✓ Done
- Up nextThe closeWhat changed?15 min · ✓ Done
- 7-day practiceOptional, after lesson 10. Each day is a 15 to 30 minute experiment in three parts: you get ready, you do it, and you look at what happened.
The image only has the badge, the route name and a quote. Nothing you wrote.
Songs that go with this route
Chosen by the person who wrote this route. Play them whenever you want to remember what you learned.
- Black or WhiteMichael Jackson
It doesn't matter if you're black or white. A color is not a life.
- Ebony and IvoryPaul McCartney & Stevie Wonder
The black and white keys sit side by side on the piano, and together they make the music.
Songs that go with this route
Chosen by the person who wrote this route. Play them whenever you want to remember what you learned.
- Black or WhiteMichael Jackson
It doesn't matter if you're black or white. A color is not a life.
A story to read together
To read with an adult and talk about afterward.
- Nina Bonita
A white rabbit wants to be as dark as the prettiest girl he knows. A tender story about everyone's color.
View on Open LibraryRead it with an adult
Books to go deeper
If this route left you wanting more, these books go the same way.
- To Kill a Mockingbird
Scout watches her father defend a Black man who was wrongly accused. It uses the racist words of its time, which the book condemns.
View on Open Library
Books to go deeper
If this route left you wanting more, these books go the same way.
- Americanah
A young Nigerian woman learns what it means to be “Black” when she moves abroad. Everyday racism, told with humor and honesty.
View on Open Library
How to talk about this at home and in class
What teaches the most
- That they hear you say all colors are beautiful.
- That they see you treat the person who serves you the same as the person who's your boss.
- That they hear you lovingly correct a "bad hair."
Phrases that help
Dinner game
The skin colors game: put your hands together on a sheet of paper and find, among crayons and paints, the color of each hand. Give each shade a name: cinnamon, cocoa, peach, honey. Whoever comes up with the prettiest name wins.
With teenagers
Ask them what nicknames there are in their class and what memes go around, without being shocked. If your child has dark skin or curly hair, tell them often that they're beautiful just as they are: online they hear the opposite. And if you see them straightening or lightening with harsh products, talk with them without mockery.
Before age 6
Routes start at age 6, but this is planted earlier. Ideas for everyday routines, no special sessions.
- From 3 months, babies prefer the faces they see most. Give them dolls, books and friends of many colors.
- Talk about skin color warmly, like any other feature: “Your skin is brown, like grandma’s”.
- If they ask about someone’s color, answer without awkwardness: “People have skin of many colors, and they’re all beautiful”. Silence teaches them it’s a forbidden topic.
- If they hear a racist joke or comment, say it out loud: “That’s not okay. We don’t talk about anyone like that”.
It is normal: Asking or commenting out loud about someone’s color. It’s curiosity, not racism.
Source: Kelly, D. J., et al. (2005). Three-month-olds, but not newborns, prefer own-race faces. Developmental Science, 8(6). This does not replace a pediatrician: if anything about their development worries you, ask.