I've taken the week off from writing my own content so that I could really pause, listen, and learn about the black communities in our country. I have learned a lot over the last week, and am in the process of making actionable steps towards change in my life, and in my own home. I've compiled some resources that I hope will be meaningful to you and your family as you work towards creating meaningfully change in the right direction in your homes as well.
I don't claim to be an authority on any of this and still have so much more to learn. As I head into next week though where I have sponsored content and other posts planned, I felt like I didn't want to jump into any of that without being vocal on this topic first. Please share resources with me that you've been loving as well.
I don't claim to be an authority on any of this and still have so much more to learn. As I head into next week though where I have sponsored content and other posts planned, I felt like I didn't want to jump into any of that without being vocal on this topic first. Please share resources with me that you've been loving as well.
Toys That Promote Racial Inclusion:
This week I purchased more racially diverse toys for our home. I started off by getting some puzzles from a shop called Puzzle Huddle. They're a black owned business and create racially diverse children's puzzles that are so well made and incredibly beautiful.
Other toys that I've seen are a wide variety of dolls, games, puzzles, and even crayons that represent all of the skin colors. These are all things I look forward to adding into our home over time, especially as we have birthdays coming up in the near future. Here are some multicultural toys I'm looking forward to adding to our home.
Books That Teach About Racism For Kids:
I've been seeing so many great booklists out there this week for books that teach on anti-racism and inclusion. I've added a few titles to our home library, and hope to add more as books come back in stock. Here are nine books that have caught my eye that we're interested in reading with our children.
Books for Adults about Racism:
I've learned that we really can't expect to teach our kids to be anti-racist if we don't do the work of breaking down barriers within ourselves first. I'm committing myself to learning more and being a better member of my community. These are some books that I can't wait to learn from:
Following Black Influencers:
One thing that I noticed this week is that while there are a lot of black influencers that I do follow on social media, the majority of the people I was following were white. I don't think we can expect to broaden our worldview and be more inclusive if we're not allowing ourselves the opportunities to learn form people who are different than us. This list isn't at all inclusive (none of these things I'm sharing are so please leave comments letting me know your favorites in any of these categories and what you're learning!), but here are some voices I've been learning from this week on instagram:
Support Black Businesses:
I don't have an extensive list for this by any means, but something I'm actively trying to identify are where black-owned businesses are in my community and supporting them. Nymag.com released a list of 77 black owned businesses that you can shop from online right now. Another easy way to support is by supporting black influencers. Buy their digital goods and classes they produce, click their links on their sponsored posts, purchase a product they recommend and love.
Make Charitable Donations to Organizations that Support Black People:
This week I made a donation to our local chapter of the NAACP but there are so many more organizations out there to support, who need to be supported. Some charitable organizations that you could donate to are Black Lives Matter or NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.
I have felt so many things this week. I've felt privileged, I've felt shame, embarrassed, and naive among other things. I don't have all of this figured out. I never will, but I can promise to always continue learning, and to be a voice and speak up when needed. I'm committing myself to being a better ally to the black community. I've learned that even if I've had opportunities of inclusion and diversity in my childhood, there is so much that I never took the opportunity to learn. I want more for my kids, and I want to make sure that they leave my home with a more broadened world view than I did at the age of 18. I know that will never happen if I don't take the steps to expand my own world view first.
Please feel free to continue this dialogue. Please share resources that you're loving and learning from so that we can all continue to learn, love, and grow. And please, if I misspoke in any of this, please let me know. We cannot grow if we don't learn from our mistakes, and I'm always open to learning from mine. I do not claim to be an expert in any of this and am simply sharing resources and things that I've benefited from learning about this week!
Be sure to stay up-to-date on all of the latest things in our lives by following along in instagram @thehappyflammily!
I remember being a kid and asking for a black baby doll (as a white girl) and my mom refused for the longest!! I understood why when I was older and told her I was in an interracial relationship and she was appalled and denied the fact. I hate that this current time exists, but I'm glad so many people are being educated right now (including me).
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