Dan Levy Instagram – #Repost @theconsciouskid To counter racist socialization and racial bias, experts recommend acknowledging and naming race and racism with children as early and as often as possible. Children’s books are one of the most practical tools for initiating these critical conversations, and can also be used to model what it means to resist and dismantle oppression. Beyond addressing issues of race and racism, this children’s reading list focuses on taking action. It highlights resistance, resilience, and activism; and seeks to empower youth to participate in the ongoing movement for racial justice. Children not only need to know what individual, institutional, and internalized racism looks like, they need to know what they can do about it. These books showcase the many ways people of all ages and races have worked  to disrupt racism, and highlight how race intersects with other issues, such as capitalism, class, colorism, and colonization. The majority of books center BIPOC, whose lives and bodies have been on the front lines of racial justice work, yet whose stories often go untold. The essential work of white activists is also included — to underscore that anti-racist work is not the responsibility of BIPOC; and exemplify the ways white people have stood up against racial injustice. We just updated this book list with 41 titles (including recent releases) and it is published to our Patreon page. Patreon is where we post all of our critically-curated book lists. We also did a recent one on 49 children’s books that push back against racist socialization around Black males and our recommended board books for ages 0-3. Our next one is on Black girls. All books can be accessed at the $5 book club tier (or $1 if you are low-Income). Patreon is a platform that enables us to be compensated for our education work and labor. Joining our community there includes increased access to tools and resources that support anti-racist action, racial identity development, and critical consciousness for families, parents, and educators. By joining, you are also making a larger statement about the necessity to center and compensate Black and Brown voices when discussing issues of race.