LibGuides: Diverse Books for our NCCS Community: Home

Overview

Family education and reinforcement of social justice helps children feel holistically supported by the main communities they spend time in, namely the school and the home. We thus invite you to choose from among this curated list of resources, whether for your child directly, or for yourself to provide more context and language to their social justice education. This is not an exhaustive list, but we hope that it will be helpful for you.

Our Antiracist resources are intended to support our students and families by amplifying marginalized voices and by educating directly on what holds us back. We hope you will join us in this collective work to create a better society.

Talking about Race - Being Antiracist

Being Antiracist (from National Museum of African American History & Culture

To create an equal society, we must commit to making unbiased choices and being antiracist in all aspects of our lives.

Race does not biologically exist, yet how we identify with race is so powerful, it influences our experiences and shapes our lives. In a society that privileges white people and whiteness, racist ideas are considered normal throughout our media, culture, social systems, and institutions. Historically, racist views justified the unfair treatment and oppression of people of color (including enslavement, segregation, internment, etc.). We can be led to believe that racism is only about individual mindsets and actions, yet racist policies also contribute to our polarization. While individual choices are damaging, racist ideas in policy have a wide-spread impact by threatening the equity of our systems and the fairness of our institutions. To create an equal society, we must commit to making unbiased choices and being antiracist in all aspects of our lives.

Being antiracist is fighting against racism. Racism takes several forms and works most often in tandem with at least one other form to reinforce racist ideas, behavior, and policy. Types of racism are:

Individual racism refers to the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of individuals that support or perpetuate racism in conscious and unconscious ways. The U.S. cultural narrative about racism typically focuses on individual racism and fails to recognize systemic racism.
Examples include believing in the superiority of white people, not hiring a person of color because “something doesn’t feel right,” or telling a racist joke.
Interpersonal racism occurs between individuals. These are public expressions of racism, often involving slurs, biases, or hateful words or actions.
Institutional racism occurs in an organization. These are discriminatory treatments, unfair policies, or biased practices based on race that result in inequitable outcomes for whites over people of color and extend considerably beyond prejudice. These institutional policies often never mention any racial group, but the intent is to create advantages.
Example: A school system where students of color are more frequently distributed into the most crowded classrooms and underfunded schools and out of the higher-resourced schools.
Structural racism is the overarching system of racial bias across institutions and society. These systems give privileges to white people resulting in disadvantages to people of color.
Example: Stereotypes of people of color as criminals in mainstream movies and media.

Black History Month February 2021 Resources

Smithsonian Institute
Heritage and History Month Events
Black History Facts (from History.com)
Black History Month honors the contributions of African Americans to U.S. history. Among prominent figures are Madam C.J. Walker, who was the first U.S. woman to become a self-made millionaire; George Washington Carver, who derived nearly 300 products from the peanut; Rosa Parks, who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and galvanized the civil rights movement; and Shirley Chisholm, who was the first African American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Read on for more Black history facts.
Ten Little Known Black History Facts (from PBS)
History is often reduced to a handful of memorable moments and events. In Black history, those events often include courageous stories like those of The Underground Railroad and historic moments like the famous “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But these are only a few of the significant and important events to know and remember.

In an effort to honor this expansive and growing history, Black History Month was established by way of a weekly celebration in February known as “Negro History Week” by historian Carter G. Woodson. But just as Black history is more than a month, so too are the numerous events and figures that are often overlooked during it. What follows is a list of some of those “lesser known” moments and facts in Black history.
8 Black History Month Writing Prompts - All Year Long
Black history should never be relegated to a date on a calendar. It is too intricately woven into the meaning of America. What would the United States be without the muscle, skill, and innovative thinking of its Black citizens?

Inventor and agricultural scientist George Washington Carver said, “When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” This quote captures the theme of a year-round focus on Black history in my fourth grade African-centered classroom. My students and I spend time marveling at the ingenuity of countless Black people who have faced, and continue to face, all too common dehumanizing circumstances and yet continue to rise.

I pose the question, “How are people who look like you overcoming problems in their daily life?” My students and I ground the question in three ways. First, we identify, research, and interview innovative people we know locally (caregivers, family members, friends, business owners, city officials). Then, we research national celebrities and other prominent figures. Finally, we explore the presence of Black ingenuity and innovation on a global scale.

Black History Month for my classroom is simply a time to recommit to the Black historical legacy of ingenuity and innovation in the face of racism and other systems of oppression. I hope these Black history writing prompts help you do the same with your class, in February and all year round.

This Day in History

Equal Justice Initiative Calendar
A history of Racial Injustice
Black History Today
Great moments in Black History