Children begin learning about race and racism very early in life. Children as young as six months notice racial differences, and preschool aged children can notice that different groups are treated differently and begin forming racial bias. It is important to talk to children about race early and often, to help them develop a healthy racial identity and reduce bias formation.

The Anti-Racist Parenting Program is a six-session online curriculum that builds awareness and knowledge around race and racism, and includes contemplative practices and self-reflection to help parents engage with the program despite the often difficult and emotionally charged quality of discussing race openly. We establish and reinforce strategies and approaches for parents to talk with children about race, power, and privilege, debriefs parents’ implementation of the strategies, and set and shares goals for continued implementation of the race-conscious strategies learned to help solidify long-term change. This curriculum is currently being pilot tested with the hopes of offering it more widely through Extension in the future.

For more information about the program, please contact Dr. Maggie Kerr (margaret.kerr@wisc.edu), Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Vulnerable and Underserved Young Children Specialist at the UW-Madison.