Being anti-racist is an ongoing journey. Together with your family, brainstorm specific commitments you can make to being anti-racist.

Before

• Reflect as a family on the question, “What does it mean to be anti-racist?”
• Discuss why anti-racism is important.
• Explore examples of anti-racist action.

During

• Print out Our Family’s Anti-Racist Commitment Chart from PBS Kids.
• Have each family member share a commitment. Add them to the list.

After

• Decide together where to post your family’s commitments so everyone can see them.
• Talk about how you can help each other live out your commitments. What can you do to support each other?

People have power! And, by making your voice heard, you can help bring about change. Work with your child to speak truth to power and be an ally for equity in your community.

Before

Ask your child about a social problem in your community that they care about. Ask what they think they could do about it. Suggest writing a letter to a community leader to help make a change.

Help your child identify:

• What is the problem? Who does the problem affect?
• What can we do? How would that help?
• Who should we write to? Maybe look up a community leader and tell your child a bit about them. For example, you may look up the neighborhood association president and tell your child, “This person makes decisions about what is best for the neighborhood.” Then, ask: “Would they be a good person to write to? Why?”

During

Depending on the age of your child, you might have to help write the letter. Ask your child to tell you what to write. You can prompt them by saying things like, “What should we say next?” At the end, read the letter back to your child.

• Ask: “Do you think this letter could be helpful? How?”

After

Send the letter!

• Ask your child: What did you learn from writing this letter?

“I get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.”   – John Lewis

Should we follow rules just because they are rules? What makes a good rule? When is it okay to break a rule? Rules and laws guide our lives, but that doesn’t mean that every rule is one we should follow. Start a conversation with your children about when it’s okay to challenge the rules.

Before

• Ask your child, “Do you think it’s ever okay to break a rule? When might it be okay?”
• Say, “Let’s hear what some other kids think about breaking rules.”

During

• Listen to “Is It Ever Okay to Break a Rule?” episodie of the But Why podcast.
• During the podcast, you may pause to ask, “What might make a rule a bad rule? “

After

Use the content of the podcast to start a conversation. Some ideas may include asking:

• What did you hear that you agree with? That you disagree with?
• What makes a bad rule?
• Who should be in charge of making rules?
• What are some rules in our house? In your school? In our world? What do you think about those rules?

Use this as an opportunity to talk about the history of unfair rules targeting minoritized groups in the U.S. and also rules that still exist today that are unfair.

• Ask: What do you think about those rules? What should we do? Who should we ask about making new rules?
• Say: “In the episode, they talked about listening when a police officer tells you to do something. But, sometimes, police officers don’t always have good rules. Sometimes, they have one set of rules for people who have tan or brown skin and another set of rules for white people.” You can then use this opportunity to talk about how children who have tan or brown skin often can’t trust police officers.
• Ask your child, “What do you think about that? Is that fair? What should we do differently?”