The theme this week is “Regenerating and Re-patterning.”

Today’s topic is New Patterns: Raising the Next Generations 


01 Learn

Each generation is hopefully building on the work of those that came before. We certainly see that up and coming generations seem to be more aware of what is wrong in our food and related systems and are determined to create something better. And this is ideally about multi-generational work (our friends at Vibrancy like to speak in terms of four generations to carry the work forward). 

In week 1, we offered a link to a short article and audio clip (3 min) on the importance of talking to children about their social identity. If this does not happen with care, it can be “done to them” with damaging results. In the Challenge’s on-line discussion forum we have read evidence of this in different people’s stories, no matter their identity. And we know that it can be challenging for some to know how to talk to and raise children who are savvy and brave about race and racism. The good news is that there is a growing body of research and resources to support parents, educators and caregivers, including the work of our friends at EmbraceRace. 

We invite you to read some of the highlights of an interview with the founders of EmbraceRace, and if you have time to listen to as much of the interview as you can – “How to Talk to Your Kids About Race and Justice.” You might also look at this short tip sheets – “8 Tips for Talking to Young Children About Racial Injustice” and “10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids About Race.”

02 ReflectIf you are a parent, educator or caregiver, how comfortable talking to your child/ren about race and racism? If you do talk to them, what strategies do you use? What has been effective? What has not been effective?
What do you see in the up and coming generations that gives you hope or pause?  

03 Act

  • Share these resources with (other) parents, educators and caregivers. Talk to them about their comfort levels, strategies, challenges and successes.
  • Whether or not you are a parent, educator or caregiver, talk to the children in your life. Listen to how they think about race and racism. What are their visions for the future? 
  • Advocate for more education about race and racism at levels of education.

04 Digging Deeper, Time Permitting…

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