Racial Justice and Cultural Responsiveness Resources
A Note to Our Program Partners
There are no perfect words to capture grief and anger, but there are simple ones we must use as our guide: Be there for and with our young people. Tragedies and realities of racism, violence, and injustice for Black people and communities of color are not new or isolated. They are systemic and impact young people every day.
We must acknowledge and provide space for the trauma and emotions young people are processing.
MENTOR’s commitment continues to be toward creating a movement that is inclusive of and supports all young people. We strive to help create an America where all young people can thrive through meaningful relationships – and that happens when they are safe and their lives are valued. We continue the work to rewire systems to center supportive, meaningful, and responsive relationships with our young people.
This page contains a collection of resources that may be helpful for program staff, stakeholders, mentors, and families to address racial inequities, bias, and violence. Our team will update this page as new resources become available. Thanks for your continued dedication to Virginia’s young people.
Sincerely,
The MENTOR Virginia Team
Conversations with Young People on Race and Racism
George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children? (USA Today)
Talking to Your Kids About Racism (Unicef)
Teaching about Race, Racism and Police Violence (Teaching Tolerance)
Talking to Children About Racial Bias (American Academy of Pediatrics)
Talking to Kids About Discrimination (American Psychological Association)
Talking About Race (National Museum of African American History & Culture)
‘Teaching for Black Lives’ – A Handbook to Fight America’s Ferocious Racism in (virtual or face-to-face) Classrooms (The Washington Post)
Educating our Children: Talking to Kids About Racism & Police Brutality (Achievement First)
Afterschool Webinar: Difficult Dialogues: Engaging Youth in Tough Conversations (Afterschool Alliance)
Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism – a town hall for kids and families (CNN/Sesame Street)
‘I’m going to be a black man one day and I’m scared:’ Why it’s important for kids to talk about racism (Milwaukee Journal Sentinal)
How to Talk to Kids about Racism, Explained by a Psychologist (Vox)
Resources for Support & Action: Denouncing Hate & Violence Against the Asian American Pacific Islander Community
- For adults exploring their own biases and understanding of race and identity, learn more about MENTOR’s online modules here.
- For adults supporting youth in the wake of trauma, review MENTOR’s guide here.
- This link provides advocacy and community engagement organizations that are working to support the AAPI community, expert guidance on language, and resources surrounding the history of racism against AAPIs.
- Resources from NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development’s to stop the Asian hate movement.
- For parenst and other caring adults who want to talk to children about anti-Asian violence, read this article or watch this webinar from EmbraceRace.
- Led and organized by AAPI youth Jerry Feng with support from the Youth Mentoring Action Network, this webinar brings together a cohort of AAPI youth voices to discuss their own experiences with racism in the age of COVID-19.
- Here’s more on how to respond to coronavirus-related racism when you see it, and here’s a helpful guide on how to speak up when you see everyday moments of prejudice, bias, and stereotypes.
- Find a collection of resources from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center designed to foster ongoing learning about AAPI communities, experiences, cultures, and histories.
Conversations with Young People About Media Surrounding Racial Injustice
Helping Students Make Sense of News Stories about Bias and Injustice (Anti-Defamation League)
Explaining the News to Our Kids (Common Sense Media)
Talking to Children After Racial Incidents (Anti-Defamation League)
Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News (Child Mind Institute)
How White People Can Work With Youth in Support of Racial Justice
A Call to Action for White Educators Who Seek to Be Anti-Racist (PBS Education)
How White Parents Can Talk to Their Kids about Race (NPR)
How White Parents Can Use Media to Raise Anti-Racist Kids (Common Sense Media)
How White People Can Talk to Their Kids About Racism (Unicef)
Understanding and Dismantling Racism: A Booklist for White Readers (Charis Books & More)
Talking to White Kids about Race & Racism (Safe Space Radio)
How Mentors and Mentoring Programs Can Support Mentee's Ethnic/Racial Identity
Racial equity & anti-bias tools for OST programs & youth workers (Afterschool Alliance)
Teaching Tolerance (a website with classroom resources)
Mentoring Youth of Color (National Mentoring Resource Center)
Mentoring for Black Male Youth (National Mentoring Resource Center)
Mentor Training for Cultural Competence (National Mentoring Resource Center)
How Mentors and Mentoring Programs Can Support Mentee’s Ethnic/Racial Identity (The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring)
Mentoring in Trump’s America (The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring)
Support, Solidarity, and Action
Actionable Ways to Support Our Black Community – Now & Always (RVAx)
Resources for Helping and Healing (The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring)
How mentors and mentoring programs can support mentees’ ethnic/racial identity (The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring)
The Afterschool Leadership Landscape: Supportring and Strengthening Racial Equity
Now is the Time to Offer Solidarity and Support to Young People of Color (The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring)
Additional Resources
What’s Lost When Black Children are Socialized into a White World (The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring)
Books
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson
This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work by Tiffany Jewell, illustrated by Aurelia Durand
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Books to Teach White Children and Teens How to Undo Racism and White Supremecy (Charis Books & More)
Not finding the resource you’re looking for? Contact Sarah at sarah@mentorva.org for assistance.