The PAStart Communication Action Series
Racial Equity Toolkit
- Latinx parents benefit greatly from extended family parenting supports, often in the home.*
- Close, intergenerational Latinx families provide strength and resilience as Latinx youth draw on family history and culture in their self-development. *
- Latinx centering of the family unit can support Latinx teens in navigating peer pressure and school stress as they develop. *
- Listen. Listen better. Listen more.
- Your child needs your attention, not your surveillance.
- Your child needs your belief in them, not your fear.
- If your fears about racism and policing is causing you to be negative with your child – seek help from Latinx and Latinx-centric providers and healers.
- Name racism as the problem. Not your child’s actions or behavior.
- Protect your child from state interventions and authorities.
- Solve issues with resources and support, not punishment and isolation.
- Find a community of parents who are also struggling.
- Share your understanding and personal experiences of anti-immigrant bias and racism.
- Share your favorite stories about standing up against racism and protecting yourself.
- Share powerful stories in the family or in history about resistance and resilience.
- Learn about the history of your family’s migration and share it.
- Learn about the history of Latinx resistance to racism in the US, from its founding to the present.
- Refer to histories of resistance and movement wins more often than risks, vulnerabilities, and violence against immigrants and Latinx people.
- Reduce exposure to videos, television, and other media depictions of ICE and police violence, and deportations.
- Reduce exposure to media that glorifies nationalism and policing the borders.
- Gift your child posters of Latinx icons.
- Expose your child to Latinx excellence – artists, entrepreneurs, thinkers, activists, athletes, scientists, and innovators.
- Make sure your child meets your peers, friends and colleagues who are excelling across different areas of interest.
- Lift your child’s horizons beyond the current moment of roadblocks and violence by reminding them what your family members have survived.
- Trace your ancestry so you can bring real life stories of survival, family, and joy into view.
- Expect brilliance and new ways of thinking about immigrant justice, language access, racism, and visions of the future from your child.Share your understanding and personal experiences of anti-immigrant bias and racism.
- Share your favorite stories about standing up against racism and protecting yourself.
- Share powerful stories in the family or in history about resistance and resilience.
- Learn about the history of your family’s migration and share it.
- Learn about the history of Latinx resistance to racism in the US, from its founding to the present.
- Refer to histories of resistance and movement wins more often than risks, vulnerabilities, and violence against immigrants and Latinx people.
- Reduce exposure to videos, television, and other media depictions of ICE and police violence, and deportations.
- Reduce exposure to media that glorifies nationalism and policing the borders.
- Gift your child posters of Latinx icons.
- Expose your child to Latinx excellence – artists, entrepreneurs, thinkers, activists, athletes, scientists, and innovators.
- Make sure your child meets your peers, friends and colleagues who are excelling across different areas of interest.
- Lift your child’s horizons beyond the current moment of roadblocks and violence by reminding them what your family members have survived.
- Trace your ancestry so you can bring real life stories of survival, family, and joy into view.
- Expect brilliance and new ways of thinking about immigrant justice, language access, racism, and visions of the future from your child.
Start by helping them to understand anti-Latinx bias.
Work with them to develop strategies to protect themselves.
Family disintegration and policing are tools of white supremacy. Threats of deportation and family separation have long terrorized Latinx children. Help them know their rights.*
Your child has a right to language access at school. Latinx children who are native or heritage Spanish speakers have a right to education. Let your child know you will fight for language access.*
Support expressiveness while also providing context for the larger culture’s possible racist reception. It’s crucial for our children to know about the specificity of anti-Latinx bias and the possible ways people in authority will perceive and respond to them due to racism. This is not their fault.
Make sure your child understands high stakes interactions around racism. Latinx children in white majority contexts will encounter anti-immigrant bias and racism. Latinx children interacting with police and social workers may encounter surveillance or deportation threats. Equip your child for the scenarios they will likely experience.
Latinx mentors are crucial to your child’s development. Find Latinx-led and Latinx-organized social, arts, afterschool, and athletic programs. Find programs that are trauma-informed and embrace expression.
Your child may not want to talk about racial identity or racism because of traumatic experiences of racist violence. Many Latinx children have ingested a high level of terroristic, racist violence first-hand or online, with much of that violence aimed at children. Don’t force disclosures about their experiences of racism. Share, observe, listen, and be responsive.
Racial Equity Communication DOs and DON’Ts
Do review your child’s curriculum with an eye for racism. Don’t ignore racism or create a “color blind” environment that reinforces racism and confuses your child.
START Here
Now that you know, where do you start? Learning these facts is important. But it’s just as crucial to create a plan for an open dialogue and to be mindful of engaging kids with respect. Positive role modeling, compassion and the truth will go a long way to help you start communicating effectively. Use the following steps and resources to start your own Communication Action Plan.
1. If You Can’t Figure Out How to Talk with Your Child About Racism and Immigration Justice: Educate Yourself.
- There are so many resources online, you can educate yourself privately.
- There are racial justice projects and learning groups you can join.
- You can find Latinx-led and Latinx-centric support groups online and in your area.
2. If You Think Your Child is Struggling with Racial Identity Due to Racism or Exposure to Racist Violence, Create Openings for a Conversation: Look for Your Moment.
- Refer to Latinx-led justice activism or high-achieving role models.
- Provide books that feature Latinx characters or leaders.
- Invite friends to dinner and have fun conversation about their amazing lives.
3. You’ve Set the Stage: Now What?
- Share a story about a new commitment you have made or new learning you are pursuing to challenge yourself and fight racial injustice.
- Create opportunities for your kids to consider how they fit into the fight for racial justice.
4. Moving Forward: Don’t Stop!
- Get ready to dig into Latinx history, culture and community with your kids.