Race, Racism and Adoptive Parenting Resources

Spence-Chapin has created a list of resources for adoptive families who are looking to explore the complexities of race, racism and raising a child of color in America. This resource list includes books for adults and children, exploring African American history, how to become an ally, discussing race and racism with children, and looking into systemic racism through literature, media and activism.

Race, Racism & Privilege Articles & Websites

• White Fragility and the Rules of Engagement by Dr. Robin DiAngelo
• White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh Understanding the Stressors & Types of Discrimination that Can Affect Multiracial Individuals
• Various Microaggressions Chart
• Racial Microaggressions
• 10 Proven Steps to Undo Racism
• When My Beautiful Black Boy Grows from Cute to a Threat by Georgina Dukes
• Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk about Race
• The Realities of Raising a Kid of a Different Race by Karen Valby
• Embrace Race Webinars
• 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge by Dr. Eddie Moore
• Call It What It Is: Anti-Blackness (NYT)
• Sesame Street/CNN Town Hall – Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism
• The Apartheid of Children’s Literature (NYT)

African American History

• Debating the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968 by Steven F. Lawson, Charles Payne 
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement by Patricia Sullivan 
• 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northrop 
• Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life by Marchall Frady
• A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry
• The Atlantic Slave Trade: What Too Few Textbooks Told You—Ted-Ed Talk
• The Dangers of Whitewashing Black History by David Ikard—Tedx Talk
• An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz

Books for Children

• Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners  
• 31 Children’s books to support conversations about race, racism & resistance
• A Kids Book about Racism by Jelani Memory Website   YouTube
• 5 Black Children’s Authors and Illustrators You Should Know (Link)
• The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld   YouTube
• In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek   YouTube
• Listening to My Body by Gabi Garcia   YouTube
• Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song by Gary Golio
• For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington
• An ABC of Equality by Chana Ginelle Ewing 
• The Colors of Us by Karen Katz  YouTube  Good ReadsSomething Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP (for school-age children)
• Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester (school-age children)
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds (for young adults)
• Children’s Books Celebrating Black Boys  (The Conscious Kid)
• 21 Children’s Books Every Black Kid Should Read  (HuffPost)
• Barbershop Books Blog (there are a number of posts with book suggestions)

Books for Adults

• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin RiAngelo
• Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey
• In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption by Rhonda M. Roorda  
• In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories by Rita James Simon, Rhonda M. Roorda
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein 
• When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson
• HATE—Why We Should Resist it with Free Speech, Not Censorship by Professor Nadine Strossen
• The Opposite of “racist” Isn’t “not Racist” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity by Beverly Daniel Tatum
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

Podcasts

• The 1619 Project by NY Times (Link to Podcast)
• Seeing White series by Scene on Radio
• Pod Save the People by Crooked Media
• Code Switch by NPR
• Smartest Person in the Room Ep. 30: Bias: Well-Meaning White People
• At Liberty Podcast, a weekly podcast from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that explores the biggest civil rights and civil liberties issues of the day.
• Racism is an addiction—In Recovery Podcast
• Policing and Racial Trauma with Angela Davis by Terrible, Thanks for Asking
• Into an American Uprising: Talking to Kids about Racism
• About Race Podcast
• Intersectionality Matters! with Kimberle Crenshaw 

Documentaries & Media

• 13^th (Ava DuVernay) Netflix
• When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) Netflix
• I am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck)   Amazon Prime    YouTube
• Should white parents adopt black children—Red Table with Kristin Davis
• American Promise (Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson)  YouTube
• The Loving Story HBOJust Mercy
  

YouTube

• How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion by Peggy McIntosh
• Systemic Racism Explained (Good for school-aged children)
• The Power of Privilege by Tiffany Jana
• Understanding My Privilege by Sue Borrego
• Apartheid: The Rise and Fall of South Africa’s “Apartness” Laws by Global News
• Apartheid Explained (Good for children 5^th grade and up)

Social Media

• The Conscious Kid  @theconsciouskid
• Color Lines  Website    @colorlinesnews    Facebook
• Fabulous Adoptive Black Moms  @thefabmoms
• No White Saviors  Website  @nowhitesaviors  Facebook
• Rachel Cargle Website  @rachel.cargle

Additional Resources

• Mapping Police Violence
• 100 Year Hoodie
• Harvard Implicit Bias Test
• Transforming Perception: Black Men and Boys
• Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) – national organization with local chapters
• Undoing Racism Workshop (The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond)
• Indie Bound is a website where you can use to find books sold within local independent bookstores nationwide if you prefer shopping locally owned businesses.
• You can order books from black-owned independent book stores at Literary Hub

For guidance and support, contact us at (646) 539-2167 or [email protected] to learn more about ways Spence-Chapin can support your family.