Antiracism resources for youth

Written By Jen kidwell

This is a compilation of a lot of my favorite activities relating to antiracism work. Some have been explained more fully in separate posts, which I link to as relevant. Also, a disclaimer to say that I am not an expert on this subject, though I’ve studied and read and am always on my own journey of learning. I hope you find some ideas here to spark meaningful conversation with your youth. Ideally, reflection and conversation would lead to action, whether that’s action they take as individuals (calling out racist jokes or choosing not to watch shows that casually perpetuate stereotypes) or as a group (an information or advocacy campaign on an issue of importance), or in partnership with others (local antiracism organization, local chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice, local interfaith alliances to combat racism, etc.)

  • Race card project. Each person in the group comes up with a 6-word story about a memory involving race or an idea about race that is significant to their experience in some way. This is a great activity (NPR did a long-running series on this!) because it helps to distill the essence of a story or experience or idea that may be complicated or hard to articulate. It encourages reflection, which is always such a good place to start when doing this work.

  • Acrostic poems. Each person in the group creates an acrostic poem or short story using a word they associate with race. Perhaps leaders can choose a list of words to start with or let them choose their own (RACISM, PRIVILEGE, INJUSTICE, etc. depending on the circumstances of the group). Participants use the letters of the word as the first word of successive lines in the poem or story. This structure helps to contain and pare down complex experiences, which offers a different a way into them.

  • We’ve used the Urban Intellectuals black history flash card decks a few times. We just lay them out and they take turns choosing cards with historical figures they know until there are only unfamiliar figures left. Then they each choose one and “present” that person to the group.

  • We have visited a local museum that focuses on historic neighborhoods in our city, including the racial histories and gentrification that’s occurred there. We also invited local historians to teach us about the history of black neighborhoods in our community, so local history guilds are potentially good resources too.

  • I’ve long wanted to go on a graffiti tour of our neighborhood (we sometimes have some really interesting murals), which is not inherently an anti-racist but can often lead to conversations about art and identity, which are adjacent to bias and racism. Maybe someday!

  • Use TED talks to bring powerful voices and stories into your meetings. I recommend the talks by Bryan Stevenson, Mena Fombo, and Chimamanda Ngochi Adichie, but there are so many others. I have reflection/devotional resources for these particular talks in two different collections: Fombo’s is here; and Stevenson’s and Adichi’s are here. Always preview talks in advance, and encourage reflection and discussion after the fact.

  • Offer to make small donations to nonprofit organizations doing antiracism work chosen by each youth. I have them research the organization and tell me 1) the program that seems to be the most impactful to them and 2) how/why it aligns with their values to “unlock” the donation. This is such great practice for navigating the web of organizations that are out there doing good work.

  • Do a deep dive into a civil rights action; one with national significance or with more local significance. This requires a bit more prep, but I think that the civil rights stories of the 1950s-70s are so often taught by only emphasizing the almost-other-worldly-leadership of prominent leaders (such as Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Rosa Parks, etc.). These figures are immensely powerful, but sometimes the way we talk about them de-emphasizes all of the other, smaller, everyday-person roles in these movements. For example, often folks think of the Montgomery Bus Boycott as a historical event during which "Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and then eventually the law was changed.” We don’t learn about the year long efforts of thousands of people who coordinated carpools, the organizers who made sure people still got to work on time, the drivers who sacrificed for the cause, and the allies who chipped in. These parts of the story are so important because it’s often much easier to see ourselves participating in these ways than it is to be giving the “I have a dream speech.”

  • These are some wonderful full-length documentaries (there are so many; these are just ones I’ve used with either adults or youth) that cover aspects of the movements in the 1960s that aren’t often emphasized in schools. In my experience, youth really want to go into these subjects more deeply. I’m sure some schools are better than others in terms of emphasizing these stories, but these are such good tools:

  • Many of the questions in my Raising White Kids (Jennifer Harvey) discussion guide would be appropriate for groups of young people as independent reflection questions. This book and the discussion guide leads to really beautiful conversations and reflection among adults.

  • The book Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds) led to good discussions in our youth group. I have discussion notes but they aren’t beautiful. Email me if you’d like a copy and I’ll share them in their current state and I’ll update this post if/when I get them cleaned up.

  • Other resources more geared to adults, and most appropriate in a church-adjacent setting:

Jen kidwell
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