When it comes to the topic of racism, it is up to us as parents, to lead the way. The conversation about race and anti-racism needs to start early and keep happening. This we know. It must also be a constant conversation, not solely within the heightened moments of protest.

Author and activist, Layla Saad, spoke this week about the importance of laying these roots to our little ones as early as we can: “There must be a deep understanding from a very young age of the context in which we’re having these conversations, otherwise, people will think about racism in terms of these individual acts of violence, these consciously chosen acts of violence with no connection to the structural and institutional historical events that have shaped what we see today.”

It’s never too early to learn that racism is wrong and that inclusivity is the marker of a well-moderated mind. These books can help…

for kids…

I Am Enough by Grace Byers (2+)

This beautifully illustrated feelgood picturebook tells us what one brown-skinned little girl with an impressive Afro appreciates about herself. With a fun rhyming structure and gorgeous, colourful images, this is an ideal one to start with.

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (5+)

Grace’s family tells her she can be anything. She loves to read, to dress up – she believes them. But when a boy at school tells her she can’t be Peter Pan because she’s black, we witness one of Grace’s first encounters with racism. We also get another insight into where racist thoughts might begin and thus, how we might avoid them in our own lives.

What If We Were All the Same by C. M. Harris (4+)

A book that embraces the differences we all have in relation to height, hair type, abilities and much more – none of us are born like the other and this sends an uplifting, inspirational message to kids who they they need to be like anyone else. It includes everyone.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds (7+)

In this book we go on a journey from 1415, the world’s first racist, to the present day, showing how racist ideology in the US has forged where we are now – and what we can do to suppress and end this. Reynolds knows exactly the tone to take for a younger audience and complex issues.

for teens…

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This YA novel about a teenage girl who grapples with racism, police brutality, and activism after witnessing her black friend murdered by the police. Starr Carter is a 16-year-old black girl from a poor neighbourhood who attends an elite private school in a predominantly white, affluent part of the city. She becomes entangled in a national news story after she witnesses and speaks out after a white police officer shoot and kills her childhood friend, Khalil. Wrenching and painfully familiar but Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, it is one they should read.

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat--by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room, they discover it's safe to talk about what's bothering them from Esteban's father's deportation and Haley's father's incarceration to Amari's fears of racial profiling and Ashton's adjustment to his changing family fortunes. Woodson ensures each character expresses the feelings and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world, and in doing so, a wide range of diverse, social issues are artfully and sensitively dealt with.

This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work by Tiffany Jewell

This is one everyone should read with their teens or gift to them. Here, there are 20 lessons on how to wake up, take action and do the work to deconstruct what racism is and how to be actively anti-racist – for a YA audience. For any young person unsure about how to speak up or out about racism, this will show them how with clear, compelling language divided into four sections and beautiful illustrations by Aurelia Durand.

Here is our suggested reading list for adults too. As with all reading lists, this is merely a beginning, if you know of any great books, we would love to hear any of your suggestions in the comment box below…