Resources for Conversations with Children about Anti-Racism: Home

In February 2021, Syracuse University is holding its inaugural Racial Equity Academic Symposium.  One of the events in this week-long series, Sandy and Emma: Tough Talks Made Easier Through Storytelling, will feature Cheryl Wills ’89 (Newhouse School of Public Communications) discussing her children's books Emma and The Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills and strategies for how parents, educators, grandparents, and caregivers can discuss race and historical inequity with children. Sound Beat: Access Audio, produced by the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive at Syracuse University Libraries, is pleased to have created audiobook versions of each book.

Conversations with children about race, racism, and anti-racism often present adults with questions about how to approach the topics.  This Research Guide, inspired by the collaboration between Ms. Wills and Sound Beat: Access Audio, is designed to help adults become better prepared to facilitate these conversations.

I wish to thank Karen Wallace of Drake University Law Library, Elizabeth Brown of Central Washington University, Erica Hogan of Duquesne University, and Adam Johnson at Valencia College for their assistance in putting this Research Guide together.