Celebrating Black History All Year Long
Racism and Anti-Blackness are real and as educators and parents, we have an opportunity in the child’s earliest years to combat these absorbed ideas all year long. We can celebrate Black Joy, uplift Black intersectional identities that are underrepresented (Black Queer & Black Trans community members), celebrate Black Women in politics, social justice, law, motherhood, education and more. We can learn about the history of Montessori in the United States and the contributions of Black Montessori educators to our work* (Check out Chapter 3: The Hidden History of Public Montessori from Diverse Families, Desirable Schools by Mira Debs). We can also use our purchasing power to support Black-Owned businesses. We can support Black Artists when looking for art supplies, stickers, stationary, etc. Books have a unique opportunity for many of those actions, but the selection matters.
Children's Books:
Books are essential to the child’s linguistic development. They are also an important space for children to see the world through someone else’s experience. In the sea of possible books to choose for children, however, there are ways to find high-quality literature and one of the best places to start is by finding books with children’s authors and illustrators. It might sound obvious, but there are a fair amount of books in the children’s section that do not have an author or illustrator listed. Talented authors and illustrators are out there creating wonderful stories for children who will want to hear them again and again (and thus make it a good literary experience). So, both the author and the illustrator matter. And because books offer this essential space to see the world through someone else’s experience, representation is a key factor in a good children’s library. And thus, we need to interrogate our book selection and book purchasing for maximum authentic representation.
“Books about white children, talking bears, trucks, monsters, potatoes, etc. represent nearly three quarters (71%) of children’s and young adult books published in 2019.”
Due to systemic racism (and sometimes interpersonal racism), books by Black and Indigenous authors and/or illustrators make up a very small percentage of published books (in 2019, this was just 5.7% compared to 83.2% of books by white authors and illustrators) and only 11.9% of books in 2019 even featured a Black primary character. And even worse, many books that feature characters who are Black, Indigenous, and of the Global Majority are still written and illustrated by white authors and illustrators. And this is a serious problem in the fight against white supremacy because of the racist history of white people creating “caricatures” of Black, Indigenous and People of the Global Majority in cartoons and other illustrations that feed into violent stereotypes and continuous oppression. Your book selection matters to the child and to supporting Black and Indigenous authors!
Support Black-Owned Businesses:
Purchase from local Black-Owned Bookstores. Google Black-Owned Bookstores near you. Then, go to Bookshop.org to find that bookstore and purchase your books from them online.
Places to Get Book Recommendations from Black Creators:
0-3 YEARS PEACE Recommendations
for Infants/Toddlers centering Black Characters, Black Authors, and Black Illustrators, linked to Marcus Books, the nation’s oldest Black-owned independent bookstore in Oakland, CA (where The PEACE Program is based).
Picture Books:
All the Colors We Are/Todos los colores de nuestra piel: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color
Shoes Like Miss Alice’s (out of print! Linked on Amazon, but grab it if you can - it’s a likely one of my favorite 0-3 books because of how developmentally aligned it is)
Last Stop on Market Street (Latine author / Black illustrator)
3-6 YEARS PEACE Recommendations
for Preschool/Kindergarten centering Black Characters, Black Authors, and Black Illustrators, linked to Marcus Books, the nation’s oldest Black-owned independent bookstore in Oakland, CA (where The PEACE Program is based).
Picture Books (the 0-3 recommendations above PLUS...)
The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States
Race Cars: A Children's Book about White Privilege (white author, Black illustrator)
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice (multi-racial author team)
Early Readers:
Poetry:
Chapter Books (moving toward Elementary level)
Stamped (for Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You (read in small parts, then discuss)
The Magnificent Mya Tibbs Series (4-5 years comprehension)
Dragons in a Bag / The Dragon Thief (4-5 years comprehension)
Magic in Changing Your Stars (5-6 years comprehension)
The Year I Flew Away (6+ years comprehension)
Swim Team (Graphic Novel, 6+ years comprehension)
Support Black Artists
When looking for art supplies, stickers, stationary, etc. Here are a few artists you can find prints, stickers, arts, decor, etc for your space. A great way to find new artists is to go to an Artists' Instagram and see who they follow!
Addie Rawr:https://www.instagram.com/addierawr/
Stickers, Prints, Planners, Stationary, Gifts: https://www.addierawr.com/shop
Danielle Coke:https://www.instagram.com/ohhappydani/
Stationary & some prints at Target: https://www.target.com/p/danielle-coke-oh-happy-dani-collection/-/A-85445452#lnk=sametab
Black-Owned Shops on Etsy:https://www.etsy.com/community/black-owned-shops-team?tab=shops&ref=search
About The PEACE Program
Our Montessori Masterclass lives into our values of self-reflection, self-care, responsiveness to being/becoming Anti-Bias / Anti-Racist, and a deep commitment to the whole child within the whole family. We offer a holistic program meant to provide inclusive, practical, and supportive guidance for parents & educators from birth to six.
