Racism: A Story (+ Resources)

At the international charity where I worked through high school and university, it was not uncommon for our call center to receive racist calls. Typically, we reiterated that our charity served all people regardless of race and did not engage in arguments with those who were calling just to argue.

When I look back on those years, most of the thousands of phone calls I answered kind of blend into one.

But there was one call I will never forget.

After beginning this call with some terribly racist comments, the caller asked, “You’re a nice little white girl aren’t you? Didn’t anyone teach you how the world works?”

I was shocked.

I hated that he was implying the colour of my skin somehow made me superior or that I somehow felt the same way he did.

After repeating that we serve everyone in need, I ended the call, assured myself that I was not the racist he thought I should be and did not think much of it for the next 15 years.

After all, I grew up in a diverse city, with diverse friends. I learned about slave ships and Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman and Nelson Mandela and words not to say.

Fast forward to June 2020…

It struck me this week that, although not in the same way the caller meant, no one actually taught me “how the world works.”

No one ever taught me about racially motivated police brutality or microaggressions or unconscious bias. I knew nothing about white privilege or forced wet nursing. I never learned about systemic racism or any of the myriad of other deeply rooted racial issues our country can’t deny anymore.

I learned about the history of racism, but that wasn’t enough, and it certainly didn’t give me much insight into how the world works.

Somehow, I ended up with a high school diploma and a couple of university degrees without a single teacher actually teaching me about how the world works.

And even if, by some stretch of the imagination, I assume I didn’t learn it because no one knew, that excuse doesn’t even come close to flying anymore.

Now we know. Now we are learning. Now we are listening.

I wish I could go back 15 years and let that caller know that I do, in fact, know how the world works and that it’s really quite awful.

I still have much to learn and realize that I will probably never fully understand it all, but I am committed to using my small platform of homeschooling to fill in some of the blanks of my own education for my children.

Maybe you have already been having these conversations in your homes but, in case you’re interested in joining me, here’s how I might start:

ONLINE RESOURCES
Talking with Children About Racism, Police Brutality and Protests  (Aha Parenting)
Looking for Excellent "Diverse" Books for Children? Start Here! (embracerace.org)
Race & Ethnicity Educational Resources (tolerance.org)
The 2018 Ultimate List of Diverse Children’s Books (with descriptions) (hereweread.com)
Children’s Books by Brilliant Black Women (with descriptions) (booksforlittles.com)

BOOKS (that I have not yet finished but that have been recommended to me)
White Fragility (Robin DiAngelo)
How to Be an Antiracist (Ibram X. Kendi)
Between the World and Me (Ta-Nehisi Coates)

INSTAGRAM (Amazing Black Homeschooling Moms to Follow)
@themomtrotter
@schoolathomeandbeyond
@theintuitivehomeschooler