The Barber’s Cutting Edge is a touching celebration of the close relationship between a young African American boy and his community mentor. Jam-packed with little boys, big boys, dads, and neighbors, Mr. Bigalow’s barbershop is a familiar place to talk, to play dominoes, to read, and in Rashaad’s case, to get a little extra help with his schoolwork. Not only does Mr. Bigalow know all the latest styles, he also knows all the words on Rashaad’s vocabulary list. Whether it’s haircuts or words, Mr. Bigalow is the best at what he does. He is also a friend and a role model and as Rashaad puts it, "one cool dude."

Seven-year-old Layla loves life! So she keeps a happiness book. What is happiness for her? For you?

Spirited and observant, Layla’s a child who’s been given room to grow, making happiness both thoughtful and intimate. It’s her dad talking about growing-up in South Carolina; her mom reading poetry; her best friend Juan, the community garden, and so much more. Written by poet Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie and illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin, this is a story of flourishing within family and community.

From Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o comes a powerful, moving picture book about colorism, self-esteem, and learning that true beauty comes from within.

Sulwe has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything.

In this stunning debut picture book, actress Lupita Nyong’o creates a whimsical and heartwarming story to inspire children to see their own unique beauty.

Lupita reads Sulwe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=vujbTOuzg2Q&feature=emb_title 

The Newbery Award-winning author of THE CROSSOVER pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree.

Originally performed for ESPN’s The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present.

Kwame reads The Undefeated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzkTBplxz_E 

This list of documentaries is curated by New Haven public school educator Nataliya Braginsky for her high school journalism class. Nataliya’s criteria were as follows:

• A well-made, truth-telling documentary

• Stories that center Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color

• Themes that are as intersectional as possible

The list provides the title of each film, a short description and a link to watching it online (streaming subscriptions sometimes needed).

CLICK HERE for the list of documentaries.

Created by the collective work of three cohorts of Communities of Practice (CoP) for teachers who will be teaching the new Black and Latinx Studies elective course. Hosted by the Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning Collective (ARTLC), these CoP's provided space for teachers from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels across the state to share stories, resources, questions, and ideas. Ultimately, the CoP provided a network in which teachers could build collective wisdom in preparation for teaching the Black/Latinx Studies course in the fall. 

Each of the three Communities of Practice had approximately 15 members and was facilitated by a local CT teacher with experience in the field – Ruth-Terry Walden of Stamford Public Schools, Daisha Brabham of Norwalk Public Schools, and Nataliya Braginsky of New Haven Public Schools. Below are the resources which were compiled through their practice.

This document is organized by resource type, which can be found and navigated in the table of contents. Below every resource are a few keywords, which can be searched in the document as well. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact info@antiracistteaching.org. 

CLICK HERE for the resource guide.

Black Wealth / White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro

The award-winning Black Wealth / White Wealth offers a powerful portrait of racial inequality based on an analysis of private wealth. Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro's groundbreaking research analyzes wealth - total assets and debts rather than income alone - to uncover deep and persistent racial inequality in America, and they show how public policies have failed to redress the problem.

The Economics of Racism Marcus Alexis

Racism, the collection of negative perceptions and behaviors directed at members of groups with different identifiable physical characteristics, was once thought to be outside the domain of economics as a discipline. In his treatise on the subject of discrimination (a mild form of racism), Becker1 emphasizes the economic consequences of discrimination.

A Principal’s Approach to Leadership for Social Justice: Advancing Reflective and Anti-Oppressive Practices Miriam Ezzani

This case study explores an urban elementary school principal’s efforts to advance reflective and anti-oppressive practices to counter teachers’ beliefs and behaviors toward their Black male students. Data collected and analyzed include five in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, observations of the school, classroom and professional learning meetings, and document analysis of policies, improvement plans, and weekly faculty agenda. The findings revealed that data-informed leadership was the impetus to the principal enacting social justice leadership, which involved anchoring systemic professional learning opportunities to teachers’ core values and beliefs and developing the collective consciousness of teachers individually and collectively. Lastly, the principal utilized strategies and instituted structures in and outside of the school to propel a cultural paradigm shift in how students in general, and Black males in particular, were served and cared for. Implications for principal professional learning and educational leadership preparation programs are shared. This article offers recommendations on how social justice leaders can coach teachers and advance practices that engender respect and dignity for Black male students.

From Oppositional Culture to Cultural Integrity: African American Students’ Perceptions of the Activity Structure and Physical Ecology of Classrooms Biko Martin Sankofa, Eric A. Hurley, Brenda A. Allen and A. Wade Boykin

This work extends examination of African American students’ attitudes toward learning and achievement to contrast the oppositional culture (Ogbu and Fordham) and cultural integrity perspectives. We assessed 200 students’ responses to classrooms designed to support competitive, individualistic, communal or high-verve thinking, and behavior. Students preferred activity structures and physical ecologies supporting the expression of communalism and high verve. Relationships with grade point average (GPA) were also examined. Interviews corroborated the questionnaires. Students’ positive attitudes toward academic success are moderated by the value orientation of what must be done to succeed. Implications for reinterpreting students’ resistant/disengaged behavior are discussed.

Preparing primary trainee teachers to teach children from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds or groups: Participation, experiences and perceptions of trainee teachers Sarah Brownsword

This research was conducted in response to the exit survey of a cohort of Primary PGCE trainee teachers at a UK University in a predominantly White area who indicated low confidence in teaching children from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds at the end of their course. The research aimed to find out why trainee teachers felt unconfident in teaching children from BAME groups or backgrounds. Using qualitative methods, findings were analysed using a Critical Race Theory framework. Many of the trainee teachers who participated in this research demonstrated a lack of understanding of their own White privilege and a deficit discourse when discussing children from BAME backgrounds. The study explores how ITE, which is often short and already crammed with content, could embed quality training in race and diversity throughout courses in a way that will both challenge individual perceptions and encourage trainee teachers to examine structural barriers within schools.

Marketing Inclusion: A Social Justice Project for Diversity Education Sonya Grier

Challenges related to marketplace diversity present an opportunity to prepare students to successfully engage with diversity through innovative curricular approaches. The present research develops a semester-long course project designed to enhance students’ awareness and understanding of diversity and inclusion issues from a social justice perspective. We discuss the context of diversity issues in business schools and identify key issues affecting marketing educators. Our review of the pedagogical literature on diversity highlights the importance of a social justice orientation. Social cognitive theory is used as a conceptual framework to guide the design of a problem-based experiential project. We detail project implementation and assess evidence regarding the impact of the project. Findings suggest an experiential, problem-based class project can support students understanding of diversity from a social justice perspective. We discuss the project benefits and challenges and highlight pedagogical issues for educators who want to integrate diversity content into a broad array of marketing courses.

White Allyship of Afro-Diasporic Women in the Workplace: A Transformative Strategy for Organizational Change Samantha E. Erskine and Dina Bilimoria

Given the underrepresentation of Afro-Diasporic women in senior leadership roles, this conceptual article points to the transformative potential of antiracist, feminist White allyship to serve as a missing piece in organizations that may propel the career development and leadership advancement of Afro-Diasporic women. We define White allyship as a continuous, reflexive practice of proactively interrogating Whiteness from an intersectionality framework, leveraging one’s position of power and privilege and courageously interrupting the status quo by engaging in prosocial behaviors that foster growth-in-connection and have both the intention and impact of creating mutuality, solidarity, and support of Afro-Diasporic women’s career development and leadership advancement. We describe the behaviors, outcomes, motivations, and detractors of White allyship and offer suggestions for future research. White allyship of Afro-Diasporic women holds important opportunities for meaningful relationships to develop in organizations, for which would-be allies need support, coaching, and training to increase their allyship competence and self-efficacy.

Researching Racism: A Guidebook for Academics and Professional Investigators Muzammil Quraishi and Rob Philburn

This book offers a one stop guide to the meaning of racism, key studies in the field, core methodologies and an agenda for research for the future. Discussing the salient aspects of race and racism in contemporary society alongside methodological and practical considerations of qualitative research in the field, Researching Racism is not only an original textbook but also a crucial guide for anyone beginning their own research on racism.

White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology Tukufu Zuberi and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

In this collection of essays, the authors examine how racial considerations have affected the way social science is conducted; how issues are framed, and data is analyzed. With an assemblage of leading scholars, White Logic, White Methods explores the possibilities and necessary dethroning of current social research practices, and demands a complete overhaul of current methods, towards multicultural and pluralist approach to what we know, think, and question. 

Understanding and using the implicit association test IV: What we know (so far) about the Method Kristin A. Lane, Mahzarin R. Banaji, Brian A. Nosek and Anthony G. Greenwald

We focus on ... the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998), which provides an estimate of the strength of association between concepts and attributes, much like the semantic priming measure does. In the 9 years since its publication, the IAT method has received significant attention. At present, more than 200 papers report use of the method, hundreds of conference papers have been delivered, and more than 4.5 million tests have been taken at www.implicit.harvard.edu. In addition, a healthy skepticism about what the method is and does has produced commentaries on interpretation (see Nosek, Greenwald, & Banaji, in press, for a review). Specific reports of interest to readers include those that summarize results obtained using the IAT (Carney, Nosek, Greenwald, & Banaji, in press; Greenwald & Nosek, 2001; Nosek, Banaji, & Greenwald, 2002a; Nosek et al., in press), provide details on method and scoring development (Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003; Nosek, Greenwald, & Banaji, 2005), and discuss the unique nature of reactions to the IAT (Banaji, 2001). In addition, stimulus materials and sample programs are available via web sites. With these resources already available, this chapter focuses on an aspect of the work that is currently unavailable in a single location--a brief introduction to those who are new to the IAT and wish to become educated users of the technique and consumers of research that uses it. If successful, the chapter will provide a user-friendly guide to the IAT. 

Racial Inequality in Psychological Research: Trends of the Past and Recommendations for the Future Steven O. Roberts, Carmelle Bareket-Shavit, Forrest A. Dollins, Peter D. Goldie, Elizabeth Mortenson

Race plays an important role in how people think, develop, and behave. In the current article, we queried more than 26,000 empirical articles published between 1974 and 2018 in top-tier cognitive, developmental, and social psychology journals to document how often psychological research acknowledges this reality and to examine whether people who edit, write, and participate in the research are systematically connected. We note several findings. First, across the past five decades, psychological publications that highlight race have been rare, and although they have increased in developmental and social psychology, they have remained virtually nonexistent in cognitive psychology. Second, most publications have been edited by White editors, under which there have been significantly fewer publications that highlight race. Third, many of the publications that highlight race have been written by White authors who employed significantly fewer participants of color. In many cases, we document variation as a function of area and decade. We argue that systemic inequality exists within psychological research and that systemic changes are needed to ensure that psychological research benefits from diversity in editing, writing, and participation. To this end, and in the spirit of the field’s recent emphasis on metascience, we offer recommendations for journals and authors.

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation―that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, The Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation―the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments―that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.

Through extraordinary revelations and extensive research that Ta-Nehisi Coates has lauded as "brilliant" (The Atlantic), Rothstein comes to chronicle nothing less than an untold story that begins in the 1920s, showing how this process of de jure segregation began with explicit racial zoning, as millions of African Americans moved in a great historical migration from the south to the north.

Including discussions around

"All Lives Matter"

"Black people commit more crimes"

"Black-on-Black violence"

"Looting is too much"

"MLK wouldn't have wanted this"

"The 13/50 and 13/90 statistics"

And many more.

Including "The Basics" and "Responding to Myths" around affordable housing.

Boston Public Health Commission

One of the Boston Public Health Commission’s topics of focus in racial justice and health equity. They provide their Health Equity Framework to demonstrate how systems of oppression impact social determinants of health and health outcomes, which includes important term definitions. BPHC also has toolkits for equitable community engagement, needs assessment reports, articles, and video resources.

New England Racial Justice Collaborative

The NERJC is a network across communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire that works to eliminate racial and health inequities and racism. They use the framework that acknowledges racism’s direct effect on health via stress, and its indirect effect on health by its impact on social determinants of health. Contact information provided for information on how to get involved.

National Collaborative for Health Equity

The National Collaborative for Health Equity uses data collection/analysis, leadership development, and partnerships with other organizations to promote health equity, tackle structural racism, and effect policy changes. They have various programs aimed at ensuring health opportunities for people of color.

Tour for Diversity

Tour for Diversity is a pipeline organization whose mission is to inspire and mentor minority pre-health undergraduates and medical students in their paths toward their future careers. Tour for Diversity’s focus on mentorship addresses the need for increased minority healthcare providers as one of the solutions toward resolving racial and ethnic health disparities. They provide “tours” (i.e. bringing mentors to conduct programs at colleges and universities) as well as virtual events and programs.

American Hospital Association Institute for Diversity and Health Equity

The mission of the AHA Institute for Diversity and Health Equity is to support hospitals, healthcare organizations, and patients by distributing evidence-based resources for best practices to make long-lasting changes to healthcare. Their resources include toolkits, COVID-19 vaccine access improvement, diversity and inclusion measures, and the recorded 2021 Accelerating Health Equity virtual conference.

National Association of County and City Health Officials

NACCHO’s Health Equity and Social Justice program was established to assist local health departments improve their abilities to address health inequities and restructure their organization. They have established initiatives to analyze causes of disproportionate disease and mortality rates among particular populations. They provide many resources as well as online trainings: “Roots of Health Inequity” and “Health Equity and Social Justice 101.”

Human Impact Partners

Health Impact Partners’ initiatives use public health research to support social justice movements, including the Health Instead of Punishment program to promote racial justice and health equity for those who are most harmed by immigration and criminal legal systems. Their latest work includes resources and recommendations for supporting the health and safety of unaccompanied youth migrants. Advocacy materials related to various public health and policy change issues related to justice can be found on their website.

Institute for Healthcare Improvement 

IHI cites equity of access and treatment as one of their aims for improvement, including how they are working toward diversity and equity within their own organization. They provide written, audio, and video resources as well as publications related to specific health equity topics.

Public Health Institute

PHI’s programs aim to improve health equity and health outcomes through new research, partnership development, and public health policy advancement. Focusing on remodeling public health, PHI works on critical issues and pioneering expertise in a variety of areas, including: mental health, chronic disease prevention, communicable disease prevention, disability rights, environmental health, global health, population & community health, and women, youth, & children.

American Public Health Association

APHA defines health equity as “everyone has the opportunity to attain their highest level of health.” They provide health equity fact sheets, briefs, reports, and infographics in addition to many of their own resources and partner resources. Specific topics include COVID-19’s impact on various social determinants of health, environmental racism and justice, water and health equity, health and educational equity. APHA also provides public health policy advocacy links for those who want to get involved or stay updated.

Migrant Clinicians Network

Migrant Clinicians Network is a non-profit organization that provides support to clinicians so they have best practices for caring for migrant populations, such as providing quality/equitable care, increasing access, and reducing health disparities. The organization serves those who have chosen to migrate or experience forced displacement. They provide thousands of resources in their toolbox for clinicians working with migrant communities, resources for working with English-Second Language (ESL) patients, and recorded webinars.