A Kid-Friendly Approach To Equity and Inclusion And Stories From Equity-Seeking Parents

Racism can be a challenging subject to discuss for many adults.

And sometimes that discomfort and apprehension can lead to closed doors. To missed opportunities to have uncomfortable conversations.

But the thing is, young kids have questions and feelings about antiracism. They might not be discussing intersectionality, but many are interested in fairness, feeling good and friendship.

And that's why kid-friendly approaches to these concepts are helpful.

They meet little ones at their level, and attempt to show them the good that comes from acceptance and embracing people no matter how they look. 

Gary the Unicorn, Janaye Upshaw and Tony Kim met up with a lot of curious kids who had big questions of their own in the CBC Kids special Proud to Be Me.

Maybe you watched it and that's how you got here. 

You will be able to rewatch segments below whenever you need to. Or perhaps it might be useful to recommend them to a friend or a classroom teacher. But in addition to the great conversations with kids, I wanted to share some companion pieces for adults that are all over the CBC Parents site.

We work with writers from across Canada every week, and many take the time to share their personal stories. These narratives intersect race, gender, sexuality and parenting, and do so to acknowledge and amplify the varied experiences of parents who are parenting in this country. 

What Is Equity?

Gary and Janaye discuss equity by playing a game of basketball. Gary is short and can't reach the basket, but Janaye is tall and can. Before the game has started, there is a clear disadvantage.

But Janaye recommends an alternative to help even the playing field. Using her height as support, Janaye offers to lift Gary up. This way, the game is fair and everyone gets to enjoy it. 

Tony tackles the subject similarly, but he frames the conversation around wearing glasses.

What does fairness mean to parents?

Well, that's a big question. And it varies.

For some Black parents, it could mean wanting to live in a world where they don't have a complicated relationship with the police.

Or feeling confident sending their kids to school, and not have their educators show up in Blackface.

For some Muslim parents, what fairness could look like is not feeling like fingers are pointed at them and their family when something bad happens in the news.  

It could mean longing to feel safe when you're an Asian parent going out with your biracial children. 

Maybe it's just having the opportunity to not live in fear that you or your children could be next.

While people will view fairness differently, contextualized by their own experiences, the goal is simple: no one is at a disadvantage because of how they look. Or their gender. Or their sexuality. Or their disability. 

What Is Race?

Tony, Gary and Janaye discuss race in a very kid-friendly way. Basically, they all look at each other and observe their differences. They aren't confronted or bogged down by ideology, it's just something that's apparent. And they celebrate each other for their differences.

Maybe some families don't live in diverse neighbourhoods, or don't attend diverse schools. So perhaps this kind of early exploration may sound unlikely for you. But that's why shows and books featuring people of colour are excellent ways to expose children to the diversity they will undoubtedly be exposed to as they grow up. 

Khairoon Abbas wrote for CBC Parents, "The stark reality is that racism is alive and well in our country where many Canadians are foreign-born. Most of us foreign-born Canadians have lived in the country for many years and this is our home, just like it is home for everyone else." 

While Canada can feel like a beacon of multiculturalism, the experience of many immigrants paints a different picture.

This is why examining our relationships to race, and whether they are roadblocks to kindness, is important to reflect on. It's essential to read these stories to not just learn that this is still a very real problem that parents and families face, but to acknowledge anything in ourselves that might be contributing to the problem. 

It's not easy.

But it's good to ask: are you willing to do the necessary work? How many of us could benefit from that work?

Being Proud Of Our Differences

Tony, Janaye and Gary want us all to celebrate ourselves. To be proud of our differences. To strive for fairness. And they do that in a way most kids can get on board with: song and dance. 

It sounds like an easy concept.

Be nice to one another. Don't discriminate against people because of how they look.

But it's hard to not take note of the times our world doesn't stack up with those statements above.

No one is born racist. It is learned. That can't really be contested. And one way to combat another generation or ten of the same ol' thing is exposing kids to the beauty of our differences, and not stigmatizing them. 

Maybe then we can be proud of ourselves. And each other.