Being an anti-racist parent

One of the wonderful things about blogs is how they make me think about things I might otherwise miss. Of course, talking to other people IRL and reading books does this too, but I guess through blogs I get exposed to people I might not come across in my every day life.

For instance, a post by Robyn ages ago on DotMoms about the books her kids have that could help "broach discussions of diversity" made me take another look at my own bookshelf, and realise how sadly lacking it was. Most of Liam's books are either hand-me-downs, gifts, or left overs from my own childhood. So despite the fact that my best friend is a lesbian parent, there were no books with two moms. Also no books with adopted children, few books with children of colour... you get the picture. I know, it's shameful to admit that I hadn't noticed that before, but while I've tended to scrutinise books fairly thoroughly before (or while) reading them to Liam for things I wanted to avoid, I hadn't looked at them in terms of things I wanted to foster.

That post sparked a new series of trips to the library (and even a new purchase or two).

And now, what this post is actually all about: The other day, Dawn linked to her introductory post on Anti-Racist Parent, "a blog for parents who are committed to raising children with an anti-racist outlook". What a wonderful idea for a blog.