Shayla Wrote a Children’s Book about Race!
Author, Shayla Reese Griffin, wearing a black t-shirt from Justice Leaders Collaborative that says “practice makes progress” and peacock earrings by artist and book illustrator, Christina O., and holding her new children’s picture book, The Awesome Kids Guide to Race.
Audio version available on Medium: https://medium.com/@shaylargriffin
I am thrilled to announce that Justice Leaders Collaborative is launching Justice Leaders Press and our first book, The Awesome Kids Guide to Race!
For years, our Justice Leaders Collaborative team has talked about how much better our world would be if, starting from birth, people learned about race and racism, class and classism, gender and sexism and all the other ways our society treats people unequally based on our identities–as well as what we might do about it. Or as we sometimes say, “We should have learned this in kindergarten!”
Unfortunately, the reality is that the majority of adults we’ve worked with over the last decade–many with bachelor’s and graduate degrees–name our our workshops, resources, coaching, and consulting as their first exposure to understanding their own identities, learning the true history of our country, and thinking about their own role in creating a more just world.
Trying to “cram” as adults to make up for mis- and missing information often feels like putting a bandaid on a broken arm–it simply isn’t enough. If we are actually committed to justice we must help cultivate this commitment in childhood in developmentally appropriate ways. And yet, the truth is, there are very few resources available to parents and educators trying to change this reality for rising generations.
A year and half ago I woke up in the middle of the night (as I often do with my best ideas) struck by the fact that there was no book I could think of that provided a full overview of race, racism, and racial justice for children in an accurate, clear, concise, and comprehensive way. I immediately opened the notes app on my phone and wrote the first draft of The Awesome Kids Guide to Race! Not long after, my dream illustrator, the fine artist Christina O., agreed to collaborate on the project, and the rest is history!
The Awesome Kids Guide to Race illustrator, Christina O. Earrings by Christina O.
In one, beautifully illustrated picture book, The Awesome Kids Guide to Race answers: What is RACE? What is RACISM? What is RACIAL JUSTICE? And what can kids do to make sure everyone is treated fairly? The Awesome Kids Guide to Race tells the sweeping story of race in the United States of America and includes:
Profiles of inspiring activists who are Black, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, White, Latine, MENA, and Multiracial so all kids can feel proud of who they are!
Interesting facts about the contributions of racially diverse groups from around the world!
Simple explanations of complicated concepts like white privilege, implicit bias, and antiracism!
An overview of racial discrimination and activism in the United States, past and present!
A checklist of 10 concrete actions kids (and grownups!) can take to change the world!
The Awesome Kids Guide to Race is aligned with our JLC “Standards for Justice” which provide guidance about how to scaffold teaching and learning about race and racism through a four stage process:
Appreciation for Self,
Appreciation for Diversity ,
Understanding of Injustice, and
A Commitment to Justice
The Awesome Kids Guide to Race is now available in Paperback (ISBN: 979–8988644903), Hardcover (ISBN: 979–8988644910), and Signed Special Supporter Editions on our website, www.JusticeLeadersPress.com, as well as at all major online retailers! You can watch a short trailer of the book on YouTube! And you can contact us at justiceleaderscollaborative@gmail.com for bulk orders, author talks, or other special requests.
If you’d like to support our work, we’d greatly appreciate if you:
Leave a great rating and review at the online retailer of your choice!
Share our book with people in your life, with your email lists, and on social media! #AwesomeKidsGuideToRace #JusticeLeadersPress #SocialJustice #DiverseBooks
Ask your library or local bookstore to carry The Awesome Kids Guide to Race!; and/or
Purchase a signed supporter edition from our store to help us move forward toward our goal of producing more children’s books focused on social justice!
We hope The Awesome Kids Guide to Race helps in your efforts to make sure the curious kids in your life have the knowledge and skill to truly make the world a more just place for us all! And don’t forget to visit our website for free downloads of “The Checklist for Antiracist Kids (& Grownups Too!),” our “Standards for Justice,” and our “Diverse & Just Books Tracking Tool” and to sign up for our mailing list for all of our latest books and offerings!
Onward in Justice!
Shayla
Shayla Reese Griffin is the co-founder of Justice Leaders Collaborative and author of the children’s book The Awesome Kids’ Guide to Race illustrated by Christina O.; two adult books, Those Kids, Our Schools: Race and Reform in an American High School and Race Dialogues: A Facilitator’s Guide to Tackling the Elephant in the Classroom; three Justice Assessment & Transformation Tools for k-12 schools (the EJATT, now available for purchase), organizations (the OJATT), and institutions of higher education (the HEJATT); and lots of essays & blog posts. She is a mother of 3 and coincidentally tends to get her best ideas around 3am.