Books that Represent
Donation protected
Friends,
Our family has felt angry, confused, and upset at the racially-charged events, including the killing of George Floyd, that have occurred in this country. Our hearts go out to everyone grieving.
We have been trying to think of what actions we can take to fight the racial injustice in our local community (in addition to supporting national and state organizations already doing important work). As some of you know, Linnea Jurs is going to be teaching first grade next year. One of Linnea’s friends, Emma Caponigro, messaged her that she would like to donate to Linnea’s classroom books featuring a person of color as the protagonist or hero. We thought this was an awesome idea.
In 2016, people of color were the protagonists in 22% of children’s books published that year, while making up 38% of the US population. According to many child development researchers, children learn racial bias at a young age (as early as 2 years old). By kindergarten, “children show many of the same racial attitudes that adults in our culture hold— they have already learned to associate some groups with higher status than others (Kinzler, 2016).” Diverse children’s books can help promote tolerance, encourage productive conversations about race, and combat racial biases.
As a coordinator from the NYC Educational Justice Initiative explained:
“Books can shape how children view themselves, others and the world and how they will form self-identity.”
Therefore, we have started a GoFundMe with a goal to provide six books featuring a person of color as the protagonist/hero or celebrating black culture to every public first-grade classroom in Gaston County. We have put together an estimated budget with a sample of six books, which when multiplied by the 115 first grade classrooms in Gaston County equates our $8,500 goal. Our family will match up to $850 of donations. We hope to order these books from minority-owned bookstores and have already been in contact with teachers who will help us vet the books. Growing up in the Gaston County School System, we do not recall reading many books with characters who did not look like us. We know this is a very small action in a much bigger fight and applaud those working every day to fight inequities in our country. We hope you will consider partnering with us.
Estimated Budget
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JFtVLf4ZAmFIUQOqw_1osmWx2v1vcdxT/view?usp=sharing
Resources/References
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/02/17/515792141/authors-and-illustrators-of-color-accounted-for-22-percent-of-children-s-books
https://assets2.hrc.org/welcoming-schools/documents/WS_Key_Insights_Research_Reducing_Bias_Children.pdf
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/elementary-school-books-rarely-profile-subjects-authors-color-nyc-study-n979991
http://www.childrenscommunityschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/theyre-not-too-young-1.pdf
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellness/Building-Resilience/Pages/Talking-to-Children-About-Racial-Bias.aspx
Our family has felt angry, confused, and upset at the racially-charged events, including the killing of George Floyd, that have occurred in this country. Our hearts go out to everyone grieving.
We have been trying to think of what actions we can take to fight the racial injustice in our local community (in addition to supporting national and state organizations already doing important work). As some of you know, Linnea Jurs is going to be teaching first grade next year. One of Linnea’s friends, Emma Caponigro, messaged her that she would like to donate to Linnea’s classroom books featuring a person of color as the protagonist or hero. We thought this was an awesome idea.
In 2016, people of color were the protagonists in 22% of children’s books published that year, while making up 38% of the US population. According to many child development researchers, children learn racial bias at a young age (as early as 2 years old). By kindergarten, “children show many of the same racial attitudes that adults in our culture hold— they have already learned to associate some groups with higher status than others (Kinzler, 2016).” Diverse children’s books can help promote tolerance, encourage productive conversations about race, and combat racial biases.
As a coordinator from the NYC Educational Justice Initiative explained:
“Books can shape how children view themselves, others and the world and how they will form self-identity.”
Therefore, we have started a GoFundMe with a goal to provide six books featuring a person of color as the protagonist/hero or celebrating black culture to every public first-grade classroom in Gaston County. We have put together an estimated budget with a sample of six books, which when multiplied by the 115 first grade classrooms in Gaston County equates our $8,500 goal. Our family will match up to $850 of donations. We hope to order these books from minority-owned bookstores and have already been in contact with teachers who will help us vet the books. Growing up in the Gaston County School System, we do not recall reading many books with characters who did not look like us. We know this is a very small action in a much bigger fight and applaud those working every day to fight inequities in our country. We hope you will consider partnering with us.
Estimated Budget
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JFtVLf4ZAmFIUQOqw_1osmWx2v1vcdxT/view?usp=sharing
Resources/References
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/02/17/515792141/authors-and-illustrators-of-color-accounted-for-22-percent-of-children-s-books
https://assets2.hrc.org/welcoming-schools/documents/WS_Key_Insights_Research_Reducing_Bias_Children.pdf
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/elementary-school-books-rarely-profile-subjects-authors-color-nyc-study-n979991
http://www.childrenscommunityschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/theyre-not-too-young-1.pdf
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellness/Building-Resilience/Pages/Talking-to-Children-About-Racial-Bias.aspx
Organizer
Andrew Jurs
Organizer
Gastonia, NC
