Guest author for Black Heritage Month. Selam Debs is a Black Ethiopian queer woman, an antiracism educator, an anti-oppression coach, a social justice advocate, a student in dismantling anti-Black racism, an accomplice in dismantling anti-Indigenous racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and an advocate in
2SLGBTQ+ and disability rights through an intersectional lens.
Antiracism and Black Liberation
The uprising of June 2020 was a call by the masses to finally begin to ask the question globally, “Do Black Lives Matter?” We saw repeatedly the traumatic videos, social media and news footage of the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Regis Korchinski-Paquette, Breonna Taylor and too many more to name.
But these horrific acts of police violence and anti-Black racism are not new. What we now call ‘Canada’ perpetuated slavery for over 250 years, along with segregation, racist immigration policies, disproportionate incarceration of Black people and a lack of access due to systemic racism. This history has been hidden and replaced with romantic-whitewashed ideals of the underground railroad and multiculturalism.
When White parents and educators do not teach children the real history of this country, including the attempted genocide of Indigenous peoples – they become complicit in maintaining the status quo, which is White supremacy.
Parents, caregivers and educators will often say to me: “But I don’t know what to say,” or, “I am raising my child to be colourblind and to love all people.” But the reality is that as a Black mother, I do not have the privilege to avoid conversations about race and racism with my 16-year-old Black son. I have to ensure he understands how anti-Black racism operates in order to keep him safe.
When parents and educators do not talk to children about race and racism, they raise a new generation of “not racists.” Our goal is to be Antiracist and dismantle the thinking of colourblindness.
Colourblindness only benefits White people, as it says that Whiteness is not a race, when in reality everything in our society is measured by Whiteness. Children and youth have already been conditioned in an inherently anti-Black society which sees Black bodies as criminal, untrustworthy, exotic, angry, less human and ‘othered.’ The Doll Test video is an essential resource to watch that demonstrates how children of all races and as young as 3 and 4 years old unconsciously see Whiteness as superior and Blackness as inferior.
If you are not talking to your children about race, racism, whiteness and systemic oppression – along with the advantages they receive from this system, they will go out into the world recycling the same harmful beliefs loaded with dangerous consequences for Black children and youth.
It is not enough to teach your children to be nice, to be kind or tolerant of ‘others’ differences. Being tolerant, celebrating and acknowledging others’ differences still perpetuates the idea that everything divorced of whiteness is the ‘other’ and requires the acceptance of White people.
Instead, I implore you as parents, caregivers and educators to teach children about Whiteness, the constructs of race, the history of so-called Canada and the impacts of anti-Black racism. And it’s important to understand that when you are teaching children about enslavement, segregation and the impacts of anti-Black racism – they are not learning about Black people, they are learning about White supremacy.
Seek out books, podcasts, TV shows, art, toys, animation and educators that center Black voices, Black joy and Black humanity. Here is a list of recommended Books for Children and Youth about antiracism and Black liberation.
Picture Books for Younger Children
- I AM Enough by Grace Byers, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo
- Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
- The Amazing Zoe Defeats the Germie Germlins by Valene Campbell, illustrated by Arooba Bilal
- Black, Brown or White, We all Feel by Marswa Blossom Yarmeto
- Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Books for Older Children and Teens
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Dear Martin by Nic Stone
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
- Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to Present by Robyn Maynard
- The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole
Take It Further
Do you want to learn more about this topic or discover more books by Black authors? Request a Billie’s Book Pick surprise bag or an Educator Kit and we’ll hand-pick a selection of books for you to check out. If you’re looking for adult books and resources, request a DiscoveREAD kit and check out the adult books in the library’s #blackvoices book list.
Selam Debs is the founder of Juici Yoga, a yoga and meditation instructor, a restorative yoga teacher trainer, a holistic life coach, a reiki master, and a Lululemon Ambassador. Selam is first and foremost, A MOTHER. She is a singer and a songwriter, a poet and a practitioner of self-acceptance, self-love, and radical compassion. Selam’s Antiracism work is rooted in the understanding that we must acknowledge and identify the insidiousness of white supremacy before we can dismantle colonial belief systems. The process of undoing, unlearning and re-educating is necessary for white communities to embark on, to support the healing journey for our racialized communities. Selam is also a board member of Project UP, Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASCW) and Women’s Entrepreneur Centre of Laurier University. You can learn more about Selam at http://www.selamdebs.com
Pronouns She/Her/Hers
Instagram: @selamdebs
Facebook @selamdebsyoga
Linkedin: @selamdebs
Twitter: @selamdebs