National Museum of African American History and Culture Web Portal: Talking About Race [web resource]

Everyone has a racialized identity.
Racialized identity has a major impact on a person’s life.
Race is a defining social construct in American life.

Talking about race, although hard, is necessary. The National Museum of African American History and Culture has created an online portal called Talking About Race with tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversations.

Talking about race is a lifelong journey that starts with personal reflection:

When were you first aware of your race?
What do you remember from childhood about how you made sense of human differences? What confused you?
What childhood experiences did you have with friends or adults who were different from you in some way?
How, if ever, did any adult give you help thinking about racial differences?

Talking About Race is for individuals at all stages of their discovery. It can serve as the first step for those beginning their journey to understand more about their race and race relations. It can also be a roadmap for persons who have been asking critical questions for some time and want to learn more.

Educators

Whether you are teaching infants, adults, or any age in between, you are an influential part of your students’ learning and development. Educators too have an important role in communicating our history and culture. What and how the history of race in America is presented is an opportunity to engage in thoughtful, respectful, and productive conversations.

Parents or Caregivers

There’s no quick or foolproof way to talk about the complexities of race with your child(ren). But, it’s a conversation all families need to have, no matter your race, background, education or experience.

A Person Committed to Equity

You care about making the world a more equitable and just place for all. You may just be starting to think about your role and ability to impact others, or, you may be further along on your journey. Wherever you are, what you do and say matters. Explore how to speak and engage constructively about race.

Explore Talking About Race Topics

• Bias —the inclination or prejudice toward or against something or someone.
• Being Antiracist —a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily.
• Community Building —connecting and engaging with others doing anti-racism work and exploring issues of race.
• Self-Care —caring for one’s mental, emotional, and physical health to sustain the work of dismantling racism.
• Race and Racial Identity —how societies use race to establish and justify systems of power, privilege, disenfranchisement, and oppression.
• Social Identities and Systems of Oppression —systems built around the ideology that some groups are superior to others.
• Whiteness —an ideology that reinforces power at the expense of others.
• Historical Foundations of Race —how race, white privilege, and anti-blackness are woven into the very fabric of American society.

Throughout the website, you will see pop-outs to provide additional content and or resources connected to the topic and specific points labeled for educators, parents or caregivers or persons committed to equity.

Explore Talking About Race. The portal is free and does not require a registration or sign-up to use. Talking About Race is generously supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies.

Source: The National Museum of African American History and Culture | Talking About Race, https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race | copyright 2020 The Smithsonian Institution

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