Challenging the Color-Blind Status Quo: First Graders' Talk About Race and Racism

• In Event: Race, Gender, Dis/Ability, and the Intersection of Core Curriculums

Abstract

Educators have frequently suggested that children are not “ready” to tackle controversial topics such as race, racism, and racial identity. Consequently, race is often perceived as a taboo topic in education, while the existence of racialized educational opportunities and the devastating impact of racial injustice is often ignored (Milner, 2010; Tatum, 2007). Although, the last sixty years of educational research has indicated that children do understand the concept of race at very early age (Katz, 2013; Proshansky, 1966). Therefore, this study investigated the perspectives of the first-grade students participating in a series of anti-racist lessons, in order to gain an understanding of how they experienced explicit conversations about race, racism, and racial identity.

Authors

• Carrie Larson, Portland State Univeristy

• Kelly Deits Cutler, Portland State University