After reading about the horrific cartoon depiction of Barack Obama as the chimp who wrote the stimulus bill in the New York Post this morning, I was gripped again with the odd paradoxical feeling Obama's presidency gives me as the mother of African American children. On the one hand, I feel the visceral opening of possibilities previously cut off from my girls by virtue of race--and more importantly, racism--and its place in American culture. On the other hand, I am terrified by the new daring racism popping out of the woodwork of our society, now that the true, self-conscious racists have such a clear target for their animus.
Add to this a third feeling of itchy annoyance whenever anyone suggests that racism--even race itself--is "over" now that the United States has a Black (biracial!) president and now I'm so conflicted and bothered I can barely get out of bed.
What's a parent who believes in racism and is passionately committed to its eradication to do on such a morning? Click immediately on my browser's "ARP" bookmark. Anti-Racist Parent is a group blog dedicated to parents of all races with children of all races who want to take positive action to eliminate racism from their lives and their society. ARP is no place for the "color blind," the believers in a "post-race" society; the singers of kumbaya. It is a place instead that looks race and racism squarely in the eye, meets its logic with intellectual rigor and offers experienced opinions and practical advice to all who'd do the same.
If you are devoted to an anti-racist stance, but are not sure what to do or where to start when it comes to educating your children in same, Anti-Racist Parent is a great place to get started and meet some like-minded peers.
See also:
Sharing African American History and Culture Through Kids' Books: Elementary Edition
No Great Outpouring of Support for Sudanese Mother of Quints
