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ANTI-RACIST YOUTH LITERATURE IN RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

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  • The Black Curriculum
    "The Black Curriculum is a social enterprise founded in 2019 by young people to address the lack of Black British history in the UK Curriculum. We believe that by delivering arts focused Black history programmes, providing teacher training and campaigning through mobilising young people, we can facilitate social change. Our programmes are for all young people aged 8-16 and aims to equip young people with a sense of identity, and the tools for a diverse landscape. We are working towards changing the national curriculum and building a sense of identity in every young person in the UK."

  • The Brown Book Shelf
    "The Brown Bookshelf is designed to push awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers. Our flagship initiative is 28 Days Later, a month-long showcase of the best in Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult novels written and illustrated by Black creators."

  • CLPE (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education): Reflecting Realities - Survey of Ethnic Diversity in UK Children’s Books
    "The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education is a UK based children's literacy charity working with primary schools.  Our work raises the achievement of children's reading and writing by helping schools to teach literacy creatively and effectively, putting quality children’s books at the heart of all learning. We offer courses at our literacy library in central London and deliver training in various regional locations as well as provide a wide range of free resources for Primary teachers. [...] In July 2018 we published Reflecting Realities, the first UK study looking at diversity in children’s literature. Funded by the Arts Council, our aim was to quantify and evaluate the extent and quality of ethnic representation and diversity in children’s publishing in the UK. This process involved analysing submissions of all children's literature published in the UK in 2017 that featured Black or minority ethnic (BAME) characters to determine to what extent they were represented.

  • The Conscious Kid
    "We are an education, research, and policy organization dedicated to equity and promoting healthy racial identity development in youth. We support organizations, families, and educators in taking action to disrupt racism in young children."

  • I Need Diverse Games
    "I Need Diverse Games seeks to bring projects, works and research by marginalized folks to light. We also seek to discuss, analyze and critique identity and culture in video games through a multi-faceted lens rooted in intersectionality."

  • Knights Of
    "Knights Of publishes commercial children’s fiction – distributed through the UK, Ireland and Europe. We’re all about hiring as widely, and as diversely as possible, to make sure the books we publish give windows into as many worlds as possible – from what’s on the page all the way to sales copy."

  • REIYL (Researchers Exploring Inclusive Youth Literature)
    "The idea for Researchers Exploring Inclusive Youth Literature (REIYL) began in January of 2018 when doctoral students Breanna McDaniel at the University of Cambridge and Josh Simpson at Strathclyde University began a conversation about justice and equity-focused research on inclusive representation in children’s literature in the UK. From this came the idea of bringing together like-minded students and established academics dedicated to the study and analysis of current research, in the UK and abroad, to form a network [...]. We facilitate teaching and knowledge exchange with the hopes of building a more engaged and interconnected community, so that gains made in one space can reach other spaces in a timely and even manner."

  • We Need Diverse Books
    "We Need Diverse Books™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a grassroots organization of children’s book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry. Our aim is to help produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people."​

ANTI-RACISM IN THE ACADEMY

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  • Academics4BlackLives
    "Academics for Black Survival and Wellness was organized by a group of Black counseling psychologists and their colleagues who practice Black allyship. Guided by a Black feminist frame, we hope to foster accountability and growth for non-Black people and enhance healing and wellness for Black people."

  • Being Black at Cambridge, BBC Documentary (Oct 2020)
    (only available to viewers in the UK; this shorter BBC video is available to all)
    "For black students studying at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, academic pressure isn’t always the only challenge. For some, it can feel like entering another world. Reporter and Cambridge graduate Ashley John-Baptiste follows three students to find out what it’s really like being black at Cambridge."

    Another BBC video on the topic: Taking Up Space: What it's like being black at Cambridge University (June 2019)
    "Two recent Cambridge graduates have written a book exploring what it's like to be the minority in a majority white institution. Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi wrote Taking Up Space - the flagship book to be published on Stormzy's label - exploring diversity issues within higher education. They talked to us about their experiences at the university."

  • MA Education Consultancy
    "MA Education consultancy works with local and national authority, educational organisations, community groups and charities, to support them bridge the gap between community, education and research. We seek the best ways to access and listen to communities’ voices, recognising that these voices are the drivers of change in education and research. We support clients by creating shared spaces for dialogue and co-creation, conducting research and offering training, in order to empower communities and organisations to work together. We recognise that collaboration and co-production looks different depending on context, and we take pride in how closely we work with each client, delivering a bespoke service every time."​

    Dr Muna Abdi (MA Education Consultancy) also has a new podcast, "Becoming an Antiracist": "This page is set up to support the 'Becoming an Antiracist' Podcast and the 'Decolonising Education' YouTube page. The podcast brings to the forefront the experiences and reflections of those engaging in antiracism work in formal, informal and non-formal educational spaces. The podcast and YouTube channel are resources for those on their antiracism journey, who are doing the work of challenging White supremacy and institutional racism."

PERSONAL WORK AND REFLECTION

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  • Me and White Supremacy, Layla F. Saad (2020)
    "When Layla F. Saad began an Instagram challenge called #MeAndWhiteSupremacy, she never predicted it would spread so quickly. Using a step-by-step reflection process, she encouraged people with white privilege to examine their racist thoughts and behaviors. Thousands of people participated in the challenge, and more than ninety thousand people downloaded the Me and White Supremacy Workbook. Since then, the work has spread to families, book clubs, educational institutions, nonprofits, corporations, event spaces, and more. Based on the original workbook, Me and White Supremacy leads readers through a journey of understanding their white privilege and participation in white supremacy, so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on Black, Indigenous and People of Color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too. The book goes beyond the original workbook by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and includes expanded definitions, examples, and further resources."

  • So You Want To Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo (2018)
    "Ijeoma Oluo is a Seattle-based writer, speaker, and Internet Yeller.  She’s the author of the New York Times Best-Seller So You Want to Talk about Race, published in January by Seal Press. Named one of the The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2017, one of the Most Influential People in Seattle by Seattle Magazine, one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Seattle by Seattle Met, and winner of the of the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award by the American Humanist Society, Oluo’s work focuses primarily on issues of race and identity, feminism, social and mental health, social justice, the arts, and personal essay. Her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, NBC News, Elle Magazine, TIME, The Stranger, and the Guardian, among other outlets."

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Stacy Collins
21 Oct 2020

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE AND ANTI-RACISM: BREAKING OPEN THE LIMITS OF THE WHITE IMAGINATION

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Collins, Anastasia M. 2018. "Language, Power, and Oppression in the LIS Diversity Void." Library Trends 67 (1): 39-51. 
doi: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2018.0024.

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Simmons University Anti-Oppression Guide, available online: 
https://simmons.libguides.com/anti-oppression 

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Stacy's Resource List

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Farrah Serroukh
11 Nov 2020

FINDINGS OF CLPE’S 'REFLECTING REALITIES' RESEARCH AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR YOUNG READERS

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CLPE Reflecting Realities - Survey of Ethnic Diversity in UK Children’s Books. (reports 2017 and 2018 available, 2019 coming soon!) Available online: https://clpe.org.uk/library-and-resources/research/reflecting-realities-survey-ethnic-representation-within-uk-children

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Marilisa Jiménez García
02 Dec 2020

THE LENS OF LATINX: UNPACKING LEGACIES OF IMPERIALISM THROUGH PUERTO RICAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

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García, Marilisa Jiménez. 2019. "The Lens of Latinx Literature." Children's Literature 47: 1-8. doi:10.1353/chl.2019.0001.

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García, Marilisa Jiménez. 2018. "En(countering) YA: Young Lords, shadowshapers, and the longings and possibilities of Latinx young adult literature." Latino Studies 16: 230–249. doi: 10.1057/s41276-018-0122-2en.

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