Talking to Children about Racism

“Umoja” is the Kiswahili word meaning unity. This concept and practice of unity are the driving vision of this commitment to improve the quality of education – and of life – for children and families of color. The seeds of the Teaching Umoja Commitment were planted in an earlier Participatory Action Research (PAR) effort, Teaching Umoja: Simultaneous Culture-Centric Approaches to Education, which developed ten ideas to support culture-centric education for African American and for Latino children in the same program.

These ideas are nestled within the concept of “tri-literacy.” The first level of literacy includes a strong sense of self – cultural identity – to have pride in our culture and language - enculturation. The second level of literacy is the skills to reject the rejection about our cultural identities and the access to equity in education and academic achievement by learning the codes of power - biculturation. The third level of literacy is developing cross-cultural skills to be in collaboration with other communities of color - acculturation.

This became the foundation and stepping stone for the long-term commitment to the in-depth expanded research effort of these three levels of literacy: The Teaching Umoja PAR15-Year Commitment. In this interactive and creative seminar, participants will engage with concepts, use cultural arts and creative exploration, practice techniques, reflect on their work with children and families.