This installment of the “Take FIVE” series provided by the Psychology Section’s Collaborative on Racial Equity and Inclusion (REI) for Black Youth focuses on how to incorporate anti-racism into the holiday season. The holidays are an important time for families to establish traditions that can carry on for a lifetime, especially for children – what better opportunity is there to make anti-racism part of the foundation? Here are 5 actions you can take this holiday season:
1. Books always make a great gift idea for the children in your life! Consider books by Black authors – here are some ideas:
- Black Is a Rainbow, Angela Joy
- Parker Looks Up, Parker and Jessica Curry
- Kamala & Maya’s Big Idea, Meena Harris
- Brown Boy Joy, Dr. Thomishia Booker
- Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry
- SULWE, Lupita Nyong’o
- My Brother Charlie, Holly Robinson Peete & Ryan Elizabeth Peete
- President of the Whole Fifth Grade, Sherri Winston
- A Good Kind of Trouble, Lisa Moore Ramee
- ABC I Love Me, Miriam Muhammad
- The King of Kindergarten, Derrick Barnes
- Saturday, Oge Mora
- A is for Ambition: A Motivational Read for Future Go Getters, Antonio Hunter
2. As we outlined in our post on supporting Black-owned businesses, buying these books from Black-owned bookstores can make a big difference. Here are a few to check out:
- https://www.braveandkindbooks.com/collections/books in Decatur, Georgia
- https://www.mahoganybooks.com/ in Washington, DC
3. Toys are fun for the holidays, too! Consider buying toys that represent Black children or are from Black-owned toy companies, such as:
- https://blacktoystore.com/product-category/puzzles-games/
- https://www.browntoybox.com/shop/all/
- https://www.puzzlehuddle.com
- https://www.littlelikeskids.com
- https://www.kidsswag.ca
4. The holidays aren’t all about consumerism – volunteering is an important holiday tradition for many families. Here are some local organizations with volunteer opportunities:
- The Houston Food Bank is hosting a phone bank this year to coordinate food box donations for this holiday season. Volunteer information here: https://www.houstonfoodbank.org/upcomingevent/share-your-holidays/
- Project Row Houses in Houston’s Third Ward sponsors community-enriching initiatives, art programs, and neighborhood development activities. Volunteer information: https://projectrowhouses.org/volunteer
5. What is the holiday season without music? Enjoy some of our favorite holiday tunes by Black artists:
- “The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts) by Nat King Cole
- “Deck The Halls” by Pentatonix
- This Christmas by Donny Hathaway
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Jackson 5
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Jackson 5
- Do you Hear What I Hear – Whitney Houston