Picture this: your child is telling you all about their day at school — what they learned, what they did with their friends, and more. Then all of a sudden your kid says something racist about one of their classmates.

You freeze up in shock and don’t know what to do. You’ve been trying your best to embody anti-racism in your parenting, and you’re surprised your kid made this comment. What do you do?!

In my inclusion work, parents often ask me for tips on what to do in these very situations. This topic comes up so often that I even did a webinar with one of the leading experts in this space, Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., which you can check out here. In my conversation with Dr. Moore, he noted that oftentimes we avoid talking to children about racism out of fear. But the very act of avoidance ends up reinforcing racial bias, racism, and more.

In order to disrupt racism and racial bias, we must call out racist remarks — especially when they’re made by family members, friends, and even our children.

So to help you better prepare for these instances going forward (and they may happen — kids are just tiny humans after all!), in this video, I share some practical tips on what you can do when your kid says something racist.

The post Help! My Kid Said Something Racist appeared first on Ritu Bhasin.

We are in the thick of a racial injustice crisis, and anti-racism and allyship have taken center stage in many of our newsfeeds and daily conversations.

In the midst of this, so many people are saying that they want to interrupt racism and that they care about fighting for social justice, but despite these great intentions, they don’t shift their behavior or they do so minimally, which can be an example of performative allyship.

Given the surge of this discourse, you may have heard this language: You’re either racist or you’re anti-racist.

This concept is a driving insight from Ibram X. Kendi’s excellent book How to Be an Antiracist where he writes, “One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist.”

While it may be hard to hear that you’re either racist or anti-racist and there is no in-between, it’s so important to understand what this concept actually means. And so in this video, I share the difference between racism and anti-racism and what you must start doing if you want to contribute to the fight against racism.

Watch now!

The post You’re Either Racist or Anti-Racist appeared first on Ritu Bhasin.

This is an incredibly stressful time. COVID-19 has resulted in a global health crisis, the unprecedented shift to working from home for so many of us, the adjustment to a lifestyle of physical distancing, and more much. We’re experiencing dramatic changes in a very short period of time.

While some of the social changes we’re seeing have been positive — YAY to increased care for our neighbors and communities and to virtual house parties with beloveds! — we’re also seeing ugliness and darkness. In particular, I’m thinking about the wave of racism that is being unleashed towards people from Asian (and Iranian) communities. This is particularly upsetting to witness at a time when we need to be actively practicing empathy and inclusion.

I recently did a video about how to call out racist remarks, and I wanted to expand on how to interrupt racism in the wake of COVID-19. So in this video, I give you concrete tools for being anti-racist during this time and I share a story I heard about COVID-19-related racism as an example of what we need to be looking out for.

Join me in calling out racism.

Watch now!

The post How to be Anti-Racist During This Time of Crisis appeared first on Ritu Bhasin.