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.

To say that the last year has been challenging for those of us who care about social justice and anti-racism would be an understatement. Despite all of our efforts to drive change and be the revolution, this is a long-term battle — our fight to disrupt white supremacy will take much continued work.

As someone who is committed to interrupting racism and speaks about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for a living, I can tell you firsthand that while the work is extremely rewarding, it can also be emotionally taxing and, frankly, exhausting.

In these moments, I’ve found that it’s so important to remind myself of the importance of self-care — and that self-care is social justice.

What do I mean by this? In this video, I share why I believe that in order to show up and truly dismantle systems of oppression, we need to be at our best mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Watch now!

The post Self-Care is Social Justice appeared first on Ritu Bhasin.

I grew up in a household that was deeply committed to social justice issues, and so from a young age I knew that I wanted to pursue a career that was related to social justice and helping others.

But at that time, if you wanted to do social justice work, you didn’t start an equity, diversity and inclusion business, you joined a non-profit or became a politician, a journalist, or a lawyer instead. And that’s what I did! I became a lawyer, a career that I hoped would allow me to contribute to social change in a slightly more indirect way, while dabbling in freelance journalism.

As you know, I’m no longer a lawyer — here’s a bit on my story — and I’m now a professional speaker who runs her own consulting firm in the areas of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

I’m trying to use my voice to fight injustice and create a better world for BIPOC, for women, and for people from historically oppressed communities — and I love my job!

So how did the daughter of immigrants who used to dread public speaking become a professional speaker and educator? In this video, I share my journey to become a professional speaker and what I think is one of the key secrets to my success.

Watch now!

The post How I Became a Professional Inclusion Speaker appeared first on Ritu Bhasin.