reading

I try not to speak of the tweeter-in chief, the racist in the White House.  I refuse to dignify his comments by reposting them. 

However, on the anniversary of the earthquake, there was a great response by Anderson Cooper to the racist in the White House which reminded us both about the earthquake in Haiti and the strength of its people.  As I listened to this response and read this very important article called The Lowest White Man in the New York Times, and more and more the racism is being called out. 

As I thought about tools to help, I recalled my days working at a small bookstore which focused on progressive literature and African American books in Washington DC.  I remembered how delighted kids were to read stories about the history of Africa, the Carribean, Asia and the world which were told from a different lens.  Our kids need tools to combat racism and one such tool is books and allowing them to access history which is not as distorted by imperialism and racism.  Here is are great lists of books I was able to find from Haiti, Indigenous communities, Central America and AfricaSocial Justice Books has 50 different anti-bias reading lists on different subjects and is a great initiative.  If you prefer supporting small independent booksellers, one I know and love is a bookstore called A Different Booklist in Toronto.

Let’s give our kids a story to tell which is not racist and bring them out to the Women’s Marches across Canada on Jan 20th (click here to find out about the march in your community).  Let me know about other stores like these and I will be happy to share.

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Maya Bhullar

Maya Bhullar has over 15 years of professional experience in such diverse areas as migration, labour, urban planning and community mobilization. She has a particular interest in grassroots engagement,...