Resources to Learn About and Apply Antiracist Pedagogy

The premise of Ibram X Kendi’s award-winning book How to Be an AntiRacist is a simple one: to claim that one is “not racist” is not enough; to be a true opponent of racism, one has to identify as an antiracist. Though racists believe that certain racial groups are better or worse than others, Kendi argues that antiracists view all racial groups as being equal and work toward promoting that equality. There is no neutral middle ground between two ideologies. To claim that you are “not racist” is to take a passive route to endorsing racism.

What does the concept of antiracism mean for educators? Alda Blakeney describes antiracist pedagogy as a paradigm located within critical theory that can be used  “to  explain  and  counteract  the  persistence  and  impact  of  racism  using praxis as its focus to promote social justice for the creation of a democratic society in every respect.” Because our classrooms are more racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse than ever, educators must have the knowledge and skills to effectively challenge racism in their teaching contexts and empower students to develop critical consciousness. Here are some resources to help us understand and apply antiracism in our teaching.

Critical Reflection

It is helpful to begin by engaging in vigilant self-awareness by unpacking our own perceptions and biases.

• • Take an Implicit Bias Test to help self-reflection or do this Anti-Racist Educator Self-Questionnaire.
  • Address your beliefs about teaching racially and ethically diverse students through this survey, which could be done independently or collectively as part of a professional development session.
  • This reflection tool is designed to be used as a part of staff professional development or built into team meetings, as a way to collectively address the issue in a school setting.
  • For educators in higher education, here are five questions to ask yourself about whether your institution is racist.

Key Readings

Educate yourself by reading key texts:

• • Antiracism Education In and Out of Schools, by A. A. Alemanji (2017)
  • Pedagogy of the Oppressed, P. Freire (2000)
  • How to Raise an Antiracist, I. Kendi (2023)
  • "Anti-racist pedagogy: From faculty’s self-reflection to organizing within and beyond the classroom," from Race Ethnicity and Education, by K. Kishimoto (2018)

Comprehensive Online Toolkits

• • The Anti-Racist Educator is an excellent website developed by a collective of educational stakeholders based in Scotland.
  • Anna Freud, a mental health charity, offers practical resources that focus on antiracism and mental health in schools.
  • Racial Equity Tools is a wealth of resources to support everyone working toward achieving racial equity.
  • Unteach Racism, based in New Zealand, empowers teachers to unlearn racism and guide others to do the same.

Talks and Podcasts

• • Kimberlé Crenshaw’s TED Talk highlights the urgency of intersectionality.
  • Sheldon L. Eakins’s "Leading Equity" podcast focuses on supporting educators with tools and resources to ensure equity in their schools.
  • Ibrahm Kendi discusses how to raise antiracist kids.
  • The "Teaching While White" podcast focuses on how to consciously and intentionally be antiracist in the classroom.

Curriculum and Pedagogy

• • Adopt strategies for antiracist and decolonized teaching.
  • Check microaggressions and amplify microaffirmations.
  • Racism No Way, aimed at Australian schools but equally relevant to other contexts, provides antiracism and antiprejudice activities to be used with children and young people of different ages.
  • Lesson ideas from the New York Times on classroom conversations about race.
  • Learning for Justice: This U.S.-based racial justice organization offers a rich collection of antiracist lesson plans for school-aged students.