Talking About Race in Schools
Over the past year, race relations have dominated the news cycle. This can bring up difficult questions, especially for parents and teachers. Our guest Yolanda Moses says Americans need to find more ways to talk about race in schools.
In 1998, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) published a statement on race. It concluded that race is a social idea, not a biological fact. In bringing this message to the public, it created a museum exhibit called “Race: Are We So Different?” that toured across the country. The exhibit brings up some difficult questions, especially for parents and teachers.
Yolanda Moses, President of the AAA from 1995 to 1997, wanted to go even further. She wondered how to get Americans talk to their kids about race and identity. So Moses and her colleagues created a teaching guide for middle and high school teachers based on the museum exhibit.
This week on the podcast, Moses says children as young as four years old should be taught why people look different – and why they are treated differently – in American society.