A creator of safe spaces and an initiator of difficult conversations, M.J. Fievre, B.S. Ed., has spent a lot of time building up her Black students, helping them feel comfortable in their skin, and affirming their identities. Her close relationships with parents and students led her to look more closely at how we can balance protecting our children’s innocence with preparing them for the realities of Black life. When and how do you approach racism with your children? How do you protect their physical and mental health while also preparing them for a country full of systemic racism? She began to research the issue and speak to school counselors and psychologists to find (and apply!) strategies parents and teachers can use with their children to broach uncomfortable but necessary topics.

 

This research became Raising Confident Black Kids, a guide to help you teach your kids or students how to thrive―even when it feels like the world is against them. From racial profiling and police encounters to the whitewashed history taught in schools, raising Black kids is no easy feat. M.J. Fievre passes on the tips and guidance that have helped her, including:

• How to encourage creativity and build self-confidence in your kids

• Ways to engage in activism and help build a safer community with and for your children―and ways to rest when you need to

• Strategies for explaining systemic racism, intersectionality, and microaggressions

 

Raising Confident Black Kids is intended for anyone parenting a Black child, whether or not you yourself are Black. It is also for teachers and counselors who encourage their students to choose action over silence, and for others committed to the hard and necessary practice of anti-racist work. Learn how you can help your children turn their complicated feelings and thoughts into meaningful action and how to help them raise their voices—because their Black voices are so powerful.