Routine Anti-Racist Conversations for Early Childhood (R.A.C.E.) Worksheet

Applications

• Educational tool

(R.A.C.E.) Worksheet

Racial and ethnic identity, a part of social identity, shape how individuals see themselves and relate to others. Children that are adopted or in foster care are less likely to be white or of Hispanic origin and more likely to be black, while parents of adopted or foster children are more likely to be non-Hispanic white. In transracial families, parents often struggle with deciding when and how to talk to their children about race and ethnicity. New educational tools are needed to help start the conversation earlier about race and ethnicity with children in transracial and non-transracial families.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed the Routine Anti-Racist Conversations for Early Childhood (R.A.C.E.) Worksheet as an educational tool that explains how to talk about race and ethnicity to children based on their developmental stages. This tool is a 2-page educational document outlining the developmental stage and the parent/caregiver action. Combining many resources on the understanding of race and ethnicity based on developmental stages, this tool is an easy-to-read document with clear action steps for parents/caregivers to take when starting these conversations.

Researchers

• Kimara Gustafson, MD, MPH Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics