NORTHBOROUGH – Grace and Washburn Millette listened to music by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong while drawing self-portraits.
They also talked about icebergs and the Disney character Doc McStuffins, and what it feels like when something is unfair.
They were part of a workshop on racism at the Northborough Free Library on Saturday, Sept. 24. Although designed for elementary-aged children, the adults got something out of it, too.
“I love it,” said their mother, Amanda Millette. “It’s hard to think about racism. I brought them here so they can learn.”
The workshop was facilitated by Francie Latour of Wee the People, a Boston-based social justice project for children ages four to 12. She started off by saying children should not be set aside when serious topics such as racism are discussed among adults.
“I think kids are pretty smart,” said Latour. “Kids know more than anyone else when something is unfair.”
Latour asked the children when they felt they were treated unfairly. This led to a discussion on what racism means — “when people aren’t treated the same way” because of the color of their skin or other factors.
She added that racism is a complex problem: “Sometimes it’s easy to spot, sometimes not.”
This is where the icebergs come in. Latour explained that we often identify others by what they can see — the tip of the iceberg — without knowing what’s below the surface.
Latour then read from “Our Skin: A First Conversation about Race” by Jessica Ralli and Megan Madison, one of several books Latour brought for the workshop.
She said the color of our skin is based on a chemical called melanin, which acts as a natural sunscreen. She said Black people like herself have more melanin because her ancestors come from Africa, “where it’s sunny and really, really hot.”
She explained that somewhere along the way, white people began to say they were better and smarter than everyone else.
“They kept telling that story for a long, long time,” she said.
Latour said that racism developed by rules such as segregation, ideas and “that it was done for a long time.”
“It could be done on purpose, or by mistake,” she said. “Racism still happens.”
That’s when the discussion turned to protests against racism. Latour encouraged her audience to yell “That’s not right” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Afterward, Latour spread out some coloring books and markers, and encouraged the audience to draw and ask questions about racism.
Latour co-founded Wee the People in 2015 with Tanya Nixon-Silberg. Latour is a racial justice educator, facilitator and children’s book author whose work focuses on race, culture and identity. A mother of three, Latour is currently the director of the office of diversity, equity and inclusion at Inly School, a Montessori preK to grade eight school in Scituate.
For information on Wee the People, visit https://www.weethepeopleboston.org/.
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