8.7: All Children Need "The Talk"

First Name Basis Podcast

Jasmine Bradshaw

How To, Parenting, Education, Kids & Family

5 • 629 Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Parents of Black children are all too familiar with “The Talk.”

“The Talk” where they teach their kids not to have their hands in their pockets at a store. “The Talk” where they teach their kids how to act around police in an attempt to keep themselves safe. “The Talk” where they teach their kids about the racism they’re already experiencing and will continue to experience.

But the truth is, “The Talk” isn’t something that only families with Black children should be having — it’s something white children and other Children of Color should be hearing about as well so they can be part of the solution.

And this week on the podcast, I have a powerful interview with author Alicia D. Williams to talk about “The Talk,” which is the subject and title of her new children’s book.

Alicia is an award-winning author of books that offer understanding, empathy, hope and inspiration, including “The Talk,” which received a Coretta Scott King Author Honor. She is a graduate of the MFA program at Hamline University and an oral storyteller in the African American tradition, and she lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the interview, we talk about:

The story behind her book “The Talk”
Why white children and other Children of Color need to have the talk as well
Tips for how to have the talk
How to teach children about the police
How to talk to kids about the dangers of racism while also helping them feel safe

Invite Jasmine to work with your school!

Are you a parent or teacher who wants to help your school turn good intentions into positive action by making anti-racist education a priority? First Name Basis is here to help!

Jasmine Bradshaw, the host and founder of the First Name Basis Podcast, is an anti-racist educator and former second-grade teacher who has a passion for helping schools make real change. Whether you’re looking for a keynote speaker at your next PTA event, want to implement our Ally Elementary curriculum at your school, or need someone to consult with your school and provide teacher trainings, Jasmine is your go-to resource.

Email [email protected] or visit firstnamebasis.org/workwithme for more information!

Get your Little Allies Activity Book

If you’re looking for activities for your kids or students to do that are both fun and meaningful, we’ve got something for you!

Our Little Allies Activity Book is now available! It’s basically a coloring book that is focused on allyship, and all the activities are based around anti-racism.

The Little Allies Activity Book includes:

Color by number
Protest I Spy
Dot to dot
Anti-racist word search
Black history unscramble
And more!

Get your hands on it today by heading to firstnamebasis.org/store!

Articles, Studies, & Podcasts Referenced in the Episode

Alicia’s website

Alicia’s Instagram account @authoraliciadwilliams

“The Talk” by Alicia D. Williams

All of Alicia’s books on the First Name Basis Bookshop

“Watering flowers while Black: A pastor shares his story of wrongful arrest,” by Jonathan Franklin, NPR

Song Credit: “Clapping Music” by BrightestAvenue and “Sunshine” by lemonmusicstudio

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to the First Name Basis Podcast, season 8, episode 7.
0:05.6	All children need the talk with author Alicia D. Williams.
0:14.5	Welcome to the First Name Basis podcast, an anti-racist podcast for schools and families.
0:20.1	I'm your host, Jasmine Bradshaw, and it's my job
0:22.7	to teach grown-ups like you, how to talk to kids about race and racism. So let's go. We've got work to do.
0:32.7	Hello, first name basis fam. I am so glad you are here. I have a really powerful interview to share
0:42.1	with you today. I was able to interview author Alicia D. Williams and her book that recently came out,
0:48.9	it's called The Talk. And because this is an anti-racist podcast, you can guess that the talk is referring to the talk that black parents have to have with black children about the realities of racism in America and police brutality.
1:05.4	So the book follows a little boy named Jay.
1:07.9	Him and his family are black.
1:09.4	And it starts when he's young. He's just
1:11.4	running around the neighborhood with his friends, doing what kids do, and the book follows him
1:16.6	as he grows up, and he gets bigger and bigger, and eventually his parents sit him down to have the
1:23.2	talk with him. And they have to be honest with him about the realities of being a black person in
1:29.0	America and living under an oppressive racist system. And they help him understand that, you know,
1:36.2	when you're in a store, you can't put your hands in your pockets. When you are driving,
1:40.4	if you're ever pulled over by police, there are certain things that you need to do to try to
1:45.2	keep yourself safe. And as we know, even those things aren't enough to keep us safe.
1:50.6	So I titled this episode, All Children Need the Talk, because I really think that this is a book
1:56.6	that everyone should own because I think that all children need to be having the talk.
2:00.6	When I was on Goodreads, looking just at reviews for that everyone should own because I think that all children need to be having the talk.
2:07.2	When I was on Goodreads looking just at reviews for the book, I saw that somebody said it was a necessary book for some families and a fantastic book to explain what the talk is like
	...

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