When we uplift Black culture, we are reminding Black children that their racial and ethnic background has a rich and vibrant history. According to research, children who are told positive stories about their culture have better mental health outcomes. How can you get started?
Celebrate Black accomplishments. The contributions that Black people have made to society are impressive and many! They go far beyond what is often reviewed and taught in school. Our download will help remind you of many great Black History heroes and maybe even introduce you to some you weren’t familiar with.
Connect with your culture. Help your child develop a positive racial identity through books, dolls, games and shows that include role models who have similar skin tone and hair texture. You can also build community by finding local or virtual organizations that your child or your family can be involved in.
Build their self-confidence. Help your child think about their strengths. Remind them when you see those strengths at work in them. And make sure they have positive statements that they know are true about them that they can lean on if they’re feeling self-doubt.
Remind them of their resilience. What has your child worked hard on? How have they overcome obstacles? Make sure you talk about that with them. They need to know that the challenges they have come through has strengthened them for the future.
Working through these four things will help build resilience. We can’t be resilient all the time, and at times, burnout may make it hard to respond well to trauma and stress.
However, we can celebrate how Black people across history have demonstrated intelligence, drive and abilities that helped them overcome obstacles. And taking time to remember Black culture and its amazing contributions to society can be encouraging and helpful to all of us.