Blog
Why White Moms Like Me Need to Reject Misogynoir Against Black Moms Like Serena Williams
At Parents for Diversity, tennis isn’t usually at the top of our agenda, but parenting and solidarity with marginalized parents is always one of our top priorities.We are delighted for Bianca Andreescu and congratulate her on the astonishing achievement of…
What is Equitable and Inclusive Learning? A Parent’s Perspective on the First Day of School
Thousands of students in many of the English school boards will begin the new school year tomorrow. Like all beginnings, the school year welcomes new possibilities, opportunities and ways to think more critically about how to engage diverse identities and…
Touching Black Hair as Micro-Aggression
By Simone Aba Akyianu Micro-aggressions are like bee stings.We can recover from the sting, but we never forget how it feels.Maybe you rock an Afro, maybe you have curly ringlets, or wear Senegalese twists, box braids, cornrows, locs or Bantu…
20 2SLGBTQ+ Children and YA Books in Honour of Capital Pride Festival
Today marks the launch of the 2019 Ottawa Capital Pride Festival, from August 18th to 25th. This year is also the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that took place on June 28th 1969. Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a…
Let’s Go Adventure Outdoors (With Books!)
A recent article published in the Atlantic poses the question: Why aren’t Black children represented in books about nature?In the article, Black American librarian and Gold Star Girl Scout (Girl Scouting’s highest honour) Michelle Martin notes the absence of books…
Gender: the pressures to conform start young
My 5 year old came home one day asking me to dig up his old green snow suit so that he could wear it to school the next day. I asked him if there was something wrong with his newer…
Our Kids’ Book Pics
by Leslie Robertson Our 5 year-old twins have been reading these books with their mamas for months now but it’s time to return them to the library. All three feature diverse characters and are overt in tackling broader social issues…
We Need to Teach our Children to Embrace Diversity
Op-ed published in Huffington Post My daughter scrolls through the atlas with her little fingers. “Mommy, is this the country where that man killed all the people?” She asks, pointing to New Zealand. “Why did he make such bad decisions?”…
Beautiful stories about Muslim kids: Counternarratives
A lot of people I know have been asking themselves this past week about how to talk to their kids about Islamophobia, bigotry, hatred, and violence. As the parent of a 5½ -year-old I can tell you I have a…
It’s International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day!!! Today we honour, celebrate, and remember the achievements of women around the world to the social, political, economic and cultural fabric of our society. The United Nations theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Think…