EP11 Embrace Race Founders: Melissa Giraud and Andrew Grant-Thomas

Not A Mama Yet

I don’t remember how I stumbled upon Embrace Race, but I am so happy I did. If you are not familiar with it, it is a multiracial community of parents, teachers, experts, and other caring adults who support each other to meet the challenges that race poses to our children, families, and communities. We welcome your participation. I reached out to the Co-Founders Melissa and Andrew because I believe that while the work they are doing is invaluable for people who already have kids, people who don’t can still benefit greatly from their platform. On one of the worksheets they have on their site, they say that talking about race, finding the right words and coming at it from a point of real understanding is like flexing a muscle. It doesn’t happen overnight. We can just expect to watch a video and be prepared to teach our children about equity and discrimination. We need to be working on that now and always.

As we are seeing that US racial divisions and inequities grow, Embrace Race is helping people start wherever they are and reverse this trend in our homes, schools, and communities. Melissa and Andrew were kind enough to tell me that they admire the work that I am doing but I am nowhere near where I want to be and there are so many people out there doing much more impactful work in their communities like Melissa and Andrew so I hope you listen to this episode. It is longer than my previous ones so break it up if you need to, but I hope you do listen to it! Please also spread the word about Embrace Race and check out their site below for more incredible resources they are constantly adding on there!

Main takeaways:

Clarity on terms including: race, explicit vs. impact racism, and micro-agressions.

Listen to your child. Don’t shush them or make any topic taboo. Kids notice how adults react to things.

Start flexing that muscle, talk about race in your community, and surround yourself with diverse people in your community.

Melissa and Andrew mention these books, organizations, and people:

-White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson

-White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America by Margaret Hagerman

-Showing Up for Racial Justice

-Parenting in the Age of Trump with Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith

You can find Melissa and Andrew here:

Embrace Race

Embrace Race on Facebook

Thank you so much for listening! I would love to know what you thought about this episode and what some of your main takeaways were!

Natalie

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