Martin Luther King, Jr. said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." There is evidence that children form attitudes and opinions about race as early as six months old. In a recent study by our guest Dr. Melanie Killen (commissioned by CNN), a white child and a black child look at the exact same picture of two students on the playground and see very different things. How do children interpret our differences and form racial attitudes? We'll find out how to talk to kids about race with a researcher into children's social development and the author of a children's book about race.
Guests
Dr. Janaka Bowman Lewis - Assistant Professor of English at UNC Charlotte, also teaches Africana Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, and American Studies. Author of Brown All Over, a children's book described as a "celebration of colors, including the colors of our skin."
Dr. Tehia Starker - Assistant Professor of Reading and Elementary Education at UNC Charlotte
Dr. Melanie Killen - Professor of Human Development at the University of Maryland. A developmental psychologist who studies children’s and adolescents’ social development, including issues related to prejudice and bias, as well as moral judgment and peer relationships.