Updated 2026 | Written by the TMoM team

We first shared this list in June 2020, during a week when our team felt heartbroken, angry, and helpless, and then inspired as we watched our community come together. Since then, we’ve heard from so many parents who want to keep these conversations going at home but aren’t sure where to start.

Talking to kids about race doesn’t have to happen in one big conversation. It grows through the books we read together, the movies we watch, the places we visit, and the questions we welcome. This updated guide gathers resources for every age, from picture books for little ones to films and history for teens, plus places right here in the Triad where families can learn together.

Children’s Books About Race and Kindness

Picture books for young children (ages 3 to 8)

Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi
Ruby Bridges Goes to School by Ruby Bridges
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford

Books for older kids and teens (ages 10 and up)

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Dear Martin by Nic Stone

More book lists for families

Anti-Racism Books for Parents by Black Authors

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison

Movies and Shows About Race and Civil Rights

For young children and families

Our Friend, Martin
Something Happened in Our Town (animated read-aloud)
Dancing in the Light: The Janet Collins Story
Motown Magic
The Color of Friendship
Ruby Bridges

For older kids, teens, and families

Hidden Figures
Glory Road
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Pride
Lean on Me
Loving

About racial injustice, for teens and adults

The Best of Enemies (PG-13), based on a true story from Durham, North Carolina
Just Mercy (PG-13)
Selma
Harriet
The Hate U Give
Fruitvale Station (R)

For adults

Most of these are not suited for children. Preview before watching with teens.

13th
When They See Us
12 Years a Slave
Moonlight
If Beale Street Could Talk
Do the Right Thing
Get Out
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Daughters of the Dust
Dear White People
Roots (2016 miniseries)

Learn Civil Rights History in the Triad

Some of the most powerful lessons are right in our backyard. Greensboro is where four college students sat down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in 1960 and helped spark a movement.

International Civil Rights Center & Museum

The museum is housed in the former Woolworth’s at 134 S. Elm St. in downtown Greensboro, where the original lunch counter has been preserved. It’s family friendly, though parents may want to move younger kids quickly through some of the more difficult exhibits. Read Freedom on the Menu together before you go to help young children understand what they’ll see. Check hours, admission, and tour options at sitinmovement.org.

Greensboro History Museum

Located at 130 Summit Ave., the museum includes an exhibit on the Woolworth sit-in. It’s an easy add-on to a day downtown.

February One Monument at NC A&T

This sculpture of the A&T Four honors the students who began the Greensboro sit-ins. It’s a short, meaningful stop for families on the NC A&T campus.

Organizations Working for Racial Justice

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Founded in Durham in 2007, this nonprofit brings together lawyers, researchers, organizers, and communicators to support communities working to dismantle structural racism. Its current work includes voting rights, police accountability, and challenging racial discrimination in the justice system.

Abolitionist Law Center

A public interest law firm working to end mass incarceration through litigation on behalf of incarcerated people, public education, and coalition building.

Workers Center for Racial Justice

Works to increase access to quality jobs and strengthen working conditions and job security for Black workers and their families and communities.

US Human Rights Network

A national network of organizations and individuals building a human rights movement in the United States, led by the people most directly affected by human rights violations.

Right to the City

A national alliance that formed in 2007 to respond to gentrification and stop the displacement of low-income communities, communities of color, LGBTQ communities, and youth of color from their historic neighborhoods.

Questions to Ask

Things to Do

Keep the Conversation Going

You don’t need perfect words to start talking with your kids about race. Read together, watch together, visit together, and keep listening. Every conversation helps raise kids who are kind, curious, and brave.

For more ways to give back locally, see our guide to volunteering and giving with Triad nonprofits, or read Why It’s Important to Talk About Race with Your Children.

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