Author Q&A with Tinashe Williamson, author of Handbook for Young Anti-Racists
What made you decide to write Handbook for Young Anti-Racists?
After George Floyd was killed and Black Lives Matter became a world wide phenomena, I was in Norwegian press talking about racism was not just a problem “over there” in the US but that we needed to have these conversations here in Norway. I received two death threats for speaking up. I kept speaking on the issue when the Norwegian publisher Cappelen Damm asked for a meeting. During the meeting, they asked me a question that stuck with me: “what book do you wish where in the school library when you grew up?” That question really made me emotional because I would have loved for there to be a book that explained what racism was from the point of view of those who felt it, but more importantly for those who never learned how to be good allies in the fight against racism. They looked me in the eye and said, “then write that book.” And that’s what I have tried to do. Make the book I wish had been in school when I was growing up in the 1990s.
What are some steps that teachers can take to create anti-racist classrooms?
I believe that we should be able. to have honest conversations and really listen to the children. As a Black kid growing up In Norway I never felt listened to when talking about my experiences with racism and I believe that this should be talked about, discussed and worked on in school from an early age. That is why I wrote the book for children to be used with adults.
Do you remember the first time you experienced racism as a child? How did it make you feel?
I remember bein in kindergarten and kids calling me the n-word. They would say I couldn’t join in their games because my skin color looked like shit. I still to this day remember how bad that made me feel.
How do you think racism is different in some of the countries you have visited, such as Norway, Germany, and the United States.
I don’t really think it is very different, however Norway has more of the micro aggression that is normalized by saying “I didn’t mean anything bad” or “you are way too sensitive.”
In the book, you talk about how your grandfather grow up in South Africa under apartheid. How do you think that influenced your attitudes about race and racism?
I grew up with my family saying that he always would say “they want you to get tired. They want you to give up. Resist!” My grandfather was an activist, he demonstrated against the apartheid regime all the time. He died in 1990 and apartheid was made illegal in 1994 so sadly he was not alive to see that the work he and others put in made a difference. If one believes in an after life, I hope wherever he is that he sees that the flame he had in him is still burning in me.
Name the top things kids can do to fight against racism.
Don’t be afraid to talk openly and honestly about it!
Speak up always if you see others saying things that are not ok.
Your voice is important. Use it!
Do the exercises in Handbook For Young Anti-Racists together with an adult
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