Christia Spears Brown is an author, researcher, and professor of Developmental Psychology. She is also the Director of the Center for Equality and Social Justice at the University of Kentucky. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin. Brown began her academic career on the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles. Her research focuses on how children develop gender and ethnic stereotypes, how children understand gender and ethnic discrimination, and how discrimination and stereotypes affect children and teens’ lives. As part of her research on discrimination, she also examines the perpetration and acceptance of sexual harassment and how children understand politics, public policies, and societal inequalities.
I wrote...
Unraveling Bias: How Prejudice Has Shaped Children for Generations and Why It's Time to Break the Cycle
By
Christia Spears Brown
What is my book about?
Biases and prejudice don’t just develop as people become adults. They begin when children are young, slowly growing, and exposed to prejudice in their classrooms, after-school activities, and, yes, even in their homes, no matter how enlightened their parents may consider themselves to be. The only way to have a more just and equitable world—not to mention more broad-minded, empathetic children—is for parents to closely examine biases beginning in childhood and how they infiltrate our kids’ lives.
Unraveling Bias uncovers what scientists have learned about how children are impacted by race, gender, immigration, and LGBTQ biases, and how we adults can help protect them from those biases. Part science, part history, part current events, and part call to arms, Unraveling Bias provides readers with the answers to vital questions.
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The Books I Picked & Why
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race
By
Beverly Daniel Tatum
Why this book?
This classic book, which has been recently updated, is a must-read for all parents or people who work with children. Tatum does an excellent job of describing how children think about race and the role race plays in their lives. She describes how racial identity develops for Black children, for White children, and for mixed-race children and clearly identifies why it is important for all children. By using lots of quotes and conversations with children and teens, this accessible read leads to “Aha!” moments in every chapter.
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How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parenting--From Tots to Teens
By
Melinda Wenner Moyer
Why this book?
Everyone wants to raise honest, generous, and kind kids, right?. And the science of parenting has a lot to say about the best ways to raise children who will care about others. Moyer, as a science journalist who focuses on parenting, draws from all of that research and boils down the best evidence-based strategies for raising compassionate, and anti-biased, kids.
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Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do
By
Jennifer L. Eberhardt
Why this book?
The first step in raising anti-biased kids is checking our own biases. Eberhardt is a highly renowned social psychologist who has woven together her own personal stories with the science of implicit biases. In the wake of repeated shootings of unarmed Black men, her award-winning research is extremely timely. By relating cutting-edge research to her own experiences as a Black woman, this book feels both intellectually engaging and deeply personal.
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Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps -- And What We Can Do about It
By
Lise Eliot
Why this book?
This book holds a magnifying glass up to the gender differences and stereotypes we see every day. Eliot describes in easy-to-understand language the neuroscience behind gender differences and details how small differences between boys and girls at birth become amplified over the course of childhood by parents, teachers, and the culture.
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This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science Is Tackling Unconscious Bias
By
Tanya Lloyd Kyi,
Drew Shannon
Why this book?
One important way to reduce bias in children is to teach them about stereotypes and prejudice. Once they learn to spot and understand stereotypes, they are better at battling them. This visually engaging book, geared towards middle schoolers, provides a great (even humorous) science-based explanation of stereotypes, discrimination, racism, sexism, ableism, and homophobia.
