Anti-Racism Resources
School counselors are leaders in the school community who advocate for all students. Our students benefit when their schools create a welcoming, respectful and inclusive culture and dismantle unjust systems. The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors and the ASCA Professional Standards & Competencies guide all school counselors in working toward ethical, equitable and inclusive school environments and addressing the critical issues of systemic and institutional racism. The following resources are helpful in addressing issues of systemic and institutional racism with students. Additional resources are regularly added.
ASCA Resources
Professional Development
- ASCA U Specialist training: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Specialist
- ASCA U Specialist training: Culturally Sustaining School Counseling Specialist
- Webinar: Social Justice and the ASCA National Model
- Webinar: Address Students’ Race-Based Stress and Trauma
- Webinar: Engage Staff on Issue of Race Through Book Study
- Webinar: Interrupting Racism: Race and Equity in Your Program
- Webinar: Ignite Change for Equity and Inclusion
- Webinar: Supporting Students After Crisis and Loss
- Webinar: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
- Webinar: Cross-cultural Counseling: Understand Bias and Practice Humility
- Webinar: Build Multiculturally Aware Students
- Webinar: Support Underrepresented Students' Academic Rigor
Town Halls
- ASCA Town Hall: Stories From the Field: Addressing Racism in the Schools
- ASCA Town Hall: Racism in Schools
- ASCA Town Hall: Leadership & Advocacy to Address Racism in Schools
- ASCA Town Hall: Confronting Racism: A Principal and School Counselor Collaborative Approach
- ASCA Town Hall: Racism and Student Mental Health
Statements & Standards
- ASCA School Counselor Standards in Practice: Eliminating Racism and Bias in Schools (PDF)
- Magazine article: Change Must Happen: The ASCA Ethical Standards Lead the Way
- Position Statement: The School Counselor and Equity for All Students
- Position Statement: The School Counselor and Cultural Diversity
Articles
- Magazine article: Change is Gonna Come
- Magazine article: Creating a Safe Space for All
- Magazine article: A Lifelong Process
- Magazine article: Time to Speak Up
- Magazine article: Stand Up, Stand Together
- Magazine article: Hand in Hand
- Magazine article: Books as Mirrors and Windows
- Magazine article: Fostering Responsible Citizenship
- Magazine article: Racial Justice Starts at School
- Magazine article: Cultural Competency in Postsecondary Planning
- Journal article: Race, Gender, Class and Achievement: A Culturally Responsive Approach to Urban School Counseling
- Journal article: An Examination of Referrals to the School Counselor by Race, Gender and Family Structure
- Journal article: Gender and Ethnic Bias in Letters of Recommendation: Considerations for School Counselors
- Journal article: Supporting Interethnic and Interracial Friendships among Youth to Reduce Prejudice and Racism in Schools: The Role of the School Counselor
- Journal article: Exploring the Work Experiences of School Counselors of Color
- Journal article: Transitioning to High School: Issues and Challenges for African American Students
- Journal article: Teaching School Counselors to Use Evidence-Based Practice to Advance Social Justice: A Case Study
- Journal article: Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies: A Leadership Framework for Professional School Counseling
- Journal article: The Multicultural School Counseling Behavior Scale: Development, Psychometrics and Use
Talking About Race and Racism
- ADL: Fighting Hate for Good: Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversations About Race and Racism
- Alliance for Resource Equity: Tools and resources for education leaders and advocates
- Center for Racial Justice in Education: Resources for Talking about Race, Racism and Radicalized Violence with Kids
- CNN: How to Talk to Your Children about Protests and Racism
- Facing History and Ourselves: Upstander
- Future of Learning: Race Conversations in the Classroom
- Institute for Educational Leadership: Adaptation of Courageous Conversations About Race
- Learning for Justice: Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students
- Learning for Justice: Facilitating Critical Conversations with Students
- Learning for Justice: All Students Need Anti-racism Education
- Medium Lion's Story: Talking to Children After Racial Incidents
- NAEYC: Becoming Upended: Teaching and Learning about Race and Racism with Young Children and Their Families
- National Geographic: Talking to Kids About Race and Talking to Kids About Xenophobia
- National Museum of African American History & Culture: Talking About Race
- National Network of State Teachers of the Year: Discussion Guide: Courageous Conversations About Race in the Classroom
- NEA Ed Justice: Talking About Race
- New York Times: I'm Helping My Korean-American Daughter Embrace Her Identity to Counter Racism
- Race Forward: 10 Ways to Start a Conversation About Race
- Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: Talking About Race
- Special Olympics: Inclusion Tiles game
- Youth Communication: From Feeling Safe to Feeling Like a Stereotype
Standards, Guidelines and Resources
- Association of Educational Service Areas: Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization
- ASCD: Anti-racism resources
- ASCD: How to Be an Antiracist Educator
- ASCD: Why We Can't Afford Whitewashed Social-Emotional Learning
- Education Trust: Social, Emotional, and Academic Development Through an Equity Lens
- Sarah Kirk, elementary school counselor: Anti-Racism Resources for Families
- Learning for Justice: Denouncing Hate and Violence at School
- Learning for Justice: Social Justice Standards
- Learning for Justice: Strategies for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Prejudice: Essential Principles
- Learning for Justice: After Atlanta: Teaching About Asian American Identity and History
- Learning for Justice: Responding to Anti-Asian Violence and Georgia Shootings
- Medium: When SEL is Used as Another Form of Policing
- NEA EdJustice: Curated resources for building awareness and advancing social justice
- NASP: Understanding Race and Privilege
- NASP: Countering Coronavirus Stigma and Racism: Tips for Teachers and Other Educators
- NEA EdJustice: Confronting White Nationalism at School Toolkit
- NEA EdJustice: Racial Justice in Education
Data and Policy
- ACLU: Cops and No Counselors
- ACLU: Race, Discipline and Safety at U.S. Public Schools
- Forward Promise: Disrupting Dehumanization and Affirming the Humanity of BYMOC and Their Villages
- KY Dept of Ed: Guidance on How Districts Can Facilitate Conversations About Race-Based Stress and Trauma
- TNTP: The Opportunity Myth
Trauma and Mental Health
- APA Stress in America Report: High Stress Related to Coronavirus is the New Normal for Many Parents
- Chalkbeat: How Community Trauma Can Hurt Student Learning
- Congressional Black Caucus Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health: Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America
- Learning for Justice: Affirming Black Lives without Inducing Trauma
- NASP: Supporting Marginalized Students in Stressful Times: Tips for Educators
- Medium: The Future of Healing--Shifting from Trauma-Informed Care to Healing-Centered Engagement
- The Lancet: Police killings and their spillover effects on the mental health of black Americans: a population-based, quasi-experimental study
Podcasts and Blogs
- Podcast: Pod Save the People--Activism, Social Justice, Culture and Politics
- MESA Blog: “Please, I Can’t Breathe”: Watch How the Minneapolis Counseling Director is Supporting Students After George Floyd’s Murder
- Podcast: The Leading Equity Podcast
Reading List
- Anti-Racism Reading List from Ibram X. Kendi (author of “How to Be an Antiracist”)
- New York Times: Anti-Racism Books for Kids
- 31 Children’s Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism and Resistance
- USA Today: Must-Read Books About Racism for Adults and Kids
- 10 Essential Books About the Asian American Experience