A Safe Children's Book to teach all of us to say "No" to the "N" word and to no longer use it. Endorsed by Parenting Magazine and written by a Pediatrician.
"As a trained pediatrician, public health specialist, and mother, I would like to offer my simple children’s book, “Say 'No' to the 'N' Word!” as a resource to teach our children to reject hateful language and destructive, mental constructs of Black and Brown people."
A Message to Children, Families, Educators and Supporters:
"This book is written in a simple fashion so that it may be understandable by children and adults. I hope that you use this book to help foster the need for racial and ethnic equality and to end racial hate and xenophobia. As scary as it may be, the truth is that chil- dren (even before they are school age), are being indoctrinated to the use of the “N” word and are learning to hate others that is asso- ciated with this destructive word. This word has been an acceptable facet in our society, belying our collective failure to effectively rebuke its use and incorporation into our social fabric, educational systems, and beyond.
I believe that the use of the “N” word must to be eradicated and that children need be socialized at an early age that this word is unacceptable to use. I am a true believer at it is never too late to change -- adults who were never taught in a conscious manner or through life lessons not to use this word, should also use this book to reflect upon disregarding the “N” word from their lexicon. As an educational tool, this book can be used to shine light on the prob- lematic use and dangerous history of this word and to foster discus- sion among individuals, classes, homes, and communities. I hope that you will read this story to your children, allowing them to ask questions and to explore the message’s relevance in their lives.
You may wonder why I did not write out the “N” word in this book. I purposely do not spell out this word since many people, from a young age, are socialized to know what the “N” word signifies, its connotation, as well as methods and reasons for use. I do not want this the book itself to become an instrument of hate and oppression, or as a tool to teach racism. Hence, this book should not be banned from any home or institution and should be used in a positive and reaffirming way.
As a call to action, we need to reverse the use of the “N” word and declare that it should no longer be used. We all know that this vile “n” word is used to dehumanize and degrade people, particularly those who are of the African-diaspora, in the effort to maintain the current, global social-economic repressive structure of people. The “N” word is also used towards people who are not immediate mem- bers of the African-diaspora, such as people of color, when it is so- cially and economically opportune for those using the “N” word. At the same time, this word is used to unify those who perceive them- selves as more superior and deserving than people of color. Further- more, no other word should be used in the place of the “n” word to repress, demonize, and dehumanize people. This is vitally important in this day and time, now more than ever — we are living in a culture of hate, where people of the African diaspora are being subjected to violent and harmful acts and xenophobia against immigrants and long-standing residents abound.
I request that you please use this material to foster compassion and pride in standing up against the use of hateful language and the propagation of racist actions where you live and beyond. This book is meant to be universal and translated into multiple languages so that readers around the world may learn that the use of the “N” word is not acceptable. Thank you for reading this book, and I encourage you to share it with many others."
The Kindle and paperback versions of the book are available on Amazon at: https://smile.amazon.com/Say-No-Word-word/dp/1676047379/
A downloadable PDF has been provided to ActionHoCo by authors, Dr. Lesley Stephens Hanes and Maia Imani Hanes.