A fascinating article argues that talking to children– even very young children– about race turns out to be absolutely vital to fighting discriminatory attitudes. And it’s important to talk explicitly– “everyone’s equal” doesn’t mean much to a child who hasn’t quite grasped the abstract concept of equality but who has noticed differences in skin colour, that they seem to matter in some way, and also that *they’re not allowed* to talk about this. Well-meaning parents are, understandably, reluctant to talk about race– they don’t want their children to use these categories. But they’re mistaken to think that the children won’t acquire the categories– they’ll acquire them, scarily early, and not in a way that the well-meaning parents want them to.

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