Young Tucsonans shared ideas about how to teach children about racism and foster inclusivity during a Saturday event that aimed to build trust and facilitate conversations around racial healing.

The YWCA of Southern Arizona and the League of Women Voters hosted Tucson’s sixth Annual National Day of Racial Healing event, focusing on the theme, “How We Heal from The Effects of Racism.”

Dozens of community members gathered at the YWCA to mark the occasion with speakers, a panel of young leaders, cultural performers and food.

The event was part of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Day of Racial Healing, a national initiative encouraging states to host events on racial healing.

“Racial healing is the experience shared by people when they speak openly about past wrongs and the negative impacts created by individual and systemic racism,” said NAACP Tucson Branch President and event moderator Cheree Meeks. “Racial healing helps to build trust among people and restores communities to hold this so they can work together on changing current systems and structures, so that they affirm the inherent value of people.”

Yolanda Parker, secretary of the NAACP Tucson, told attendees she grew up with a version of racial healing in her home, thanks to her father bringing football players of all races to their house every Sunday.

“Racial healing means that we’re all getting along, we’re being kind, peaceful and helpful,” she said.

Gail Christopher, executive director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity, told attendees in a video message about the importance of addressing racism in eliminating health equities, saying that America was “built on a fallacy” and a “hierarchy of human value.”

“Racism is built into our systems and structures, and to a large degree, we’re in denial about it as a root cause and threat to our democracy,” she said. 

The event’s youth panel kicked off with a discussion on how to teach children about racism, with Indigenous artist JD Aragón stressing the importance of exposing children to the diversity in their communities.

Aragón, who is from the Hopi nation and was born with albinism,  graduated from the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind and works as a content creator and musician.

“The way you live at home is not how the rest of the world is,” Aragón said. “It’s important that we instill that and let children know that they are a part of this community but their worldview does not apply to every single person.” 

Panelist Jake Martin, Pima County’s Chief Deputy Treasurer and a senior at the University of Arizona, emphasized the importance of teaching the truth about history and giving people the space to heal from past wrongs. 

“I think a big part of it is teaching reality, recognizing the history that's taken place, and then teaching how we heal from it, why it was wrong, and how we move forward,” Martin said.

Trehon Coleman, a community leader, motivational speaker, advocate and self-described “millennial on the move,” talked about the right time to start discussing racism with children, sharing a personal story about his daughter being introduced to the topic in Pre-K during an incident at her school.

“They had to come in and have that conversation with my wife and me,” Coleman said. “As her dad it was time. If I didn’t talk to her, then I’d be leaving that innocent, precious soul to face this wicked world.” 

Martin reminded attendees that creating true community doesn’t start or end in a voting booth.

“It doesn't start in a government boardroom where the decisions about the way that we live our lives are made,” he said. “The creation of a beloved community starts here, and we have the power to make those changes, because we are the ones who are listening and we are the ones who want to create change.”

Isabela Gamez is a University of Arizona alum and Tucson Spotlight reporter. Contact her at gamezi@arizona.edu.

Tucson Spotlight is a community-based newsroom that provides paid opportunities for students and rising journalists in Southern Arizona. Please support our work with a paid subscription.