Publications
Academic Publications
Charity Hudley, A; Stephens, R; Lewis, M. (In Press). Chapter 5: Leading with Language. Talking Faculty. College Press.
Stephens, R; Chapman, T; Jones, M. (Forthcoming). The Blueprint: Culturally Responsive Methods for African American Students. Journal of Urban Education
Stephens, R; Chapman, T; Jones, M. (Forthcoming). Fostering a Critical Sense of Critical Belonging in the Classroom. Journal of Negro Education.
Stephens, R; Chapman, T; Jones, M. (Forthcoming). The Impact of Race on Belonging for African American Students. Journal of Negro Education.
Stephens, R; Chapman, T; Jones, M. (Forthcoming). Knowing When to Bounce: Reconceptualizing Belonging for African American Students. UC Press
Rogers, K., Crawford, J., and Stephens, R. (2023). Unveiling the Cloak of Invisibility: "Because Representation Matters: Supporting Black Males to and Through STEM Graduate School." Why Black males are absent in STEM Disciplines.” Information Age Publishing
Chapman, T., Jones, M., Stephens, R., Lopez, D., Rogers, K., Crawford, J. (2020). A Necessary Pairing: Using Academic Outcomes and Critical Consciousness to Dismantle Curriculum as the Property of Whiteness in K-12 Ethnic Studies. Equity and Excellence in Education
Ramirez, B., Puente, M., Crawford, J., Matschiner, A., Garcia, K. A; Gates, Z., Stephens, R. et al. (2020). Collective Conclusion: Collective Reflections on Critical Storytelling for Racial and Social Justice. InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies, 16(2).
Stephens, R. (2019). The Daily Dose: The End to Social Inequity. InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies, 16 (2).
Ishizuka, K. Stephens, R.* (2019). The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness and White Supremacy. Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, 1(2), 4.
Katie’s Crib
“Ramon Stephens (Executive Director, The Conscious Kid) joins Katie Lowes to highlight the power of books as a tool to disrupt racism and promote healthy racial identity development in youth.”
Listen on Apple Podcasts
True Stories of Good People: A GoFundMe Heroes Podcast
“Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens are the powerful duo behind “The Conscious Kid”, an education, research, and policy organization dedicated to equity and promoting healthy racial identity development in children. In addition to their incredible advocacy work and their amazingly popular Instagram account, they have recently harnessed their community to help provide $1.4 million in rent relief for families struggling during the COVID-19 crisis.”
NPR Southern California (KCRW): Press Play with Madeline Brand
“Ramon Stephens is a parent of color and executive director at The Conscious Kid, a nonprofit that helps families and educators foster anti-racist conversations through reading. Here are books he recommends.”
Today’s Parent: The Most Influential Parents of 2020
“Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens might not be household names, but their company, The Conscious Kid, may ring a bell considering its massive Instagram following made up of parents looking for advice on how to practise anti-racism in their homes. The initiative had humble beginnings: Ishizuka and Stephens, parents to two children of colour, began a lending library after discovering the lack of Black representation in children’s books at their local branch. But at a time when anti-racism work is top of mind for many, The Conscious Kid has risen to meet the needs of parents in more ways than one. Case in point: It mobilized its nearly two million followers to provide relief to families experiencing housing and food insecurity during the pandemic, supporting more than two thousand families and counting.”
USC Shoah Foundation: Partnership with The Conscious Kid Producing Resources to Counter Antisemitism, Other Bias
“Ramon Stephens, executive director of The Conscious Kid, talked about the synergy between USC Shoah Foundation and his organization. “One of our core values that we really align on is the power of storytelling, the oldest and one of the most effective forms of education that is seen in every culture,” he said. “It is a way to pass on knowledge, build bridges and strengthen communities across all age groups. Great stories can foster inspiration, empathy, trust and understanding, and have the power to teach us about ourselves and each other and provide lessons from the past that can help us build a better future.” Since joining forces earlier this year, The Conscious Kid and USC Shoah Foundation have been working on toolkits, lesson plans and professional development, with a particular thematic focus on producing assets for The Willesden Project and books by author and Holocaust survivor Dr. Ruth Westheimer.”
YouTube Official Blog: The Conscious Kid launches read-aloud program, ‘AAPI Storytime,’ for YouTube Kids
“To celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, The Conscious Kid has launched its read-aloud program, “AAPI Storytime,” for YouTube Kids. Founded by educators and researchers Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens, The Conscious Kid is dedicated to equity and promoting healthy racial identity development in youth. This month’s special program will feature a new title every week in May: “Grandpa Grumps” by Katrina Moore (May 4), “Always Anjali” by Sheetal Sheth (May 10), “Eyes that Kiss in the Corners” by Joanna Ho (May 17), and “The Name Jar” by Yangsook Choi (May 25). We recently spoke with Katie and Ramón to learn more about their work and the launch of the new read-aloud series, in partnership with Harry Shum Jr. and Wong Fu Productions.”
The Washington Post: Children’s books can help start a conversation about race. Parents have to continue it.
“McCurtis’s idea of starting the work early was echoed by Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens, co-founders of the Conscious Kid, an education, research and policy organization dedicated to reducing bias and promoting positive identity development in youth. “At age 1, children are already able to distinguish skin color, and so it’s important to be intentional about exposing babies to books that feature a wide variety of skin tones, races and classes.” For 4- and 5-year-olds, Ishizuka and Stephens recommended asking kids more in-depth questions about how race operates in the books they’re reading, such as, “Who is doing what in the story and why? Who is the focus and who are background characters? Who is missing entirely?’”
Fast Company: 3 experts on how to raise anti-racist kids
“The experts point out that books and toys are not enough to raise empathetic, anti-racist children. In the end, children are watching how their parents behave, so it is important to model the right behavior for them when it comes to race. Stephens says that being introspective as you process these issues with your children can help illuminate your own blind spots. “Books and dolls are just the starting point,” he says. “You need to have a broader lifestyle switch, and be conscious about the friends you have in your own circle, the racial demographics of your school.” Stephens also says that modeling protest and resistance is helpful, because it shows kids that the status quo isn’t fixed and is open to change.”’
New York Magazine / The Strategist: 17 Kids’ Books to Read During Black History Month (and All Year Long)
“Before buying any books or borrowing them from the library, Ramon Stephens, executive director of the nonprofit the Conscious Kid, recommends first considering the original intentions of scholar Carter G. Woodson, who is now known as “the father of Black history.” In 1926, Woodson created Negro History Week, which would later become Black History Month; his aim was to address the overall lack of Black history and education in the United States by providing empowering narratives about Black people and combating the overall injustices that they face. That was 96 years ago, but so many of the same injustices and a lack of empowering narratives persist today. That’s why Stephens suggests looking for titles that specifically support Woodson’s mission, whether directly or indirectly. Educating children (and adults) about the resiliency, contributions, and joy of Black people throughout history is a way to push back against harmful, dominant narratives, he says.”
USA Today: ‘Everything starts at home’: Kids’ TV shows that teach anti-racism, celebrate diversity
“USA TODAY talked to media experts who say "yes" and are calling for a transformation in youth programming, in both representation of people of color and in anti-racism education. But while having TV shows with diverse characters is an improvement in children's programming, it's not enough. Ramon Stephens, executive director of The Conscious Kid, says that in order to actually shift racial attitudes, we need to talk about race and racism, as well. Content should "unpack specific examples of what racism looks like" and how it affects people in real life, he says. Some major networks are trying to answer the call. With help from Alvarez and Stephens, we've compiled a list of five current and upcoming TV specials or shows that help explain racism to kids and aim to spur conversations.”
Additional Publications
USC Shoah Foundation: New Guides to Countering Antisemitism Added to Nickelodeon Anti-Hate Series
“USC Shoah Foundation and partners Nickelodeon and The Conscious Kid today launch a pair of Talk and Take Action: Guides to Countering Antisemitism that provide teachers and parents with content and tools to talk with children about the discrimination and hate directed at the Jewish community in the United States. Co-written by USC Shoah Foundation, Nickelodeon and The Conscious Kid, an education, research and policy organization dedicated to reducing bias and promoting positive identity development in youth, the new guides provide critical, age-sensitive resources at a time when antisemitic incidents are on the rise in the United States and around the world. Ramon Stephens, executive director of The Conscious Kid, talked about the focus on antisemitism alongside other forms of racism and hate crime. “It's important that we include and engage in education about antisemitism when doing anti-racism work and do everything that we can to support solidarity across communities to create a more equitable future,” Stephens said. “We are grateful for the USC Shoah Foundation's expertise in developing the antisemitism toolkits so that young children, families and educators are equipped with the knowledge and resources to understand and take action against it.”’