BBC Guide Says Parents Should Check If White Children Have Black or Brown Friends Over For Playdates

BBC Broadcasting House in London on Jan. 21, 2020. Ian West/PA Media

According to a BBC’s early-years guidance on race, white mums or dads are being asked to “examine their biases” if their toddler only has white friends over.

The BBC’s Tiny Happy People website was launched in 2020 as a resource aimed at developing children’s communication and language skills. However, its section on talking about race and religion with young children, written by the author and activist Uju Asika has opened up the BBC to criticisms of anti-racism and critical race theory impartiality.

Anti-racism

Many anti-racism authors are inspired by critical race theory, which interprets society through the lens of a power struggle between white and non-white people and as an academic concept framework that focuses on the way systemic racism can perpetuate discrimination and disadvantage. American anti-racist authors such as Ibram X Kendi and Robin DiAngelo believe that racism is part of every aspect of life and must be identified and taken head-on with anti-racist actions.