The Conscious Kid

In 2019, The Conscious Kid’s leadership played a key role in making allegations of racism in the works of the late Dr. Seuss. ⁴

Background

Founded in 2016, The Conscious Kid has helped to develop and promote books that discuss racial identity and are targeted towards children. Its website offers “how to” guides ⁵ and “read-alouds” that discuss radical-left anti-racism with children. ⁶ The organization cites studies that claim racist behaviors in children start as early as age two, that children begin displaying “pro-white” bias between ages five and seven, and says that “implicit biases impact children of all races and remains [sic] stable unless proactive action is taken to reduce them.” ⁷

Katherine “Katie” Ishizuka and Ramon Stephens are the founders of The Conscious Kid. ⁸ In February 2020, Ishizuka was appointed editor-in-chief of School Library Journal, a magazine that serves librarians. ⁹ Stephens was a 2021 Ph.D. candidate in Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego. ¹⁰ Ishizuka and Stephens are a couple. ⁸

They have partnered with other organizations, including toymaker Hasbro, to promote critical race theory among wider audiences. ¹¹ In February 2019, Ishizuka and Stephens published a 51-page study alleging widespread racism in the writings of Dr. Seuss. ⁴ The paper resulted in the National Education Association removing Dr. Seuss from its annual Read Across America event that had been held on his birthday. ¹²

Donations

Upon setting up its Anti-Racist Children’s Books Education Fund and inviting educators to apply to receive free copies, The Conscious Kid donated such books to more than 3,000 teachers nationwide within eight hours. ¹³ In a July 2020 Instagram post, The Conscious Kid identified businesswoman Kendra Scott, children’s clothing designer Janie and Jack, French cosmetics company Clarins, snack manufacturers Pirate’s Booty and Nature’s Bakery, The Shop Forward, Nickelodeon, skincare company Rodan + Fields, and Lambda Theda Nu sorority as significant donors to its Anti-Racist Children’s Books Education Fund. ¹⁴ As of October 2021, the application to receive free books was closed.

An August 2021 donation of books by The Conscious Kid to the Northampton Area School District in Pennsylvania resulted in controversy, with several parents urging school board members to reject the donation on the basis of The Conscious Kid’s ideology. ¹⁵

A GoFundMe campaign organized by The Conscious Kid in the summer of 2020 has raised more than $1.4 million to provide rent relief to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. ¹⁶ The organization claims more than half has gone to Black families and $50,000 has gone to “the Black Trans community.” ¹⁷

Activities

The Conscious Kid has more than 2 million followers on Instagram. ¹⁸ In March 2021, the organization hosted Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, for Read Across America Day; he read a children’s book about the life of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. ¹⁹

In the summer of 2021, Katherine Ishizuka was recorded by a contractor working with Hasbro, which partnered with The Conscious Kid to deliver anti-racist training to its employees. Ishizuka claimed, among other things, that three-year-olds “use racist language intentionally.” ²⁰ The contractor was suspended from his job with Hasbro after sharing the video publicly. ²¹ The Conscious Kid issued a statement alleging a smear campaign and doubling down on its tactics. ²²