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shared by Felicia

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Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. How Is It Different From PTSD?  | AJ+ Opinion

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simple overview

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Every year 50,000 preschoolers are suspended from public preschool programs. This does not consider all of the preschool students that are suspended from private programs. These children represent the very beginning of the school-to-prison-pipeline. African-Americans boys and girls face overrepresentation in suspension and expulsion in preschool. According to Department of Education, Black students comprise 18% of the total preschool population but 47% of the preschool students that are suspended. Black girls represent 20% the preschool population but 54% of the preschool girls that are suspended. Black boys are 19% of the male preschool population but 45% preschool males that are suspended. This is consequential because suspending a student during this important developmental period creates a negative relationship with school that is more likely to last throughout the child's education. Children may no longer feel supported or understood in the classroom once they are suspended. Students that have been suspended can loss interest in class, receive lower grades due to missing instruction, and more behavioral problems. In the end students that have been suspended are also more likely to drop out of school which limits their job and career opportunities.

Suspending three and four olds from preschool presents a serious challenge for parents who must find last-minute child care or risk losing their job. Mothers also can be forced to quit or to drop out of college when their children are suspended and they have no child care options.

Some may believe that using the term school-to-prison pipeline in regards to three and four-year-olds is an overstatement. However, this is the beginning of the over-representation that African-Americans will face in the criminal justice system. There are ways to halt this pipeline. Some states and cities such as Illinois, New Jersey, California, Washington DC, and New York City have passed laws to prevent preschoolers in a publically funded program from being suspended or expelled. This is a start to rectifying inequity in schools. Providing educators implicit bias training so they understand and negate some of the biases they enter classrooms with would be helpful. Schools should also move away from zero-tolerance policies and move toward restorative practices which are more proactive. Now is the time to disrupt these disciplinary practices that have been ineffective and reimagine what is possible for our youngest students.

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Every year 50,000 preschoolers are suspended from public preschool programs. This does not consider all of the preschool students that are suspended from private programs. These children represent the very beginning of the school-to-prison-pipeline. African-Americans boys and girls face overrepresentation in suspension and expulsion in preschool.

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More Comprehensive Timeline from Yale School of Medicine

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More Comprehensive Timeline from Yale School of Medicine

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Since the first national report on preschool expulsions in 2005, much has been learned about the causes and consequences of early childhood suspensions and expulsions. Fortunately much has also been learned about effective methods to prevent them. This timeline details significant events and documents at the federal, state, and local levels, along with links to the relevant resources.

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Since the first national report on preschool expulsions in 2005, much has been learned about the causes and consequences of early childhood suspensions and expulsions. Fortunately much has also been learned about effective methods to prevent them. This timeline details significant events and documents at the federal,

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Consider taking the implicit bias test

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Preliminary Information

On the next page you'll be asked to select an Implicit Association Test (IAT) from a list of possible topics . We will also ask you (optionally) to report your attitudes or beliefs about these topics and provide some information about yourself.

We ask these questions because the IAT can be more valuable if you also describe your own self-understanding of the attitude or stereotype that the IAT measures. We would also like to compare differences between people and groups.

On the IAT, you may find it easier to pair certain attributes with one group of people compared to another. Your IAT results may depart from your personal beliefs.

Note: This site is designed for adults, aged 18 or older.

Data Privacy: Data exchanged with this site are protected by SSL encryption. Project Implicit uses the same secure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS) that banks use to securely transfer credit card information. This provides strong security for data transfer to and from our website. IP addresses are routinely recorded, but are completely confidential. For research purposes, data without directly identifying information is made publicly available. You can find more information on our Data Privacy page.

Important disclaimer: In reporting to you results of any IAT test that you take, we will mention possible interpretations that have a basis in research done (at the University of Washington, University of Virginia, Harvard University, and Yale University) with these tests. However, these Universities, as well as the individual researchers who have contributed to this site, make no claim for the validity of these suggested interpretations. If you are unprepared to encounter interpretations that you might find objectionable, please do not proceed further. You may prefer to examine general information about the IAT before deciding whether or not to proceed.

If you have questions about the study, please contact Project Implicit at questions@projectimplicit.net. To obtain more information about the study, ask questions about the research procedures, express concerns about your participation, or report illness, injury or other problems, please contact:

Tonya R. Moon, Ph.D.
Chair, Institutional Review Board for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
One Morton Dr Suite 500
University of Virginia, P.O. Box 800392
Charlottesville, VA 22908-0392
Email: irbsbshelp@virginia.edu
Website: https://research.virginia.edu/irb-sbs
Website for Research Participants: https://research.virginia.edu/research-participants

I am aware of the possibility of encountering interpretations of my IAT test performance with which I may not agree. Knowing this, I wish to proceed I am aware of the possibility of encountering interpretations of my IAT test performance with which I may not agree. Knowing this, I wish to proceed using a touchscreen OR using a keyboard.

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On the next page you'll be asked to select an Implicit Association Test (IAT) from a list of possible topics . We will also ask you (optionally) to report your attitudes or beliefs about these topics and provide some information about yourself.

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Live get together over the summer? (informal and Social Distanced of course)

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Live get together over the summer? (informal and Social Distanced of course)

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An interesting look at the correlation between dehumanization & the adultification of black children

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An interesting look at the correlation between dehumanization & the adultification of black children

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Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood

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Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood

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They view the success of black students as central to the success of their own teaching.

Editor's Note: In 1988, a teacher most commonly had 15 years of experience. In recent years, that number is closer to just three years leading a classroom. The "On Teaching" series focuses on the wisdom of veteran teachers.
Ask black students who their favorite teacher is, and they will joyfully tell you. Ask them what it is about their favorite teacher, and most will say some version of this: They know how to work with me. So much is in that statement. It means that these students want to work, that they see their teachers as partners in the learning process, and that they know the teacher-student relationship is one in which they both have power. In other words, black students know that they bring intellect to the classroom, and they know when they are seen-and not seen.

As the principal of San Francisco's Mission High School and an anti-racist educator for more than 30 years, I have witnessed countless black students thrive in classrooms where teachers see them accurately and show that they are happy to have them there. In these classes, students choose to sit in the front of the class, take careful notes, shoot their hands up in discussions, and ask unexpected questions that cause the teacher and other classmates to stop and think. Given the chance, they email, text, and call the teachers who believe in them. In short, these students are everything their families and community members have raised and supported them to be.

I have seen some of these very same students walk into another teacher's classroom, go to the last row of desks, and put their head down. I have seen them sit frozen in their seat, staring at an assignment-when earlier I had heard them make jokes, talk excitedly about the content of their history class, celebrate solving a vexing algebra equation, or shake a test tube with authority, waiting for a result. Their report cards often reveal this disparity in classroom experiences: A's and B's in classes where they feel valued and C's, D's, or even F's in classes where they don't.

When black students' academic strengths are overlooked, black students are marginalized. They are kept out of advanced courses, given bad grades, and sent to the dean's office. Over the years, the power that they initially bring to school is siphoned off by educators at every level of the educational system who do not respect, and in some cases do not wish to respect, the intellectual contributions of black students.

Anti-racist teachers take black students seriously. They create a curriculum with black students in mind, and they carefully read students' work to understand what they are expressing. This might sound fairly standard, but making black students feel valued goes beyond general "good teaching." It requires educators to view the success of black students as central to the success of their own teaching. This is a paradigm shift: Instead of only asking black students who are not doing well in class to start identifying with school, we also ask teachers whose black students are not doing well in their classes to start identifying with those students.

I spent the majority of my career in the classroom, and I loved it because-to do it well-it required that I call on all aspects of my humanity. Standing in front of my black students, I knew that it was my responsibility to invite them into the classroom and then to see, push, and protect them once they were there. Over the years, collaborating with other anti-racist educators, I co-developed an approach that was successful-and it showed in the students' attendance, grades, and quality of work.

We read articles and books, and we attend workshops centered around black pedagogy. That helps us examine cultural differences in discourse styles, so we can better understand black students' analytical approaches in essays. We learn how to integrate oral language into our curriculum, such as adding a debate unit or a poetry-recitation assignment, and to provide ample opportunities for students to work together. And we learn that nothing goes without saying and that praise and direction should be plentiful. In essence, we do what works for black students, which also works for all students.

Educators who are committed to black students use evidence in their own classrooms to find ways to improve. They analyze the assignments handed in, identifying ways in which their teaching reached-and didn't reach-all of their students. They recognize the brilliance of a black student's contribution to a class discussion and seize on it. They disaggregate data such as grades and attendance by ethnicity, look for patterns, and problematize their own practice-rather than assume that their students weren't motivated or sufficiently prepared to engage with challenging material. They ask themselves: Why did Taylor get a C on the final when he earned an A or a B on all of his other assignments, many of them equally demanding? Why is Vince silent in his group? What inspired Hile to write multiple drafts of her essay, each time asking for more detailed feedback? They seek support from colleagues who are effective teachers for all of their students, including black students, because they know that the changes they make to their teaching practice will have an impact on their students' achievement. All of this makes them better educators.

Teachers who do not value black students will shift the discussion away from their own practice when they see that black students are not succeeding in their classes. They will create bonds that eventually turn into factions with fellow educators who are also unwilling to change their approach.

To fight against systemic racism means to buck norms. Educators at every level must be willing to be uncomfortable in their struggle for black students, recognizing students' power and feeding it by honoring their many contributions to our schools. Teachers need to insist on using their own power to consistently reveal and examine their practice, and seek input from black stakeholders; they must invite black parents to the table, listen to their concerns and ideas, and act on them. Principals must clearly and consistently communicate the anti-racist vision for their school, create professional-development opportunities for staff, recognize teachers who successfully teach all of their students, and intervene when they see problems. District-level administrators must more firmly root their anti-racist messaging in black students' school experiences, making expectations for educators clear. And school-board members need to listen to educators who have shown efficacy in educating black students. They must enact policies that hold us all accountable to our black families. We must make demands of ourselves and work together in our communities.

The only measure of our anti-racist teaching will be the academic success of all of our students, including our black students.
This article is part of our project "On Teaching," which is supported by grants from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Panta Rhea Foundation.

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What Anti-racist Teachers Do Differently

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They view the success of black students as central to the success of their own teaching. Editor's Note: In 1988, a teacher most commonly had 15 years of experience. In recent years, that number is closer to just three years leading a classroom. The "On Teaching" series focuses on the wisdom of veteran teachers.

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A Conversation About Growing Up Black | Op-Docs | The New York Times

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(back ordered on Amazon.  If anyone has a NOOK, i believe they are both available there.)

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Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

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Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

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Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World

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Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World

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How Can We Win Kimberly Jones Video Full Length David Jones Media Clean Edit #BLM 2020 What Can I Do

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Painting hanging in the state capital of Alabama take a long look at it. James Marian Sims - who perfected his surgical techniques by operating Without anesthesia on enslaved black woman because he believed black women Didn't Feel Pain. he described the experimental surgeries on his enslaved subjects as "So painful, that none but a woman could have borne them. After perfecting the techniques on black enslaved woman with out anesthesia in America, Sims went on to offer the pr... ocedure in Europe to wealthy white women who were sedated. This man is arguably the most famous American surgeon of the 19th century. I see him no different than Josef Megele both pure monsters.I hope everyone who goes to the gynecologist will close their eyes for a moment and honor these enslaved black women. I cannot, Cannot fathom the pain these black women endured under this man's hands. And that painting.... who should be honored? The irony is also in their clothes. Some people, society look at people's status, respect even on how one is dressed. The one who should be honered and respected is the one who owns no shoes.
@onealmcknight thank you! #4kira4moms #momentoftruth #maternaljustice #protectblackwomen #thisisamerica #blackmamasmatter #juneteenth #sheshouldbehere #shameoncedars

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Painting hanging in the state capital of Alabama take a long look at it. James Marian Sims - who perfected his surgical techniques by operating Without anesthesia on enslaved black woman because he believed black women Didn't Feel Pain. he described the experimental surgeries on his enslaved subjects as "So painful, that none but a woman could have borne them.

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http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/oct19/vol61/num10/How-to-Be-an-Antiracist-Educator.aspx

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The ECEA believes that the histories of African Americans must be African American Histories: Curricular Resources and
Information to Build Teachers' Background Knowledge
integral to day-to-day life in early childhood classrooms and curriculum throughout the year as well as during Black History Month. This means moving beyond the token representations of a few famous African Americans to an in-depth normalization of and in many cases, a rewriting of typically-told African American histories. This begins, not with stories of enslavement, but with the rich African past which impacts every aspect of our understandings from economics to art to sciences to mathematics to literature and poetry to music and movement to economics and government. This would include the realities of colonization and enslavement. Thus, the links at this site can be deeply enriched by also exploring other ECEA social justice links: "Africa's Influence on the World's Knowledge," "Colonization and Enslavement," and "A Short List of African American Contributors to the World." The links below are offered as a beginning and are organized into: Resources to Build Teachers' Knowledge and Teaching Resources.

Africa's Influence on the World's Knowledge
The European colonization of countries around the world led to a positioning of the world's knowledge as anchored in European contributions, normalizing Whiteness as superior and leading to misrepresentations, stereotypes, degradation, and a general void of knowledge about the contributions of colonized peoples across history. Along the way, this resulted in the canon of predominantly White artists, authors, historians, scientists, mathematicians, inventors, etc. that continue to dominate curricula. Thus, learning about and incorporating the contributions of (and correcting histories typically presented about) colonized countries is essential to creating a more equitable educational process. The resources found at this link provide a beginning by focusing on the continent of Africa and its rich variety of countries, histories, and contributions. We urge educators to use these and other resources to broaden their own knowledge and then to create new curriculum in transformative ways. We hope this will provide an impetus for continuing to learn not only about the contributions of African countries but understanding missing and misrepresented histories around the world.

Anti-bias Teaching in Practice
In conjunction with the links focused on "Understanding Bias," the sites provided here are offered to support educators in considering what anti-bias teaching might look like in classrooms. Specific examples are provided from schools, classrooms, and communities.

The ECEA believes that race talk is essential among teachers, administrators, and family members to be able to explore, better understand, and act to change individual and institutional racism in schools and society. Most difficult is identifying and acknowledging those subtle spaces where racism exists often only recognized by those who are its victims. These links are provided as possibilities for engaging in race talk that has the potential for change. We invite educators to read, view, reflect, talk and then use learning to engage in the difficult work of affecting change. This document is divided into three sections: These resources are provided to support teachers in making African American history integral to classrooms every day Conversations About Race for Adults
Understanding Race and Racism; Discussing Whiteness; and Taking Steps Toward Change. Certainly there is a vast range of further resources including books and articles. We offer these sites as a beginning. in addition to a particular focus during Black History month. Recognizing that attention to famous Black Americans often comes primarily in a once-a-year focus on Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, this document provides resources to help you make African American contributions to science, mathematics, literature, music, dance, diplomacy, and so on a daily occurrence in your early childhood curricula. We share these links as jumping-off points. Clearly, this is only a beginning, an impetus as you seek further knowledge. As you scroll through this rich collection of resources, we invite you to envision ways to utilize them to transform your teaching and children's learning, ensuring that African American contributions are normalized and no longer tokenized, romanticized, misrepresented, or omitted in the day-to-day life of early childhood classrooms.

Famous African Americans: Black Genius

The links provided here were chosen to create openings for important discussions in university classrooms, school faculty meetings, and teacher study groups so that educators can examine and develop deeper understandings about how, why, and where biases exist. These are often difficult conversations but when we engage in them with respect for all voices around the table Understanding Bias, Privilege, and Profiling
and a commitment to giving credence to voices often unheard, we can begin to move forward in creating anti-bias classrooms and schools.

The ECEA believes that conversations about race and racism and teaching racial histories can and must happen with our youngest children if they are to grow into adults who will create more equitable tomorrows. We know that young children Race Talk in the Early Childhood Classroom
can and do talk about race; they are victims of racism and they absorb (learn) and reappropriate it in many aspects of their lives without realizing it. These resources provide suggestions that address the discomfort and fear felt by some when engaging in race talk with young children. The sites can help educators relax and engage honestly, thoughtfully, and directly. In support of these sites, teachers will also want to educate themselves about racial histories and issues of race. To begin that journey, we recommend several another links on this website: "Conversations about Race for Adults," and "Understanding Bias." Finally, some of the sites at this link involve race conversations and lessons with older children. We urge educators to learn from each site and consider insights that might be transferable to your work with younger audiences.

Resources in this section are provided to open or deepen conversations about race and racism within our educational systems as we consider issues that are often difficult to acknowledge and negotiate. Each site could become the basis for a study group session or grade level faculty discussion. We encourage educators to browse through the links and consider how they might be useful in supporting growth in understanding the difficult concept of institutional racism with regard to the institutions we call schools. The typically taught history of African Americans begins with enslavement and focuses heavily on romanticized and/or oversimplified depictions of "slaves" and "slavery" followed quickly by the positive results of the Civil War, post war reconstruction, and the Civil Rights movement. Understanding Racism and Educational Institutions

Colonization and Enslavement
The ECEA urges teachers to use resources provided at other links ("Africa's Influence on the World's Knowledge," "African American Histories") to transform curriculum at every grade level by starting the rich history of African and African contributions to what we have come to know as mainstream mathematics, science, art, music, dance, literature, language, etc. but rarely attributed to African and African American thought and invention. At the same time, we encourage attention to more accurate and honest versions of colonization and enslavement. Toward that end, this site offers a few initial resources in support of knowledge building for teachers and classroom teaching.

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Resources for Educators Focusing on Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching

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The ECEA believes that the histories of African Americans must be African American Histories: Curricular Resources and Information to Build Teachers' Background Knowledge integral to day-to-day life in early childhood classrooms and curriculum throughout the year as well as during Black History Month.

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"The false premise of colorblindness is often deployed to obscure the discomfort White people have with confronting ongoing and historical racial oppression and injustice (Harvey 2017)."

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At the beginning of the year in Ms. Verwayne's kindergarten class, the children are working on an All About Me project. They begin by drawing pictures of themselves based on observations of their reflections in a mirror. Next, the teacher provides them with sentence starters asking them to describe their hair color and texture, their skin color, and their eye color. In this racially and ethnically diverse class, the children learn a variety of vocabulary words they can use to describe these differences.

On the playground after school, some of the parents chat about the project. One White mom, Ellie, tells the other parents that the project made her feel a little uncomfortable. She explains, "Since this is the beginning of the year, shouldn't the kids be doing things that help them see what they have in common, rather than emphasizing their differences?"

Many parents and teachers of young children share Ellie's concern that children should be shielded from learning explicitly about race and racial differences. Adults often worry that introducing these topics too early could be harmful (Husband 2010). Early childhood educators who wish to make space for learning about race and racism in their classrooms may feel unprepared to approach these complex issues (Vittrup 2016). Shaped by their own experiences with issues of race and racism, parents and teachers may hold differing views regarding the appropriateness of teaching about this topic in the early childhood classroom.

Research demonstrates that children's awareness of racial differences and the impact of racism begins quite early (Tatum 2003; Winkler 2009). Multiple studies document the ways that young children take notice of racial differences and note that as early as preschool, children may begin excluding their peers of different races from play and other activities (Winkler 2009). Many argue that creating safe spaces for children to explore these topics is more important than ever, given the current political and cultural climate, where these issues are highly visible (Pitts 2016; Harvey 2017; Poon 2017). As such, parents and teachers have an obligation to teach and learn with children about these critical and complex issues (Delpit 2012; Derman-Sparks, LeeKeenan, & Nimmo 2015; Ramsey 2015). This article documents how one kindergarten teacher, Diandra Verwayne (the second author), worked with the parents in her classroom to grow together in their understandings of the role we all must play in talking with young children about race and racism. Additionally, this piece offers curricular and pedagogical resources for adults who are committed to engaging with young children in this crucial work.

Learning about race and unlearning racism

In her seminal research and writing on this topic, Beverly Daniel Tatum (a former psychology professor and president of Spelman College) has written extensively about the ways in which the unjust structure of racial hierarchy in American society is normalized and transmitted to children from birth (Tatum 2003). In discussing how messages about race-based privilege and oppression are internalized, Tatum provides a powerful metaphor. She explains that in the same way residents who live in highly polluted areas cannot avoid becoming "smog breathers," Americans who are immersed in the structures and practices of white supremacy unwittingly become "racism breathers" (6). Many of us may not realize the degree to which these toxic beliefs shape our perceptions and experiences of the world. Unless we have opportunities to unlearn racism, these messages become absorbed and have consequences.

Schools, in collaboration with families, have an important role to play in fostering young children's positive racial identities.

More recently scholars have documented the negative impact that being subjected to racism has on young children's academic success, as Lisa Delpit (2012) conveys in her aptly titled book chapter, "There Is No Achievement Gap at Birth." These consequences vary depending on our levels of privilege and oppression, which intersect across our diverse identities. Early childhood educators can support the unlearning of racism-and minimize later breathing in of racism-by intentionally teaching about race and related issues. Schools, in collaboration with families, have an important role to play in fostering young children's positive racial identities. Teachers who intentionally plan curricula that affirm children's racial identities have seen the benefits this produces in supporting children's growth and learning across many domains of development (Ladson-Billings 2009; Wright, Counsell, & Tate 2015).

There is often confusion about the difference between racially based bias and racism. Racism is a system of oppression that results from a combination of prejudice and power. This combination produces institutional structures and social practices that deny equity to people based on race. There is a common misconception that biases or prejudices that some people of color hold against White people constitutes "reverse racism." Anyone can hold a bias against people of another race, but only some races are subject to oppressive structures and practices as a result of that bias. To illustrate, consider a comparison to sexism. Some women are biased against men, but this is not "reverse sexism"; only men's biases against women have produced the conditions in which women are subjected to far more sexual harassment and sexual violence than men (Breiding et al. 2014). Similarly, racism has created structures and practices that deny equity and justice to people of color, including, for example, great disparities by race in family wealth. One of the most reliable ways to accumulate and pass on family wealth is through home ownership. Until recently, many Black Americans-including those with high incomes-were unable to buy houses because of redlining, a practice by which banks refused to offer mortgages in predominately Black neighborhoods. This is a key factor explaining why median wealth for White families in the US is about $134,000, while the median wealth for Black families is about $11,000 (Jones 2017). This disparity in family wealth accumulated over several generations and will likely take several more generations to address; meanwhile, it continues to have broad implications for access to opportunity, such as parents' ability to pay their children's college tuition.

For all children to understand that the effects of racism are not the fault of people of color, we need to address these issues early in children's lives. We begin by fostering the positive development of every child's racial identity. This work must be paired with opportunities for young children to learn where and how injustice and inequality operate in our society. When children are armed with this knowledge and these skills, they can begin to disrupt these systems and work toward building a more equitable society for all of us.

Lessons Learned

When planning to implement a curriculum that addresses issues of race and racism, consider the following:

Identify colleagues who are also committed to a racial justice curriculum and work together. Alternatively, seek out communities online to support your teaching practice. Remember, you're not alone!

Anticipate the kinds of concerns or misconceptions that children and families might have, and prepare in advance some strategies for responding.

Recall experiences that have expanded your own thinking about these issues, and consider sharing the story of how your perspective has grown and changed.

Make yourself available, either in person or over the phone, to communicate with families about their perspectives on the curriculum. Email communication can often amplify disagreements, so try to keep communication face to face, if possible.

Model a stance of respectful openness. Even if you disagree, strive to set a tone that maximizes the possibilities for considering different viewpoints.

Recognize that we-children, families, and colleagues- are all on a journey of growth with respect to these issues. Draw upon the ways that you scaffold children's learning in other areas and apply these skills when supporting others' growth.

One teacher's work

Ms. Verwayne teaches kindergarten at a racially and economically diverse public school. Born in Guyana, she moved to the United States at the age of 6 and recalls that when she entered school, she was made to feel like an outsider because of cultural differences. She reported, "When I was in elementary school, I felt like I had to hide my culture so that I could be accepted by the masses. I don't want that to happen within my classroom. I want my kids to be able to recognize who they are." Ms. Verwayne is committed to affirming children's racial and cultural identities throughout the year.

In her planned curriculum, Ms. Verwayne begins by offering learning experiences that allow children to observe and celebrate their unique identities. She also acknowledges the need for teachers to reflect on potential questions and concerns in order to prepare (as much as possible) for unplanned teachable moments. While she knows that some adults may resist addressing topics like identity, race, and racism with young children, she remains committed to the idea that these issues are an essential part of the early childhood curriculum. Musing about this tension, she shared the questions she asks herself as she designs curriculum:

If I do talk about race, will it offend anyone? How do you talk about it in a way that doesn't offend people? . . . I think a lot of teachers will just choose not to address it because if you don't address it, you're not offending anybody. . . . I think this is the problem that we have in our country. . . . We never have an honest, open discussion about race ever.

Considering the current climate in America, where racism and racially motivated violence are visible to adults and children, Ms. Verwayne feels the stakes are too high to ignore this topic in her classroom.

Responding to parents' anxiety

Because Ms. Verwayne is committed to openly and collaboratively addressing these topics, she believes it is important to discuss families' concerns. For this article, two parents whose children were enrolled in Ms. Verwayne's kindergarten classroom were interviewed by Kirsten Cole (the first author) about the curriculum. Fabiola is a Haitian American mother of two. Ellie is a White mother of two. Both mothers' first-born children were in Ms. Verwayne's class.

After moving to the United States at the beginning of kindergarten, Fabiola was frequently the target of racial epithets and other acts of racism. Fabiola described the painful consequences of having internalized these oppressive messages, in large part because as a child she did not have the opportunity to process these experiences with her parents or teachers. As a parent, Fabiola has prioritized giving her children many opportunities to celebrate their racial identity and making space for their questions about race and racism. Nonetheless, Fabiola recognizes the potential for some families, particularly White parents, to feel uncomfortable with such a curriculum. She explained,

I think the teachers have to be prepared to deal with the parents and manage the anxiety of the parents. Because I think instructionally and educationally teachers know that it's important. . . . I strongly believe that the kids can tolerate it. It's the parents that are the hardest to convince.

Given the tendency of some adults to avoid these topics, Fabiola was pleased to discover that Ms. Verwayne made learning about race an integral part of the curriculum.

Ellie, in contrast, expressed some initial resistance to having her daughter participate in open discussions of racial differences. Ellie grew up in the Midwest in mostly racially homogenous environments. As is the experience for many White children, Ellie recalled that race was never discussed. Echoing the "colorblind" view that many White families espouse, Ellie recounted, "I don't think I thought about it much. I always thought, 'Everybody's wonderful. Everybody's the same.'" When her daughter began to attend public school, Ellie and some of the other White parents discussed their concerns about Ms. Verwayne's curriculum. Ellie recalled,

In kindergarten they did a worksheet for social studies about identity. The worksheet asked them to note their physical traits: eye color, skin color, hair color, hair texture, things like that. That was the first time anything like this had come up. I was thinking, "What is this? This is ridiculous. There's no reason that 5-year-olds should be doing this sort of exercise. This is futile. Why should my kid be having to say that she's White?"

In recalling how she felt at the time of this incident, Ellie articulated a stance many White people are raised to adopt: claiming to not see color is the most equitable way to approach teaching and learning about race.

Especially in recent years, many scholars have questioned the presumed benefits of the colorblind approach (Pollock 2005; Husband 2012). As society is not equitable and racial bias does exist, the colorblind approach denies children the validity of their experiences of the world. Because the impact of racial bias is visible, not allowing children to process this injustice is confusing, and it denies them the opportunity to see themselves as agents of change to resist injustice. Colorblindness fails to acknowledge the impact of racism on all people and, further, does not push White people to do the important work of reckoning with the legacy of white supremacy in our lives (Derman-Sparks, Ramsey, & Edwards 2006; DiAngelo 2012).

Ms. Verwayne has a practice of encouraging families to meet with her during weekly parent engagement time. At one such meeting, she asked if anyone had any questions about the curriculum. Ellie responded, "Actually, there was a worksheet that came home, and I don't think this is a useful thing. I think it's really hurtful, because it makes them identify things they haven't even realized about each other." Ms. Verwayne recalled being surprised by Ellie's reaction to the assignment, but she was grateful to have the opportunity to open a dialogue about their different views. She explained, "I needed to understand where that parent was coming from, and that parent needed to understand where I was coming from." For her part, Ellie had the opportunity to hear both Ms. Verwayne's intentions and also other parents' perspectives on the curriculum. Ellie recalled,

Fabiola responded, "Well, as a Black woman, we take a lot of pride in who we are and we want to talk about it a lot." As soon as she said that I realized, "Oh, of course. You're proud of your race. And I am not."

Ellie's reflection on this experience revealed another tension the colorblind view often masks. In naming the root of her discomfort, Ellie illuminated one of many challenges teachers face when doing this work in schools. The false premise of colorblindness is often deployed to obscure the discomfort White people have with confronting ongoing and historical racial oppression and injustice (Harvey 2017). As Fabiola noted in a later interview, "I think it's really detrimental to tell children they don't see what they're seeing and they're not feeling what they just felt-that they can't trust their eyes and they can't trust their gut."

While Ellie had entered the conversation seeking to maintain the colorblind view, she suddenly realized that not speaking about race with children does not protect them. Having had the opportunity to see the issue from another perspective, Ellie reported being transformed. Reflecting on this incident in a later interview, she recalled,

It was just totally eye-opening. It upended me. Ever since then I just thought, there are so many parents of both Black and White kids and kids of every race that need to have those conversations about these differences, and that the differences are good. I realized that it has to be talked about.

This transformation-this "upending"-would not have been possible had Ms. Verwayne not opened this potentially challenging dialogue with families.

Particularly in early childhood, it is essential to build trusting and respectful relationships with families. Not all families will be receptive to a curriculum that addresses these issues, nor will all families be as open to being transformed in their thinking, as Ellie was. Ellie remarked, "What I really appreciate about Ms. Verwayne is her openness and respect for different viewpoints. Whenever I have had a concern, she has always been willing to talk and listen to my position with great interest and care." For early childhood teachers seeking to do the critical work of teaching about race and racism, it is important to be prepared to address parents' myriad responses, including being ready and willing to create space for conversations many of us have been taught to avoid. While some families may never be open to a new way of thinking, teachers who model this openness will set the tone for approaching disagreements respectfully. As Fabiola noted, the hesitation that many White parents have stems from adults' issues rather than any difficulty children may have in exploring the topic (DiAngelo 2012). She mused,

It's not a scary thing. It may be uncomfortable, but it's a good thing to be having this conversation at this stage. And it was fine. We pass on these anxieties to our kids. The more anxious we are in talking about it, the more anxious they feel. They think that there's something wrong with what they're saying.

It may be surprising that children are ready for us to facilitate these learning opportunities. As parents and teachers, it is critical that we make ourselves ready for planned and unplanned opportunities to learn about race and racism.

Following children's leads

As with the curriculum that sparked the previous discussions, teaching and learning about race should begin with children's observations. Children notice differences and need to feel safe and supported in asking questions about what they notice. Fabiola explained that her daughter's learning about race "has been very child directed. . . . If she asks a question, more times than not it's just an observation of something. So I acknowledge the fact that she's absolutely right. She's noticing differences." Ms. Verwayne concurred; she likes to follow children's leads and design projects, activities, and read-alouds that emerge from their questions and concerns. She emphasized that children's innate sense of justice and fairness creates opportunities for them to wrestle with these questions. She explained, "Their questions mean that they're seeking an answer about this topic. And they have a lot of curiosity and wondering, and they need a way to figure out that answer." As with other inquiry-based learning experiences, a curriculum that emerges from the children's process of making sense of the world often yields the most engaging opportunities for learning.

While some of children's observations and questions about racial differences may be straightforward, at times children echo harmful biases they have heard elsewhere. Ms. Verwayne recalled an afternoon when her class returned from lunch in a state of distress. One of her students, an African American girl, had told another child, "I don't like White people." At the time, the nightly news was full of reporting about police brutality against African Americans, so Ms. Verwayne suspected that the child was repeating something she had overheard an adult say. Though math was on the schedule for the afternoon, Ms. Verwayne asked the children to join her in a circle on the rug. Drawing upon strategies she had learned in Responsive Classroom workshops, she reminded the children of their classroom norms that create space for each child's voice. She reminded the children to use accountable talk grounded in their experiences and to listen to each other with care. As they shared their feelings about what had happened at lunch, Ms. Verwayne prompted them to reflect on the sense of community and friendship they had cultivated together in class. They concluded that, while some people of any race may "not always be nice," we cannot draw conclusions about a whole race based on the actions of individuals.

Planning for learning through children's literature

For parents and teachers wishing to open a dialogue about racial identity and racism, children's literature provides an excellent starting point. Well-written children's literature allows children to identify with and develop empathy for characters, particularly those that may be different from themselves. Stocking the classroom library with children's books that represent a diversity of experiences is essential. Providing books that allow children to see themselves in the pages offers the kind of high-interest materials that support children's early literacy (Klefstad & Martinez 2013). Especially when children are beginning to do the challenging work of learning to read, it is important for them to be able to select books that allow them to feel a connection to the content. If children do not see their lives and interests reflected in the books in your library, they may feel that reading is not for them.

Stocking Your Library with Equitable and Inclusive Children's Titles

For teachers seeking to foster an appreciation of difference and empathy, it is especially important to have a classroom library that represents a range of characters and experiences. Great children's books allow us to get inside the protagonists' experiences. Fortunately, excellent resources exist to guide teachers and families in creating such libraries (see "Stocking Your Library with Equitable and Inclusive Children's Titles" above). The classroom library can offer a child-friendly opening to learn about important histories and to celebrate the accomplishments of seminal figures in the fight for racial equality. However, be sure to provide a balance and to also include books that represent diverse characters engaged in ordinary, everyday experiences.

Once you develop a classroom library that addresses issues of race and racism from many perspectives, prepare yourself to respond to children's questions as they arise. Ms. Verwayne recalled that when reading about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., her children wanted to know more. When the book addressed the topic of segregation, they asked, "But why would people do that?!?" Ms. Verwayne was glad that she had anticipated these questions and was able to provide context by talking about Jim Crow and how it institutionalized racial bias and made it the law of the land.

Developing strategies for responding to teachable moments

In addition to planning a curriculum that addresses issues of race and racism, Ms. Verwayne described how she often needed to think on her feet in responding to children's natural curiosity about race and difference. Many teachers may have a desire to address these topics but feel unprepared to respond when the issues arise in their classrooms. Teachers need resources and support to develop the tools to do this work skillfully and thoughtfully. Ms. Verwayne argued that this includes trusting teachers to think on their feet and to ground their responses in the deep knowledge they have of their classroom communities. She noted,

Some people definitely do not want to discuss issues of race and difference at all. They think it's best to sweep it under the rug and just act like it doesn't exist. That's the safest space to be in. But is it the right space to be in, knowing the times that we're in? I think we need to give teachers the leeway to be unconventional and try different ways to address this.

In an era when many educational reforms have argued for standardization and "teacher proofing" the curriculum, the work of responding to complex issues requires that we give teachers the training and time to reflect on and discuss them, and also trust teachers to write their own script when teachable moments arise.

As described earlier, Ms. Verwayne uses protocols and practices offered by the Responsive Classroom to facilitate a complex conversation about racial bias. By developing these routines, Ms. Verwayne asks the children to join her in taking ownership of creating the kind of classroom in which they all feel included. These pedagogical strategies are supported by the content of her social studies curriculum, which explores the meaning of community.

A number of organizations have created forums for the exchange of social justice curriculum ideas (see "Preparing for and Responding to Teachable Moments" below). Responding to teachable moments is never one size fits all; but resources that provide candid and thoughtful sharing of teacher knowledge can provide teachers with models of practices and strategies. Even pedagogical models that do not explicitly address race and racism, such as the practices offered by the Responsive Classroom, can be adapted to create a framework for talking about race in the classroom. Whatever the approach, we must acknowledge the need to offer these kinds of curricular and pedagogical strategies to teachers throughout their professional development experiences.

Preparing for and Responding to Teachable Moments

Committing to teaching for equity and justice

This article, along with the suggested resources, provides a starting point for teachers and families seeking to do the important work of supporting young children's learning and understanding about race and racism. As Ms. Verwayne's experiences illustrate, this work is both challenging and essential. Concluding her reflections on her own experiences with Ms. Verwayne's kindergarten, Ellie emphasized, "In a school where you don't have the kind of diversity we have, it might be even more important." As we prepare young children to be members of the human family, we must offer them opportunities to celebrate all aspects of their identities and to resist bias and oppression. In the field of early childhood education, we spend much of our time and energy nurturing children's capacity for kindness and respect. Helping children see the role they have to play in fostering equality and inclusion through racial justice is a critical piece of this project.

References

Breiding, M.J., S.G. Smith, K.C. Basile, M.L. Walters, J. Chen, & M.T. Merrick. 2014. "Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence, Stalking, and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization-National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Surveillance Summaries 63 (8): 1-18. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6308a1.htm.

Delpit, L. 2012. "Multiplication Is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People's Children. New York: The New Press.

Derman-Sparks, L., D. LeeKeenan, & J. Nimmo. 2015. Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change. New York: Teachers College Press; Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Derman-Sparks, L., P.G. Ramsey, & J.O. Edwards. 2006. What If All the Kids Are White? Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families. New York: Teachers College Press.

DiAngelo, R. 2012. "What Makes Racism So Hard for Whites to See?" Chap. 10 in What Does It Mean to Be White? Developing White Racial Literacy, 167-89. New York: Peter Lang.

Harvey, J. 2017. "Are We Raising Racists?" Opinion, New York Times, March 14. www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/opinion/are-we-raising-racists.html.

Husband, T. 2010. "He's Too Young to Learn About That Stuff: Anti-Racist Pedagogy and Early Childhood Social Studies." Social Studies Research and Practice 5(2): 61-75.

Husband, T. 2012. "'I Don't See Color': Challenging Assumptions about Discussing Race with Young Children." Early Childhood Education Journal 39 (6): 365-71.

Jones, J. "The Racial Wealth Gap: How African-Americans Have Been Shortchanged Out of the Materials to Build Wealth." Working Economics Blog, Economic Policy Institute, February 13, 2017. www.epi.org/blog/the-racial-wealth-gap-how-african-americans-have-been-s....

Klefstad, J.M., & K.C. Martinez. 2013. "Promoting Young Children's Cultural Awareness and Appreciation Through Multicultural Books." Young Children 68 (5): 74-81.

Ladson-Billings, G. 2009. The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pitts, J. 2016. "Don't Say Nothing." Teaching Tolerance,no. 54. www.tolerance.org/magazine/tt54-fall-2016/feature/dont-say-nothing.

Pollock, M. 2005. Colormute: Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Poon, O. 2017. "Our Schools Need to Teach a Fourth 'R': Racial Literacy." Rewire. https://rewire.news/article/2017/03/01/schools-need-teach-fourth-r-racial-literacy/.

Ramsey, P.G. 2015. Teaching and Learning in a Diverse World: Multicultural Education for Young Children. 4th ed. New York: Teachers College Press.

Tatum, B.D. 2003. "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race. Rev. ed. New York: Basic Books.

Vittrup, B. 2016. "Early Childhood Teachers' Approaches to Multicultural Education and Perceived Barriers to Disseminating Anti-Bias Messages." Multicultural Education 23 (3-4): 37-41.

Winkler, E.N. 2009. "Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race." PACE: Practical Approaches for Continuing Education 3 (3): 1-8.

Wright, B.L., S.L. Counsell, & S.L. Tate. 2015. "'We're Many Members, but One Body': Fostering a Healthy Self-Identity and Agency in African American Boys." Young Children 70(3): 24-31.

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Becoming Upended: Teaching and Learning about Race and Racism with Young Children and Their Families

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This article, along with the suggested resources, provides a starting point for teachers and families seeking to do the important work of supporting young children's learning and understanding about race and racism.

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Blue eye/brown eye experiment by: Jean Elliot

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Blue eye/brown eye experiment by: Jean Elliot

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Two Important Psychological Experiments: The Blue Eye/Brown Eye and Stanford Prison

The Blue Eye/Brown Eye was an experiment performed by Jane Elliot in 1968 on the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Its goal was to demonstrate what prejudice was to her third grade class. The basic idea was to separate the class into two halves, students with blue eyes and those with brown.

Elliot told her students that children with blue eyes were inherently inferior to the children with brown eyes. As a result, they were denied access to play equipment. Children with blue eyes were told they were stupid, and they were not allowed to socialize with members of the 'superior group'. The next day the roles were reversed, with the blue-eyed children were told that they were actually the superior in every way to students with brown eyes.

The idea behind the experiment was to show the children first hand what prejudice was like. The experiment was a success. On days when students were part of the so-called inferior group, they had lower test scores, showed less enthusiasm, and displayed more hostility towards activities in the classroom. This particular experiment has since been repeated with similar, dramatic results elsewhere. The design of the experiment has raised serious ethical questions surrounding the idea of "informed consent." Critics suggest that Jane Elliott was not qualified to perform this type of experiment and that she did not consider the long-term consequences of this study on her students. The design of the experiment was such that her young students' questioned their own value in society.

The implication about human behavior relating to this particular experiment involves the idea that being racist is a choice that people make. Individuals can choose to be racists, or they can choose to reject the idea that racism is an innate and unchangeable aspect of human behavior (Lesson of a lifetime: her bold experiment to teach Iowa third graders about racial prejudice divided towns...

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I first heard this concept in this article. "Throughout the United States, Black boys tend to be viewed as troublemakers from a very young age. Adults often see Black boys as older and less innocent than their White peers (a practice called adultification), and their play is perceived as more dangerous, violent, and not developmentally appropriate. According to a 2016 report from the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Black children make up only 19% of preschool enrollment, but they represent 47% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. In comparison, White children represent 41% of preschool enrollment but only 28% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. Many of these suspensions are the result of zero-tolerance policies, where even minor “misbehavior,” like Hakeem’s, triggers automatic penalties that include suspension and expulsion."

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This is the first of two articles discussing ways teachers can make their classrooms more welcoming and supportive learning spaces for Black boys.

Hakeem, a 4-year-old Black boy, is enrolled at a preschool where most of the staff is White. His parents are proud of their bright-eyed, sweet-tempered, and playful boy. The head of the center, however, finds Hakeem to be "overly aggressive" in the dramatic play and block areas of the classroom.

During the first parent-teacher conference of the year, the lead teacher (a White woman with five years of experience) characterizes Hakeem's social and emotional development as "below average" and his intellectual potential as "average at best." Hakeem's parents are confused: could the teacher be thinking of a different child? Had she really observed Hakeem acting out? What made her think that he was not very bright?

Before the lead teacher responds, the assistant teacher (a Hispanic woman in her first year as an educator) chimes in, sharing an example of Hakeem enthusiastically joining a child who was building a fortress in the block area. When Hakeem accidentally knocked part of it over, he quickly said he was sorry and offered to fix it. "So," says the assistant teacher, "sometimes I think maybe we don't give Hakeem a chance or don't really notice when he does nice things." The assistant teacher folds her arms as she speaks and looks at the ground, appearing nervous about how the lead teacher will react. But her brief comment succeeds in shifting the conversation.

Soon, Hakeem's parents and teachers agree that Hakeem needs more opportunities to play outdoors because he is so energetic. As they talk, the lead teacher admits that his behavior is fairly typical for a child who is in a program for the first time-a key detail she says she had overlooked in her first few weeks working with Hakeem.

Like many other Black families, Hakeem and his parents felt confident enough to question the lead teacher, and the assistant teacher was courageous enough to offer a contrasting opinion. But it's not hard to imagine this situation going another way if the lead teacher had continued to focus on her frustrations with Hakeem's high-energy play rather than acknowledging his enthusiasm and willingness to work with his classmates- leading to a very different outcome for Hakeem.

Black boys, school discipline, and adults' choices

Throughout the United States, Black boys tend to be viewed as troublemakers from a very young age. Adults often see Black boys as older and less innocent than their White peers (a practice called adultification), and their play is perceived as more dangerous, violent, and not developmentally appropriate. According to a 2016 report from the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, Black children make up only 19% of preschool enrollment, but they represent 47% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. In comparison, White children represent 41% of preschool enrollment but only 28% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. Many of these suspensions are the result of zero-tolerance policies, where even minor "misbehavior," like Hakeem's, triggers automatic penalties that include suspension and expulsion.

Racial disparities in suspension can and do dampen Black boys' enthusiasm toward school-they often get the message that school is a place where they are watched, not welcomed. This in turn makes them less likely to be actively involved in acquiring academic knowledge and skills, socializing with other children, and interacting with teachers. As a result, far too many Black boys are denied genuine opportunities to achieve at high levels because of an unwelcoming classroom climate that contributes to inequity and negative assumptions based on race and gender.

In contrast, culturally competent teachers are aware of the ways Black boys are disproportionately and inappropriately punished in and outside of school. In addition to making sure this wrong is not perpetuated in their classrooms, they seek ways to foster Black boys' developing senses of identity, agency, and voice.

How can teachers learn to identify and address their own biases and increase their cultural competence? How can they best support Black boys' social, emotional, physical, psychological, and intellectual development?

Moving from deficits to strengths

Use these questions to prompt your own critical self-reflection as you work to recognize unconscious biases and eliminate them from your classroom.

Reflect on your perceptions of the children in your class. How might they be affected by the tendency of many adults to view Black boys as older than their actual age and more dangerous than their peers? Ask yourself, "Am I holding the Black boys in my class to different standards of behavior than other children and, if so, how?"

Notice the language you use when talking about Black boys. How often are you using terms like "aggressive," "unteachable," "hyperactive," or "out of control"? How does your language shift when you talk about other children?

Consider how often you focus on what children lack rather than what they bring to the classroom. When reflecting on classroom successes and challenges, try flipping your questions. For example, instead of Hakeem's teacher asking herself, "Why won't that boy behave?," she could have wondered, "What can I do to help turn Hakeem's energy into a leadership opportunity? Would he enjoy leading the class in a game of Simon Says?"​

Pay attention to the activities and materials that most engage the Black boys in your class, and how the children show that engagement. How can you help to nurture these interests and support Black boys' growth (while keeping in mind that not all Black boys will share the same interest in those activities or materials)?

Learn about the larger structural challenges Black boys face, including the systemic racism that affects family income and wealth, access to resources, representations of African Americans in the media, and the likelihood of involvement in the criminal justice system (which is often summed up as the school-to-prison pipeline). Ask yourself, "What obstacles do Black boys face that I haven't acknowledged? How do Black boys reveal their creativity, resilience, resourcefulness, and brilliance in overcoming these challenges?"

When teachers look for Black boys' strengths and reflect on classroom exchanges to try to identify misunderstandings (especially cultural differences), they are more likely to reject stereotypes, build meaningful relationships, and offer the warmth, support, and enrichment that high-quality preschool promises to all children. To ensure that Black boys reach their full potential, it is imperative that teachers proactively take a culturally competent, strengths-based approach. By this, I mean that teaching and learning need to be responsive to the diverse identities of Black boys, including their different languages, literacies, interactional styles, and cultural practices. This cultural responsiveness will help teachers to recognize and engage the positive identity development of Black boys, and to encourage Black boys to use their authentic voices toward agency as full and respected community members.

From reflection to action

A few weeks after their initial meeting, the lead teacher reaches out to Hakeem's parents again. She has been reflecting on her assumptions, biases, and practices, and realizes that she has a long way to go to become the culturally competent teacher she wants to be.

During the meeting, his teacher shares that she is starting to understand Hakeem's behavior from his parents' perspective. Most days, he is more easily excitable, energetic, and verbally expressive than the other children. But now that she is looking for Hakeem's strengths, the lead teacher also sees that he is more engaged, enthusiastic, and encouraging toward his classmates than the other children.

Hakeem's parents appreciate that the lead teacher is trying to learn and grow. They spend a while discussing his interests. The lead teacher is surprised to hear of Hakeem's fascination with modern dance. His parents say it started with the family going to see a live performance and later enrolling Hakeem in classes at a community dance studio. Since Hakeem's time in dance, he has taught his family modern dance techniques. His interest in modern dance has continued through his parents reading a dozen books to him from their local library about modern dance and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. His teacher, who grew up taking dance classes, leaves the meeting brimming with ideas for projects Hakeem might want to pursue to learn more about modern dance.

Reflecting on the meeting, the lead teacher comes to another important realization: her surprise at Hakeem's curiosity about modern dance was a sign of an assumption about what boys in general are "supposed" to be interested in, and Black boys in particular. Taking her next step toward cultural competence, Hakeem's teacher realizes that she needs to avoid a "one size fits all" perspective based on stereotypes about Black boys, their interests, and the ways they learn and interact with others.

When teachers spend time reflecting on themselves and their practices and then turn those observations into concrete change in the classroom, they enable Black boys to bring their own experiences, ideas, and practices into the learning space as important and enriching contributions.

In the April/May 2019 issue of TYC, I will provide suggestions for activities and practices that can help Black boys feel like valued members of the classroom community (rather than troublemakers) and that create space for Black boys to thrive.

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Black Boys Matter: Cultivating Their Identity, Agency, and Voice

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This is the first of two articles discussing ways teachers can make their classrooms more welcoming and supportive learning spaces for Black boys. Hakeem, a 4-year-old Black boy, is enrolled at a preschool where most of the staff is White. His parents are proud of their bright-eyed, sweet-tempered, and playful boy.

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An interesting look at the correlation between dehumanization & the adultification of black children

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An interesting look at the correlation between dehumanization & the adultification of black children

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"It’s not just the subconscious comfort of seeing a world that serves you as normal. It’s also the power to remain silent in the face of racial inequity. It’s the power to weigh the need for protest or confrontation against the discomfort or inconvenience of speaking up. It’s getting to choose when and where you want to take a stand. It’s knowing that you and your humanity are safe.

And what a privilege that is."

This resonated with me, especially because what prompted me to start these conversations with teachers. I was getting overwhelmed with what I saw in the news and social media and decided to "take a break" from it... prompting me to think about the people who can't take a break from it because they live with it daily.

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Recognizing white privilege begins with truly understanding the term itself.

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Diversity and Antibias Resources Drive Folder (K. Deak)

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Diversity and Antibias Resources Drive Folder (K. Deak)

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my collection, most articles focus on early childhood

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This was done with college students

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Here's a great podcast I (Felicia). listen to all the time, very interesting and thought-provoking topics

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What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race with empathy and humor. We explore how race affects every part of society - from politics and pop culture to history, food and everything in between. This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation - because we're all part of the story. Code Switch was named Apple Podcasts' first-ever Show of the Year in 2020.

What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race with empathy and humor. We explore how race affects every part of society - from politics and pop culture to history, food and everything in between. This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation - because we're all part of the story. Code Switch was named Apple Podcasts' first-ever Show of the Year in 2020.

A podcast that will make you a better person

I find this highly entertaining and highly informative. I appreciate y'all's style and production and have learned a lot I will carry with me. Also great book recommendations!

Learning a lot

Super informative. Down to earth conversations and really hits home on many issues. Look forward to a new episode all the time

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‎What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race with empathy and humor. We explore how race affects every part of society - from politics and pop culture to history, food and everythi...

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Now for the rest of the story. (repost - writer unknown)

“In 1866, one year after the 13 Amendment was ratified (the amendment that ended slavery), Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina began to lease out convicts for labor (peonage). This made the business of arresting Blacks very lucrative, which is why hundreds of White men were hired by these states as police officers. Their primary responsibility was to search out and arrest Blacks who were in violation of Black Codes. Once arrested, these men, women and children would be leased to plantations where they would harvest cotton, tobacco, sugar cane. Or they would be leased to work at coal mines, or railroad companies. The owners of these businesses would pay the state for every prisoner who worked for them; prison labor.

It is believed that after the passing of the 13th Amendment, more than 800,000 Blacks were part of the system of peonage, or re-enslavement through the prison system. Peonage didn’t end until after World War II began, around 1940.

This is how it happened.

The 13th Amendment declared that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." (Ratified in 1865)

Did you catch that? It says, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude could occur except as a punishment for a crime.” Lawmakers used this phrase to make petty offenses crimes. When Blacks were found guilty of committing these crimes, they were imprisoned and then leased out to the same businesses that lost slaves after the passing of the 13th Amendment. This system of convict labor is called peonage.

The majority of White Southern farmers and business owners hated the 13th Amendment because it took away slave labor. As a way to appease them, the federal government turned a blind eye when southern states used this clause in the 13th Amendment to establish laws called Black Codes.

Here are some examples of Black Codes:
In Louisiana, it was illegal for a Black man to preach to Black congregations without special permission in writing from the president of the police. If caught, he could be arrested and fined. If he could not pay the fines, which were unbelievably high, he would be forced to work for an individual, or go to jail or prison where he would work until his debt was paid off. If a Black person did not have a job, he or she could be arrested and imprisoned on the charge of vagrancy or loitering.

This next Black Code will make you cringe. In South Carolina, if the parent of a Black child was considered vagrant, the judicial system allowed the police and/or other government agencies to “apprentice” the child to an "employer". Males could be held until the age of 21, and females could be held until they were 18. Their owner had the legal right to inflict punishment on the child for disobedience, and to recapture them if they ran away.

This (peonage) is an example of systemic racism - Racism established and perpetuated by government systems. Slavery was made legal by the U.S. Government. Segregation, Black Codes, Jim Crow and peonage were all made legal by the government, and upheld by the judicial system. These acts of racism were built into the system, which is where the term “Systemic Racism” is derived.

This is the part of "Black History" that most of us were unaware of.

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In addition to the historical context, this story really struck a chord because it shows how things have not changed much. I was shocked to hear an officer who killed an unarmed black man openly say the following:
"In 2017, Officer Shelby spoke with Bill Whitaker on "60 Minutes": "If I wait to find out if he had a gun or not, I could very well be dead," she said. "There's something that we always say: 'I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by six.'"
The officer was found not guilty of manslaughter.

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For generations, Tulsa, Oklahoma had a secret.

Mechelle Brown, program coordinator at the city's Greenwood Cultural Center, recalled, "My mother cared for an elderly white man, who on his death bed rambled on about the smoke and the fires and the shooting and the killing."

Brown's mother tried to learn more. "She went to her in-laws and said, 'What is he talking about? What happened in Tulsa?' And they said, 'Look, we don't talk about that around here. And don't go asking anybody about it.'"

The secret was passed on from generation to generation. "We never discussed Black Wall Street or the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre," Brown told New Yorker staff writer Kelefa Sanneh.

The Tulsa Race Massacre happened 99 years ago, when white Tulsans descended on the city's thriving black district, known as Black Wall Street. White rioters killed hundreds of black residents, and burned the neighborhood to the ground.

It was sparked by an accusation that a black man attacked a white woman in a white-owned office building. Brown said, "There's a scream, the elevator doors open and a man working in the building came running to see what had happened, and claimed that Sarah Page has been assaulted. By the end of the day they were claiming that she had been raped."

According to Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, "It wasn't taught in schools. The newspapers that reported on it were removed from our library. It was actively covered up in our community."

Bynum said he first heard about the massacre in 2001: "Somebody brought it up and I thought, 'That's ridiculous. There is no way something that awful happened in Tulsa and nobody talked about it for 80 years?' But then, come to find that's exactly what happened here."

Tiffany Crutcher's great-grandmother, Rebecca Brown Crutcher, lived on Black Wall Street: "She was self-sufficient. She had a barbecue joint. She was beautiful."

And she barely escaped. "All of a sudden she had to run in fear of her life," said Crutcher. "Jumped on the back of a truck and fled to Muskogee."

Rebecca Brown Crutcher lived until 1994. Crutcher said, "We didn't get a chance to talk about the stories because of the fear. They were afraid to talk about it, because they thought it might happen again."

Crutcher said she felt some of that same fear after her twin brother, Terence, was shot and killed by Tulsa police in 2016. He was unarmed.

She recalled: "I answered the call and I heard my dad, my hero, screaming at the top of his lungs saying, 'They killed my son! They killed my son!' And I just finally asked, 'Who killed Terence?' And he said, 'The police.'"

Terence Crutcher was 40 years old when Officer Betty Jo Shelby noticed him standing near the side of the road; his car was in the middle of the street.

Officers in the police chopper, high above, were recorded giving a kind of play-by-play: "That looks like a bad dude," said one officer. "Looks like he's gonna be tased."

Crutcher said, "To see him walking away with his hands up - I see the visual of him in my head every night that I lay my head down, and I pray to God, I ask Him, 'Take this away.'"

Mayor Bynum took office three months after Crutcher's death. Sanneh asked, "A lot of people saw what happened to Terence Crutcher and they said, 'This wouldn't have happened if he was white.' Do you think that's true?"

"No, I don't," Mayor Bynum replied.

Hundreds of mourners turned out for Terence Crutcher's funeral. Bynum suggests that the drugs found in Crutcher's system made him less able to follow directions. Officer Shelby said Crutcher failed to follow orders to stop, and she shot him believing he was reaching into his car for a weapon.

Bynum said, "It is more about the really insidious nature of drug utilization than it is about race, in my opinion."

In 2017, Officer Shelby spoke with Bill Whitaker on "60 Minutes": "If I wait to find out if he had a gun or not, I could very well be dead," she said. "There's something that we always say: 'I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by six.'"

"But as it turned out, he did not have a gun," said Whitaker.

"No, he did not."

Protests followed, after a jury found Officer Shelby not guilty of manslaughter.

Mechelle Brown said the same attitudes that led to the Black Wall Street Massacre in 1921 linger to this day. "No one was ever held accountable for the hundreds of lives that were lost," she said.

Sanneh asked, "Do you think that this memory of the Tulsa Massacre also shaped the behavior of the police in Tulsa in the generations afterward?"

"Not as much as racism that continues to be prevalent in our community," Brown said. "Racism is something that is learned at a very young age. And during the massacre, there were white men who went and gathered their sons, and brought them to fight alongside them. They gave them the right to carry a gun, and to shoot an innocent black person without any fear of, any type of consequence."

Tiffany Crutcher said she was stunned by Officer Shelby's acquittal. When asked if he was satisfied with how the case played out, Mayor Bynum said, "I think we have to have faith in that justice system."

Still, last week Bynum announced that he's proposing an independent monitor to review police actions.

Sanneh asked Crutcher, "What was the thing you most wanted to change in the aftermath of your brother's killing?"

"I wanted to change the culture of policing, this notion of us-versus-them," she replied.

So, Crutcher, a former physical therapist, is now a full-time advocate for police reform.

"But the police killed your brother," Sanneh said. "How do you get to a place where you're not afraid of the police?"

"I will be honest, I am afraid," Crutcher said. "But I do believe that we can get to [that] place, if we change policies and if people are held accountable."

Mechelle Brown said, "As a resident of Tulsa, as a Black mother, I am scared for my children. I am scared for this younger generation who are tired of being told to pray about it, to sing, to go to church, to put it in God's hands. They're tired of hearing that."

Ninety-nine years after Black Wall Street, the fear lives on. "Who would think," said Brown, "in 2020, in the United States of America, that we would fear the very people that are meant to protect us?"

Tiffany Crutcher can't change how her brother died. But she hopes there are things she can change ... for Tulsa, and for herself. "I believe that in order for that to happen, the laws at the highest level that give police officers the authority to commit legal murder with no accountability have to be changed," she said. "The use-of-force standard has to be changed. And when that happens, I believe that he could then finally rest in peace."

"And that you could find some peace, too?" said Sanneh.

"Absolutely. Absolutely."

See also:
For more info:
Story produced by Mary Raffalli. Editor: George Pozderec.

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How an act of racial violence reverberates across generations

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For generations, Tulsa, Oklahoma had a secret. Mechelle Brown, program coordinator at the city's Greenwood Cultural Center, recalled, "My mother cared for an elderly white man, who on his death bed rambled on about the smoke and the fires and the shooting and the killing." Brown's mother tried to learn more.

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Created by Dee Kalman; you will need to be logged in to the Hackensack account to view

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saving here to look through

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Creating learning environments in which every child can flourish, especially in regard to self-confidence and academic success, is a challenge on the best of days. Many educators already grappled with this during quarantine. Now it is even more pressing with weeks of protests addressing the stark racial disparities that continue to exist in terms of criminal prosecution, health care access, and pay equity in the U.S.

So, where do we start? The following reading list of anti-racism professional development books helps us begin addressing unconscious and implicit bias in classroom materials and lesson plans.
Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves.
1. What Is It About Me You Can′t Teach? by Eleanor Renee Rodriguez, James A. Bellanca, and Deborah Rosalea Esparza

Solid advice for teachers wanting to become better advocates for children of color who are also neurodivergent or living with another physical or cognitive disability.

Written for those who teach first through twelfth grade, this text provides a plethora of strategies and resources for addressing the students' varying cultural needs in an educational setting.

A road map for those teaching in inner-city schools on how to better relate to their students, in addition to the urban communities they work within.

Delve into the psychology behind why so many tweens and teens opt to "self-segregate" in racial cliques. It also includes what educators can to truly foster inclusive, social dynamics on school grounds.

A "how-to guide" on initiating complex discussions related to social justice topics such as anti-racism, white privilege, and police brutality.

A useful book for administrators seeking effective ways to transform their schools into more equitable, safe spaces in which all kids can thrive.

A good read for educators aware of systemic issues within their school districts which put students of color at a significant disadvantage in reaching benchmarks and achieving academic goals.

This sociological highlights the alarmingly high rates that Black girls are being ignored and villainized. Follows girls as young as elementary-age to high school youths.

One teacher instructively profiles four students subjected to punishment, medication, and numerous other unnecessary inventions within educational settings more conducive to oppression rather than leading them forward.

Pro tips for white teachers to recognize, then push past, internal barriers to engage with the population of their students' that likely encounters the most negative stigmatization.
What are your favorite anti-racism professional development books for teachers? Share in the comments below. Plus 15 Books About Racial Justice for Kids.

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10 Anti-Racism Professional Development Books for Teachers

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Creating learning environments in which every child can flourish, especially in regard to self-confidence and academic success, is a challenge on the best of days. Many educators already grappled with this during quarantine. Now it is even more pressing with weeks of protests addressing the stark racial disparities that continue to exist in terms of criminal prosecution, health care access, and pay equity in the U.S.

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"Creating Anti-Racist Early Childhood Spaces" free webinar by NCPMI

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"Creating Anti-Racist Early Childhood Spaces" free webinar by NCPMI

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"Now, more than ever it is important to address issues of race and bias in early childhood settings. Children notice race at a very early age and can begin to categorize people according to skin color. This webinar presents strategies for creating an anti-racist environment to promote the development of healthy racial identities."

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Dorothy Shapland, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Dorothy Shapland, Ed.D., is an assistant professor in the department of Special Education, Early Childhood, and Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Education at MSU Denver, with more than 30 years of experience as an early childhood educator. Dr. Shapland provides professional development workshops and conference presentations on issues of equity, stress and trauma, and it's impacts on young children and their teachers.

Iheoma Iruka, HighScope Educational Research Foundation

Iheoma U. Iruka, Ph.D., is the Chief Research Innovation Officer and Director of The Center for Early Education Research and Evaluation at HighScope Educational Research Foundation after tenure at FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the Buffett Institute at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Iruka is engaged in projects and initiatives focused on how evidence-informed policies, systems, and practices in early education can support the optimal development and experiences of low-income and ethnic minority children, such as through family engagement and support, quality rating and improvement systems, and early care and education systems and programs. She has been engaged in addressing how best to ensure excellence for young diverse learners, especially Black children, such as through development of a classroom observation measure, examination of non-traditional pedagogical approaches, public policies, and publications geared towards early education practitioners and policymakers.

Dr. Iruka has served or serves on numerous national boards and committee, including the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committees on Supporting Parents of Young Children, and Applying Neurobiological and Socio-behavioral Sciences from Prenatal through Early Childhood Development: A Health Equity Approach.

Jennifer Neitzel, Educational Equity Institute

Dr. Jen Neitzel is the Executive Director of the Educational Equity Institute, which is focused on eliminating the educational and opportunity gaps within communities through systems level change. Prior to this work, Jen was a Research Scientist and Technical Assistance Provider at FPG Child Development Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill for 15 years. During her time at FPG, her work focused on implicit bias; disparities in suspensions and expulsions; trauma; and culturally responsive anti-bias practices. Jen presents frequently at state and national conferences and is widely published in peer-reviewed journals. She also is the author of the book Achieving Equity and Justice in Education through the Work of Systems Change.

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National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations

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Dorothy Shapland, Metropolitan State University of Denver Dorothy Shapland, Ed.D., is an assistant professor in the department of Special Education, Early Childhood, and Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Education at MSU Denver, with more than 30 years of experience as an early childhood educator.

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Diversity, Respect, and Equity Resources available within the PIRT Support Services website

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Diversity, Respect, and Equity Resources available within the PIRT Support Services website

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I divided these resources into two sections. One is dedicated to supporting adult understanding of the topic and the other to guiding preschool-age children.

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HPS Preschool Intervention and Referral - Diversity, Respect, and Equity Resources