Honoring Black & Brown Scholars in Early Care and Education

Written by: Cecilia Scott-Croff | March 9th, 2023

As we begin to reimagine our approach to ensuring a community of care, focused on the emotional well-being of children and families, we are called to reflect upon what it means to be emotionally healthy, not only for children but families and educators. The three are not mutually exclusive.  

Moreover, as we think about the trajectory of people of color into the early childhood education space, I often reflect on the role models uplifted in our field, teachers’ education programs, and child development associate credentials trainings. The experts, the individuals who lead this work, and who have led us educators to the field. Quite honestly, I do not recall many early childhood educators of color at the beginning of my career that stood out in the text of required reading. Is hard to remember which Black educators shaped me entering the field. I had no role models that looked like me. I resented this. This was further exacerbated when I participated in policy forums. I often left, fueled with energy, information, and a fire in my belly. Yet it saddened me that all voices were not at the table. African American and Black Indigenous Persons of Color Educators, specifically in early care and education have had to scratch and claw their way to recognition in the field.  

I am grateful for publications such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Black Child Development Institute (NCBDI). NCBDI has focused on uplifting Black and brown voices. Organizations like NAEYC and NCBDI are committed to ensuring Black, brown, and Indigenous people receive such recognition. As a teacher educator, one of the courses I teach is child development. I often must search and retrench materials as the names of Black theorists in early care and education are not readily alongside Piaget, Bronfenbrenner, and Eric Erickson. The work to undo systems of oppression that suppress the equally important accomplishments of African Americans and BIPOC educators in the field of ECE are being dismantled. Black people and the BIPOC community have endured years of “Black Fatigue.” They are tired and calling this behavior out. Black Fatigue is described as “the exhaustion born of "the day-to-day small acts of aggression, or small acts of disrespect" a Black person endures; the endless need to prove your worth; and the constant exposure to news about injustice and violence being inflicted on people who look like you” (Harris & Woods, 2022, Winters, 2020). It is undeniably inequitable when the works of African Americans in ECE’s contributions are not uplifted as their white counterparts. One cannot help but identify a racist system as the catalyst for this. It is challenging work to realign, dismantle and call out such practices. I enjoy the work of Piaget, Bronfenbrenner, Erickson, and Maslow but I also want to learn about those who paved the way for African Americans in the field.  

While working for a local Head start early in my career, I faced many challenges. On one particular day, the program had a visit from the Head Start regulatory agency. Their questions to me were not, how did you happen to land in this field, what do you enjoy about your work, are you excited about where this work will take you? They wanted to know if I was the cook. I was shocked. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I was outraged but had no one to talk to. I responded in the way I had always during such instances of covert racism in the workplace. I used it to fuel my passion for a more equitable and sustainable workplace. However, I was silent during these slights. After a while, I felt as if I was complicit at times. It took a while for me to utilize my platform to call these instances out. At times I feel as if I paid for my silence dearly. Afraid to upset the apple cart.  

As it relates to the overwhelming number of Teacher Education textbooks, periodicals, and opportunities for African Americans to publish and our work in textbooks, Bredekamp wrote about a specific incident, “initially I was ecstatic to encounter a brief section during my textbook evaluation that mentioned contributions of African American Early Childhood Leaders” (Bredekamp, 2014, p. 58). This would have been my first encounter with a teacher education textbook that included the work of Black scholars. However, on reading the statement that follows I had concerns. Bredekamp admitted the previous discussion was dominated by white European Americans because they were the individuals with the most power in the society and their work is most often included in the “official written history of the field” That history is well less known primarily because historical sources are scarce, but also because there is a strong oral rather than written tradition in these communities” (Bredekamp, 2014, p.58).  

I would like to take this opportunity to uplift the work of the following educators in early childhood education.  

Ann McClain Terrell: Ms. Ann McClain Terrell has 45 years of professional experience in the field of education, primarily in early childhood education. She served an adjunct lecturer in early childhood education professor for Concordia University after her tenure as the executive director of the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation, Inc., as an administrator in the Milwaukee Public Schools district, she led the departments of Innovation and Early Childhood Education. Additionally, Ms. Terrell mentors emerging early childhood leaders. Lastly, Ms. Terrell is the author of power perspective on leadership, the recently published, Graceful Leadership in Early Childhood Education. (NAEYC, 2019). It is an inspiring read. She is also the former President of NAEYC’s governing board.  

Dr. Anthony Broughton: Dr. Anthony Broughton is an award-winning educator, Assistant Professor of Education, Interim Department Chair, and Site Coordinator for the Call Me MISTER program at Claflin University. He is a native of Cross, South Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Benedict College, a Master’s in Education from Columbia College, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina, by the age of thirty. Dr. Broughton streamlined his talents and experiences as a certified educator, regional pre-k coordinator at the SC Department of Education, and an administrator to develop Inspirational Voyages with MISTER, LLC. Dr. Broughton is the chief consultant of this educational consulting firm which provides resources and culturally responsive trainings for teachers and administrators across the nation. Dr. Anthony Broughton is well known for his publication Black Skin, White theorist: Remembering hidden black early childhood scholars (Broughton, 2014; Broughton, n.d.). 

Boughton notes in his publication, Black Skin White Theorist, Teacher preparation programs must prepare pre-service teachers to draw from multicultural perspectives or multiple ways of knowing if they truly intend to cultivate effective culturally responsive educators (Broughton, 2014). 

Betsey Stockton:  A missionary, a former enslaved person turned educator. Serving as a missionary, Ms. Stockton began her work as an educator in Hawaii supporting native children. Ms. Stockton was the first single American woman to journey overseas as a missionary, and the first African American woman to arrive in Hawaii. Ms. Stockton then founded a school for children in Philadelphia and then traveled to Grape Island, Canada, where she established a school for Native American children (Stevens & Johnson, 2012). 

Dr. Carole Brunson Day: Carole Brunson Day has held several coveted positions in leadership in early care and education. These include but are not limited to her work as the President of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI). Dr. Brunson Day has dedicated her life to serving children, this includes working to rectify systematic disparities in the early childhood education workforce (Foundation for Child Development, 2022).  

Dr. Edmund D. Gordon: Dr. Gordon was a renowned psychologist, author, and educator. He was also one of the founders of Project Head Start in 1965 along with Edward Zigler and Uri Bronfenbrenner. As a professor of psychology, he “had a tremendous influence on contemporary thinking in psychology, education, and social policy and the implications of his work for the schooling of marginalized youth and children of color” (CEJJES Institute, n.d.).  

Dr. Evelyn Moore: “During the 1960s, Dr. Moore was an early educator for the Perry Preschool Project. The program was designed to provide high-quality preschool education to three- and four-year-old African American children living in poverty and assessed to be at considerable risk of school failure (Moore & Phillips, 1989). Her work is one of the catalysts for viewing Black and brown children from a strength-based perspective.  

Dr. Evelyn Ward: Dr. Ward was an early childhood education professor at Temple University and the author of several publications that focused on a code of ethics for early childhood professionals.  

Fannie C. Williams: Ms. Williams was an educator who developed the first nursery and kindergarten class for African American children in New Orleans during the 1930s. (Thorpe & Taylor, 2019). 

Dr. Iheoma U. Uruka: Dr. Uruka is a psychologist, a scholar, and a Research Professor in the Department of Public Policy and the Founding Director of the Equity Research Action Coalition at FPG (the Coalition). She is also a fellow at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG). She is leading the work of uplifting, supporting, and developing programs to support Black and brown children. By way of multiple projects, and initiatives, she has set her eye on the prize of ensuring that minoritized children and children from low-income households, especially Black children are thriving. Her life and work commitment focuses on ensuring excellence for young diverse learners, especially Black children, and their families, through the intersection of anti-bias, anti-racist, culturally grounded research, program, and policy (Foundation for Child Development, 2022).  

Dr. Jacqueline Jones: Dr. Jones is the President and CEO of the Foundation for Child Development. She served as Senior Advisor on Early Learning to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and as the country’s first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Early Learning in the US Department of Education. Prior to federal service Dr. Jones was the Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Early Childhood Education in the New Jersey State Department of Education. For over 15 years she served as a Senior Research Scientist at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton. Dr. Jones has been a visiting faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a full-time faculty member at the City University of New York. (Jones, 2015). 

Luis Hernandez: Mr. Luis Hernandez is the founder of the NAEYC Latino Caucus and has worked on behalf of the early childhood Latinx community for over 35 years. He is an advocate for the CDA credential and an active member of the CDA community as an early childhood education specialist. (DiMarco, 2021). 

Marlene Green: During the 1960s, Ms. Marlene Green founded the Black Education Project in Toronto. This initiative encompassed several educational programs, which included but are not limited to after-school programs, and summer camps for Black children and families.  

Mary Frances Winters: Ms. Mary-Frances Winters, founder, and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc., a 38-year-old global organization development and diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice consulting firm, honestly believes that diversity and inclusion work is her “passion and calling.” Named a thought leader in the field, for the past three decades she has impacted hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals with her thought-provoking message, and her approach to diversity and inclusion. Ms. Winters is an expert strategist with experience in strategic planning, change management, diversity, organization development, training and facilitation, systems thinking, and qualitative and quantitative research methods. She has experience in working with senior leadership teams to drive organizational change. (Winters, 2022) 

Dr. Paulo Freire: Known for his seminal work Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Dr. Freire felt traditional pedagogy was oppressive and dehumanizing. His ideas were perceived as radical by many, an ideology known as critical pedagogy. He encouraged education to begin with teachers and students learning together. Dialogue and critical thinking are important to teacher learning. Freedom of authoritarian education, promotion of critical consciousness, less racist, less sexist, and authoritarian thinking, and more democracy in learning (Freire, 1996). 

Dr. Rebecca Palacios: Dr. Rebecca A. Palacios is the first Latina to receive the National Teacher Hall of Fame Award, celebrating her 34 years of preschool education in the first district to integrate Latinx and white students. Dr. Palacios is a first-generation college graduate who continued her education to earn her doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction. She is a founding member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Readers can view her insights on preschool education in the September 2020 Atlantic article, “What Makes a Good Preschool Education: Rebecca Palacios on the importance of including parents in their children’s earliest schooling.” (DiMarco, 2021). 

Rukia Rogers: Ms. Rukia is an Anti-Racist Educator, humanitarian, and leader in social justice advocacy work. Founder of the Highlander School. Ms. Rukia holds a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks College, and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Georgia State University, which includes an endorsement in special education. Ms. Rukia has written for several publications and centers her work around the concept of the beloved community (The Highlander school of educators, 2022). 

Although the following three educators were not known for their work with respect to ECE specifically their work was the catalyst for tremendous change in the landscape of education for children in the black and BIPOC communities. They should be lauded as well, as their work helps the inception of early care and education programs.  

Dr. ASA Hillard: A Pan African, Dr. Hilliard, was an educational psychologist. Dr. Hilliard was known for his passion for African history and culture. He was a founding member and served as Vice President of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations and a founding member of the National Black Child Development Institute (Foundation for Child Development, 2022). 

Dr. Marva Collins: According to the work of Collins and Tamarkin, Dr. Collin’s theoretical framework yielded what is known as the Collins’ methods, according to Tamarkin (1990) Dr. Collin’s approaches and her legacy has permeated the lives of the countless students and educators she touched over the course of her 40-plus years in education. Through her approach, she instilled in children a love of learning and literature—often using the Socratic method to engage and teach students critical thinking skills, essential to the classroom learning environment. The Socratic Method is known for its approach of working to support students seeking a deeper understanding of complex ideas through rigorously thoughtful dialogue. This process encourages divergent thinking rather than convergent (Collins & Tamarkin, 1990). 

Dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune: Dr. Bethune is the founder of Bethune-Cookman University. Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune is one of America’s most inspirational daughters, educators, national civil rights pioneers, and activists. A servant leader, Dr. Bethune Cookman was responsible for addressing health disparities in African Americans. She was appointed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the National Youth Administration in 1936. By 1939 she was the organization’s Director of programs for African Americans. In this role, she supervised the professional development of tens of thousands of Black youths. She was the only female member of President Roosevelt’s influential “Black Cabinet.” (Smith, 2022).  

Lastly, what else can we do? We have a responsibility to children to broaden the lens of who is involved, who gains, and what is equitable. We can begin with the following suggested changes:  

1. Host courageous conversations. They help uplift marginalized voices, they ensure all seats are at the table and they welcome diverse perspectives.  

2. Seek out opportunities to infuse black and brown early childhood educators in your syllabi. They create an opportunity for students to not only understand the history of the field but also see themselves in it.  

3. Invite guest speakers to your classrooms. Speakers of diverse backgrounds provide a rich history of the work in early care and education. They also provide an opportunity to share from a historical framework.  

4. Share your stories. As educators, many of us are dynamic storytellers. Take every opportunity to share how your work, we often do not understand the power of our work and how it has helped grow the field with our students.  

5. When you have an opportunity, support others, and find at least one person to mentor and support in their trajectory in the field.  

6. Don’t be afraid to be in space with others who do not look like you and often want to inquire how you got here. Turn the table and ask them the same.  

7. Move away from a deficient framework. We often work with others who continue with a narrative that works to marginalize Black and brown families. Parents do not care, they are poor, we know better, that is not best practice, they come from bad neighborhoods, they do not, they will not. Let us work with a language that uplifts, supports, encourages, and helps families along. We do not need saving, we need partnerships.  

References 

Bredekamp, H. (2014). The picture act: Tradition, horizon, philosophy. In Bildakt at the Warburg Institute (pp. 3-32). De Gruyter. 

Broughton, A. (n.d.). Bio Dr. Anthony Broughton. https://www.misterbinspires.com/bio#:~:text=Anthony%20Broughton%20is%20an%20award,MISTER%20program%20at%20Claflin%20University. 

Broughton, A. (2022). Black skin, White theorists: Remembering hidden Black early childhood scholars. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 23(1), 16-31. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344863440_Black_skin_White_theorists_Remembering_hidden_Black_early_childhood_scholars 

CEJJES Institute. (n.d.). About CEJJES. https://cejjesinstitute.org/about/ 

CEJJES Institute. (n.d.). Edmund W. Gordon Archives, 1933-2010. Edmund W. Gordon Papers, Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. https://cejjesinstitute.org/ewg-archives/edmund-w-gordon-papers-1933-2010/ 

Collins, M., & Tamarkin, C. (1990). Marva Collins' way. Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 5858 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90036. 

DiMarco, S. (2021, March 22). Honoring Hispanic/Latinx ece champions. CDA Council. Retrieved from https://www.cdacouncil.org/en/honoring-hispanic-latinx-ece-champions/. 

Foundation for Child Development. (2022, February 3). Dr. Asa G. Hilliard III: The Man, The Mindset, & Relevance for Today. Scholars of Color Series. https://www.fcd-us.org/asahilliard/ 

Foundation for Child Development. (2022, March 01). Dr. Asa G. Hilliard III: The Man, The Mindset, & Relevance for Today. YouTube. https://youtu.be/bASynMwgog8 

Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. (n.d.). Iheoma U. Iruka: Founding Director, Equity Research Action Coalition Faculty Fellow. Frank Porter Graham child development institute. https://fpg.unc.edu/people/iheoma-u-iruka.  

Freire, P. (1996). Pedagogy of the oppressed (revised). New York: Continuum, 356, 357-358. 

High Tech High Unboxed. (2022, February 3.). Dr Luke Wood — We, Not They. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZoE-U8d6O8 

High Tech High Unboxed. (2022, June 30). Who's Involved, Who's Impacted? YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQZPZmyJ5Gk 

Jones, J. (2015, December 18). Early Childhood Webinars. Retrieved on February 28, 2023, from https://www.earlychildhoodwebinars.com/presenters/jacqueline-jones/.  

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Merschel, M. (2023, February 16). To make history, a major study on Black Heart Health looked beyond the lab. American Heart Association News. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/news/2023/02/16/to-make-history-a-major-study-on-black-heart-health-looked-beyond-the-lab. 

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Rogers, R. (n.d.). Rukia Rogers. The Highlander School. https://thehighlanderschool.com/educators/rukia-rogers/ 

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