Are you participating in OR disrupting the preschool to prison pipeline for Black children?
Hello,
In the last newsletter I asked you to share a word or phrase that describes how you felt after reading the newsletter. Thank you for your enthusiasm and support of Anahsa Consulting, and our mission!
(Read through to learn about a new book release from illustrator Nina Crews)
I first discovered illustrator Nina Crews when I was teaching first graders in Bed Stuy in 1997. Her book One Hot Summer Day enthralled me and my students because the illustrations were actual children (many of them Black and Brown), playing in city streets in the summer. They could see themselves, and they could relate to those images and words something fierce. This was one of the first seeds that was planted for me about the power of representation and centering of realistic, relatable, diverse and positive images of Black and Brown children to shape children’s lives and their educational experiences.
Illustration from One Hot Summer Day by Nina Crews
Today, Black children continue to bear the unimaginable weight and direct consequences of anti-Black racism beginning at birth. The preschool to prison pipeline is real, and very few educators and leaders have any idea that they are participating in it in preschool settings. However, early educators are either participating in it, or disrupting it. There is no middle ground here.
“Anti-Black racism is so embedded in U.S. culture and institutions, that most can barely notice it beyond the violent, egregious expressions of it that happen to Black adults and are widely publicized. However, the anti-Black racism that Black adults experience in the United States is similarly experienced by Black children in their earliest years.”
Did you know?
Did you know that Black children are 3.6 times more likely to be suspended from preschool than white children (U.S. Dept of Ed, 2016)? Black children also experience disparate rates of seclusion and exclusion and corporal punishment in preschool. (Children’s Equity Project, ASU)
We could talk for hours about why early childhood programs are suspending, secluding, excluding and physically harming preschoolers at all, before we get to why they are doing it disproportionately to Black children. These, and other disturbing statistics and anecdotes led me to create the Black Lives Matter at School Early Childhood Symposium in 2019.
My founding and leadership of the Symposium for three years evolved into the Journey to Nia curriculum that I developed in order to help early childhood educators, leaders, and caregivers identify, and to begin to eradicate anti-Black racism in early childhood using concrete tools and frameworks that are immediately applicable. I am deeply committed to creating solutions, and to centering Black joy, beginning at birth.
Moving individuals and organizations forward
If you are, or your organization is ready to move past thinking about anti-Black racism, and committed to creating early education environments that deeply support Black children, the winter Journey to Nia Retreat is for you. This retreat is appropriate if you have no Black children in your program, and if all of your students are Black. Learn more about our upcoming retreat and/or register today. Learn more here.
Things to note:
Early bird registration ends on 11/30/22
Regular registration ends on 12/23/22
Returning participants (if you did the Journey to Nia Summer 2021 Retreat) will experience new content to build upon the foundation laid in the Summer 2021 retreat.
We are accepting brand sponsors, and attendee sponsorships. Please email us at info@anahsa.com to learn more.
Certificates for professional development hours will be provided at the end of the Retreat.
What we are up to!
Thursday, October 27, 2022, 6 PM ET | Identity, Anti-Racism and Belonging Workshop for Early Childhood Caregivers, Register Here. (FREE)
November 2-3, 2022 | Breakthroughs in Early Childhood Conference | Northern Kentucky Convention Center | Takiema will be presenting!
Friday, January 6, 2023 & Saturday, January 14, 2023 | Journey to Nia 2023 Winter Retreat for Early Childhood Leaders & Educators (Early Bird pricing closes November 30, 2022.)
And, we are really looking forward to attending the Little Chairs Big Differences Annual Gathering 2022 on Saturday, November 5th at Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, NY. Takiema, Wendy Cole, and Martha Haakmat were the co-founders of the original LCBD conference back in 2013, and it is a wonderful day of learning and connecting for those who work with and care for very young children.
Resource Corner!
Read below for a new children’s book illustrated by Takiema’s friend and neighbor, Nina Crews, and written by Tameka Fryer Brown. It is beautifully written and illustrated, and full of excellent content for preschoolers and beyond. This year is the 50th anniversary of Congresswoman Chisholm's historic presidential run. You can watch a video book talk here, and can pre-order the book here.
In Collaboration,
Takiema and Team Anahsa
Founder and CEO
Creating joyful and liberated lives in early childhood, and organizations.™
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