Teaching Others How to Love Black Children: Insights From Early Childhood Educators and Teacher Educators

• In Event: The Dora Milaje of Black Children in Schools: Black Mother Educators in Pre-K–12 Contexts

Abstract

This paper features two African American teacher-teacher educator early childhood dyads whose teaching and scholarship unapologetically focus on ensuring that elementary schools and universities prepare educators to effectively and lovingly teach young Black children. Drawing from a Black emancipatory framework, we explain what it means to teach Black students in ways that are loving and healing so that students experience cultural, social and academic excellence. We problematize schools and universities as possible sites of trauma for far too many African American students. We explicate five types of anti-Black violence in schools and universities (physical, symbolic, linguistic, curricular/pedagogical, and school/systemic; Author) and share processes for interrupting them. We make apparent examples of how Blacks are undermined, omitted, and distorted in schools. Strategies for replacing anti-Black violence with loving pedagogies, curricula, and practices are offered.

In this paper, we show how all four of us blur the lines between biological and instructional mothering. Whether we are new mothers, experienced mothers, grandmothers, othermothers, we view Black children as our own. To counter the endemic violence and trauma that schools frequently impose on African American students, we dedicate our lives and efforts to providing loving, African-centered antidotes such as ongoing affirmations and ensuring that our students/children are literate on issues, perspectives, people, languages, cultures, about the African Diaspora.

We embed spirituality into our teaching including offering daily doses of love through hugs and blessings. We are clear that religiosity and spirituality providing healing and buffering for Black children (Butler-Barnes et. al., 2017; Butler-Barnes et. al., 2018a) against very antagonist school and societal backdrops (Johnson & Bryan, 2017). Likewise, we understand the importance of teaching Black students about their racial identity and history (Butler-Barnes et. al., 2018b; Perry, Steele, & Hilliard, 2003). We seek to provide a home away from home. We have emphasized why love for Blackness should be centered in Early Childhood classrooms and teacher preparation programs.

We note our dyads are important for two reasons. First, praxis focused on healing Black students need to go beyond individualistic efforts. As mothers, we also need support as the process of being scholar/mother is always under attack in overt and covert ways. There are times when even given our best efforts, there are things outside our control or influence and this is heartbreaking. So, having each other is important. Though we did mention the role that our husbands (Authors 1, 2, and 4) play in all of this, they hear and understand our trials, tribulations, and successes and offer moral support which helps to sustain us. Second, co-planning helps us with intentionality in our classroom strategies. We complement each other and brainstorm on ways to continue to teach others how to love Black children and to ensure that Black children love themselves.

In the final analysis, as Toni Morrison (2019) noted, mothering means different things to different people. We have found that the common denominators for us as Black mothers are love and teaching about racial pride and history

Authors

• Gloria S. Boutte, University of South Carolina

• Kamania Wynter-Hoyte, University of South Carolina

• Janice Baines, University of South Carolina

• Mukkaramah Smith, Richland School District One