Black Feminist History of Early Care and Education: A Review of Literature

• In Event: Looking at the Histories of Black and Latina Early Childhood Educators to Guide the Future of Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Background: Scholarship on Black women’s social history illustrates Black women care providers, educators, activists, and othermothers’ persistence as intergenerational sources of resistance capital[1] for the Black community and essential elements in the support of children and families[2-6]. Black women’s legacy of community activism is in response to the intersectional gendered and racial oppression of Black womanhood, including mothering and othermothering[6-8].


Theoretical Framework: The Black feminist lens of critical counternarratives allows scholars to analyze the role of gendered racism[9] as a key influence on inequitable social systems that affect the daily lives of Black mothers, their children, families, and communities all while empowering Black women to name their own reality[10]. This work represents a revisionist perspective of dominant discourses of (mis)education in which the contributions of Black women educators, theorists, and activists have remained highly unrecognized[11].


Methods: To complete this social-historical review of the literature, the author searched educational journals in the U.S., books documenting the history of Black women in America, and archives discussing the stories of Black women in ECE. The layers of research and narrative analysis helped develop a more holistic view of Black women’s social-history and fill gaps in Black women’s social narrative. This review connects various social-political events and movements to their effect on Black mothers and community members.


Results: The review begins with the historical documentation of Black women care providers in colonial America, early education post-Civil War, and the later effects of urbanization and the Great Migration of Black families to northern states. The author discusses the role of Black clubwomen, the Civil Rights movement, the Black Panther Party, and the effects of welfare legislation throughout the 1960-1990s on the field of ECE. Finally, the author discusses efforts to “professionalize” the field in the early 2000s and the effects of the global pandemic of 2020. Throughout the review, the author names key Black educational figures and their unique contributions.


Conclusion/ Implications: By understanding our history and freedom dreaming[12] of the future, we challenge manifestations of white hegemony, anti-Blackness, and social injustice. The implications of this work asks how generations of educators, care providers, and activist mothers can advance the freedom dreams of our foremothers. Rooted in Black women’s herstories of creative resistance, we construct new visions of liberation, joy, and wholeness for Black children within education and society. The representation of diverse voices of Black women childcare providers, educators, and social mothers is a crucial step in their recognition as indispensable members of the ECE community. Amplifying Black women’s cultural knowledge and freedom dreams in decision-making around policy, pedagogy, and social justice contributes to a larger pool of practices that more readily address the diverse and dynamic needs of young learners.

Author

• Crystasany R. Turner, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee