Expecting Encounters: Incorporating Black Aliveness into Early Childhood Research

• In Event: Aliveness, Abolition, and Affirmation: Actualizing Audre Lorde’s Commitment to a “Livable Future” in Early Education

Abstract

Objective & Purpose

Critical scholars in early childhood and beyond have urged researchers concerned with equity to ask: how do we conduct research on Black children that is humanizing, acknowledging their whole selves? In our White supremacist society, Black people have been researched through a White supremacist lens (Alexander, 2019; Kolluri & Tichavakunda, 2022), often flattened to stories of oppression (Quashie, 2021; Nxumalo, 2021). This paper, referencing Quashie’s concept of Black Aliveness, explores how researchers might encounter Black childhood, rather than analyze or extract (Rae, in preparation).

Theoretical Lens: Black Aliveness

In Black Aliveness, or A Poetics of Being, Quashie (2021) uses Black literature to imagine a world where Blackness and death are not inherently tied. He defines Black Aliveness as a quality that “assumes being” (pg. 2), grounded in relationality, or a willingness to encounter Blackness rather than simply observe it. Black Aliveness means orienting oneself toward Blackness in ways that seek relation above all else.

A key principle is seeing Blackness as specific, but not exclusive. When Blackness is viewed exclusively, Black people’s full humanity is lost. Quashie's work, though enlightening, remains largely theoretical, leaving an opportunity for researchers to consider how they might encounter Blackness in empirical studies.

Children Creating their Own Narratives

Quashie highlights the personal essay as a powerful genre for encountering, allowing Blackness to be seen as navigational rather than oppressive. Listening to Black children’s narratives helps open relational possibilities. In early childhood research, we often begin with assumptions: Black children are overpoliced, punished for their play, or entirely misunderstood by teachers (Pinckney et. al, 2021; Gholson & Wilkes, 2017). While this scholarship has been vital for framing inequity, it is important to go further. Asking Black children to narrate their own lives invites complexity and reveals overlooked aspects of their experience.

Case Study: The Struggle with the Rug

As a researcher with the BLINDED team, I worked in one elementary school over three years, supporting playful math activities in K-2 classrooms. We noticed that “rug time,” where children sat silently for long stretches, led to frequent behavioral issues, often resulting in Black boys being disciplined and excluded.

To better understand, we asked children: How does your body feel when you’re sitting on the rug? Many described jitters and discomfort. But one Black boy, Martin, described his body as “crackly”: “Like, sometimes I just use it to describe how my neck feels, or just my veins.” He preferred sitting at his seat rather than the rug, because, “I can see a lot of things, and I don't have to stretch my neck up too much.”

By centering Martin’s narrative, we accessed an overlooked but relatable perspective: a stiff neck from looking up for too long. His story shifted our understanding from generalized misbehavior to a shared human experience.

Discussion and Conclusions

As calls grow for rethinking research on Black people, Quashie’s Black Aliveness offers a compelling invitation for scholars focused on Black children: to relate to and encounter Black stories as shared expressions of full humanity.

Author

• Candice Love, University of Maryland