Black Early Learners Cannot Wait for Political Correctness 

 Black Early Learners Cannot Wait for Political Correctness

Black History Month is a time to celebrate Black excellence and achievement. Celebration must show up in the everyday classroom, through the lessons we teach, the books we choose, and the expectations we hold for children, every single day.  In early years, children are not just learning letters and numbers; they are learning where they belong. They are learning whose stories matter. They are also learning how adults see them. As Geneva Gay explains in Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice, students learn more deeply when instruction is grounded in their lived experiences.

What This Looks Like in the Classroom

Start with a cultural audit. Do your books, displays, and other materials reflect the ethnic makeup of children in the classroom? Ensure all children and families feel included and welcomed by seeing diversity across age, gender, ability, race, ethnicity and religion. Guidance from the National Association for the Education of Young Children emphasizes that representation supports identity, belonging, and engagement.

This can look like:

1. 1. Adding dolls, dramatic play props, and figures with a range of Black skin tones, hair textures, and family structures.
   2. Including block accessories and posters that reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, businesses, and community helpers.
   3. Offering art materials in a spectrum of skin tones so children can literally draw and paint themselves into their work.
   4. Regularly rotating materials, so children see their communities reflected in every center, not just during Black History Month.