Black Early Learners Cannot Wait for Political Correctness 

Feb 25, 2026 | Capacity Building

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.  

In today’s political climate, culturally responsive instruction has become controversial. This political debate can make educators and leaders hesitant. But no matter what you call it, the work remains the same. We must teach in ways that respect children’s identities, honor their families and cultures, and build on their strengths. That is not political correctness; it is effective, evidence-based teaching. 

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:

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

Use children’s literature to open age-appropriate conversations about race and identity rather than avoid them. 

Choose books that center Black joy, family, play, curiosity, and everyday life Black not only oppression and struggle. Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie Olsen Edwards, in the book Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, state that in the absence of intentional teaching, children are left to come to their own conclusions about how to think about their own race and others’ races. 

This can look like:

  • Pairing read-alouds with simple questions: “How do you think this character feels?” “Have you ever seen something like this in your family or neighborhood?”
  • Turning children’s own stories into class books and chart stories so their lives are treated as worthy “text.”
  • Highlighting Black protagonists in everyday roles — siblings, friends, explorers, problem-solvers — not just historical figures.

The Weight of Bias in Small Decisions 

Black early learners deserve classrooms where books reflect their stories and histories; their home languages and cultural expressions are valued; and where their curiosity is nurtured.  

Black early learners deserve educators who are willing to examine their own biases. Bias is not always loud or intentional; it can show up in small everyday decisions that demand honest self-reflection.  

  • Whose behavior is labeled as disrupted? 
  • Whose language is praised? 
  • Who receives patience and grace? 
  • Who is sent out of the classroom?  

Research from the Yale Child Study Center shows that Black children are more closely monitored for misbehavior and disciplined more harshly, even in preschool. Addressing this pattern requires intentional self-reflection, ongoing learning, and consistently high expectations for every child. 

What Leadership Must Do 

Leadership in this moment needs to create space for reflection; build systems that check biases rather than ignore them; and provide professional learning that helps educators grow because Black early learners feel the impact of these choices. When leaders commit to this work, they make it possible for classrooms to truly honor Black children’s identities, brilliance, and potential.   

Leaders need to question whether policies, practices, and classrooms show Black children that their brilliance matters every day, not just during Black History Month or when it feels politically safe to do so?

References 

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