Systemic barriers that perpetuate the long-standing opportunity and achievement gaps between white and Black students—which start in early childhood—must be addressed in programs that serve young children. Several key barriers exist within early childhood education that prevent equitable learning experiences for children of color, including:
- Implicit racial bias;
- Inequitable policies and practices;
- Cultural disconnect between home and school; and
- Inadequate teacher preparation.
In an effort to create learning environments that are more diverse, inclusive, and reflective of our culturally diverse society, farm to school programs should keep in mind the equity-minded best practices outlined in our Farm to Preschool Toolkit Equity Statement.
Questions and considerations that we use to guide our work
- Who are we representing?
- Who are we leaving out?
- How can we create inclusive language and activities?
- Whose voices are we elevating?
- What experiences are we normalizing and/or centering?
- Are we reinforcing stereotypes?
- Are we promoting critical thinking and the exploration of diverse experiences and perspectives?
- Who are our resources accessible to? How can we expand their accessibility?
Parents and educators will find additional resources below that can be used to teach children about race, racism, diversity, and inclusion.
Equity and Diversity Children’s Literature Lists
- Growing Minds farm to school literature database: type “diversity” into the search bar to find books that feature diverse characters and perspectives
- Children’s books about farm workers and migrant workers
- Books for Littles: Books with an equity focus for children ages birth-7
- The Brown Bookshelf: Designed to increase awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers
- A Mighty Girl: Book (and movie, music, and toy) recommendations that celebrate girls and women of diverse backgrounds
- Social Justice Books: multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators
- Diverse Book Finder: searchable database of children’s books, plus real-time data on representation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) in picture books
- Cookbook: Good for Me Recipe Book (National Black Child Development Institute)
- Colorful Pages Coalition: grassroots organization getting books into the hands of children that are about children of color and written by authors of color (local to WNC)
Anti-Bias, Equity, and Inclusion Resources for Educators and Parents
- ECE graphic: “They’re not too young to talk about race” (Children’s Community School)
- Teaching Tolerance: curriculum and other resources, including Social Justice Standards
- EmbraceRace: Resources, insights and knowledge for caregivers and parents who want to raise children who are “thoughtful, informed, and brave about race.”
- The Conscious Kid: parenting and education resources through a critical race lens; Black and Brown owned
- Raising Race Conscious Children: blog about discussing race with children
- Talking About Race (National Museum of African American History & Culture)
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Questions for Proactive and Equitable Educational Implementation (National Center for Learning Disabilities)
Articles
- “Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race” (Erin N. Winlker, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
- “An Anti-Racist Approach to Supporting Child Care through COVID-19 and Beyond” (CLASP)
- 4 Core Goals of Anti-Bias Education (NAEYC): Identity, Diversity, Justice, and Activism
- “Teaching Young Children About Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice” (Edutopia)
- “Talking to Children about Racial Bias” (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- “Get comfortable with the uncomfortable: How to talk to your kids about racism” (UT Health)
- Delivering on the Promise of Effective Early Childhood Education: Report that examines policy solutions for ending disproportionate discipline practices in classrooms serving Black children (National Black Child Development Institute)
- Study about teachers being as racially biased as general population (Education Week)
- Deep Rooted: A brief history of race and education in North Carolina (EdNC)
- 15 Classroom Resources for Discussing Racism, Policing, and Protest (Education Week)
Books
- What If All the Kids Are White? Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families by Louise Derman-Sparks and Patricia G. Ramsey (available to check-out from the Growing Minds lending library)
- Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennffer Harvey
- “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations about Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD
Videos
- TEDx talk with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations about Race
Food systems, farm to school, and cooking resources
- Racial Equity Challenge Resources (New England Food Solutions): Information about race, racism, and inequities in the food system
- Young Farmers Racial Equity Toolkit (National Young Farmers Coalition)
- Article: Racial Inequity in the Food System (National Young Farmers Coalition)
- National Farm to School Network Equity Resources
- Farm to School Coalition of NC Equity Resources
- Classroom Resource: Multicultural Farmer Posters (CEFS-Center for Environmental Farming Systems)
- Kids cooking and empowerment/activism (Raising Luminaries)
- Article: “Serving Up Food Justice at School” (Teaching Tolerance)
- Farm to school resources and curriculum for middle and high school
- HEAL Food Alliance Platform for Real Food
- BIPOC in Agriculture and Food: A Resource Guide
- Serving Up Tradition: A Guide for School Food in Culturally Diverse Communities (Massachusetts Farm to School and FoodCorps Massachusetts)
Would you like to recommend a resource that you don’t see on this list? Please send us an email and let us know. This is a living page that we will be adding to and editing as we continue to learn and grow.