A National Day of Racial Healing
On the heels of the celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, every year, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation hosts A National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH).
From their website, “A National Day of Racial Healing is a time to contemplate our shared values and create the blueprint together for #HowWeHeal from the effects of racism. Launched in 2017, it is an opportunity to bring ALL people together and inspire collective action to build a common ground for a more just and equitable world.”
At Birth to Five Illinois, Racial Equity is one of our core values:
In an effort to move our Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system to one where racism no longer impacts a child's success, we will work to dismantle barriers that have limited access to high-quality services for minoritized children in every corner of our State.
Click below to see what we did to honor our shared humanity and participate in a NDORH in:
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You can read more stories of hopes, hurts, and dreams on our Family Stories page. Visit our Storytelling page to share about your experiences with Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC).
A National Day of Racial Healing: 2025
For NDORH 2025, Birth to Five Illinois reflected on the “Blue Eyes - Brown Eyes” experiment on discrimination first given by Jane Elliott to third grade students on April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The experiment was designed to teach students about the harmful effects of racism. The class was split into two groups based on blue or brown eye color. On day one, the brown-eyed students were told they were superior and given privileges while the blue-eyed students were labeled inferior and subjected to restrictions. On day two, the conditions were flipped. On both days, the children quickly adopted behaviors associated with their “superior” and “inferior” assigned status, demonstrating the dangers of power (real and perceived) and how it can lead to harmful prejudice and discrimination.
Click below to watch the video.
Staff were invited to join a virtual NDORH lecture by Jane Elliot hosted by Dominican University on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 4:30pm: https://dom.zoom.us/j/95013842042.
A National Day of Racial Healing: 2024
For NDORH 2024, we gathered reflections from our Team members and shared what they have learned about racial equity from their work with Birth to Five Illinois and how they are uplifting racial equity in their Region of the State.
In your work with Birth to Five Illinois, what have you learned about racial equity?
Though we have come a long way since Dr. King's speeches, more particularly the excerpt, "one day we will be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character,” we as a nation still have a mighty long way to go. Being part of an organization that includes voices of people from different races is valuable and speaks volumes for the work we do in ECEC.
Racial inequity will continue to exist until race is no longer a factor that determines a person’s success.
We have learned the importance of intentional accessibility, including materials in multiple languages.
Only by asking for feedback and asking questions about someone’s truth and experience, can I learn/relearn what steps could be taken to move towards racial equity.
There is so much to learn.
Everyone comes to the table with their protective guard up, but through training and by increasing our understanding of racial equity, we have placed biases to the side and have the tools needed to help solve this issue in our communities.
This is an ongoing process. Creating a system focused on racial equity starts with each of us, our acknowledgement of our biases, our interactions with others, and our willingness to learn and grow.
In our collaboration efforts with parents/families and many other community stakeholders in our Region, we are striving to capture and understand the systemic and structural barriers our parents and families face when navigating the ECEC system.
We are all unique. There is no one else like you and we all have different talents, gifts, desires, and dreams. Therefore, we need many voices and perspectives to have a clear picture of how our work can be equitable and humanizing. We need to be thinking of everyone and how things affect those who may live a completely different lifestyle.
Everyone getting the same resources does not promote equity. Rather, equity progresses by everyone getting the resources they need.
It starts with each of us and looking inward at our own culture and belief systems to open the dialogue and change the future. Through the training and continued community experience, we have learned that racial inequities are systemically embedded and we need to be interrupters to the current systems by sharing family and community voices.
Birth to Five Illinois has a foundation built on the well-articulated Mission, Vision, and Values/Goals. To ensure our values/goals are realized, the organization requires its employees to take multiple trainings and provides tools to aid in verbiage and accessibility to reach everyone within the 39 Regions, all based on racial equity.
It is critical as a person who works closely with different families and entities throughout the community that I acknowledge any implicit bias and take proactive steps to not let it impact my interactions with individuals. In order to establish positive relationships and make the way for change, it is important to not make any assumptions and truly listen to learn. It is also my responsibility to acknowledge historical trauma and the current racial landscape within my Region. As I talk with individuals, even if their lived experiences do not align with mine (especially as a white woman), it is their story. As such, I can serve as an ally to ensure that those voices that have been traditionally unwelcomed be heard.
I now have a stronger understanding of deep hidden racial injustices. I am learning to be a part of the solution instead of the problem. I have increased the confidence needed to have difficult conversations around racial equity. I understand more about my own biases and where they stem from in my life. This knowledge is key, as is being open to what new knowledge brings.
Race is an artificial construct often used to continue forms of systemic racism.
The more healing we do as a society, the better life can become for everyone. Inequities are largely due to the direct harm that is placed on people of color from the fabricated construct of racial inequity. It is only through conscious effort, humanizing practices, and self-lead education, that healing can take place and the impacts of a racially equitable society can be positively received and nurtured.
We can achieve racial equity through a process of eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone. We must be intentional and engage our entire community. Conversations can be challenging, but the first step of doing the work is by having the hard conversations and getting all the voices at the table.
What are you doing to uplift racial equity in your Region?
Focusing on decolonizing language to focus on better systemic solutions with our Action and Family Council Members. In turn, we then ask them to share the resources with their loved ones and organizations to ensure we are all using the appropriate language when communicating with our community members and when engaging in meaning conversations.
We as a Team continuously look for ways to improve our knowledge and practices to be more equitable. We have cultivated a climate of openness to feedback to ensure we stay curious about ways to improve our culture and how we support our communities. In each of our roles, we aim to learn from the people we seek to serve, as well as collaborate to create more equitable systems and structures.
We are fostering engaging and constructive conversations; creating a safe space to dialogue hard conversations; allowing the opportunity for everyone's voice; and participating in a book club around elevating equity within ECEC programs.
Ensuring equity is a core component of the Birth to Five Illinois mission and vision and subsequently is embedded in all that we do. Our Councils are intentional in determining any possible risks that could unintentionally cause harm to certain populations even though it benefits others. As we work towards solutions, our Councils consider the question, “how do we mitigate harm?” This mindset strengthens our cultural competency and has created opportunities to proactively problem solve. We are committed to family voice with each step along the way.
As a Family and Community Engagement Specialist, I am provided with the opportunity to speak with an extensive set of diverse parents, caregivers, community stakeholders, and children within my Region. Keeping racial equity in mind during each of these conversations is a priority. With that being said, I am sure to listen to each individual about what their needs are, the barriers they face, and how those needs and barriers affect their families. All of this is what makes a family story so imperative to our work. Projecting the voices that are typically unheard aids in creating the equitable access Birth to Five Illinois strives for.
We make a conscious effort to connect with all stakeholders and families in our Region and really listen to their thoughts and perspectives. When we meet with organizations and caregivers we always emphasize the importance of their story and invite them to share it on our website. In addition, we invite people in our community to be part of our Action and Family Councils in order to diversify the dialogues.
Talking about it in community! Our Region is very rural with little racial diversity. Making sure to "level set" prior to meetings around equity so we are all on the same page.
We listen to the different perspectives of those who live in our communities. We bring people together in our Acton and Family Councils to hear their ideas and help us with our Action Planning. And we do this as we speak to the decision-makers in the State and speak up for those who are not typically heard. We are not fighting for one type of child or family, we are fighting for ALL children and families to have the equitable and affordable services their children need to thrive.
Our Councils have provided a platform that has allowed us to extend our outreach to organizations/employers outside the ECEC field.
I try to set an example and speak out against people and policies that impact equity. I do not tolerate any level of bigotry guised as "small town values."
To uplift equity we ensure that inclusivity is at the forefront of events. What I have observed as most helpful is ensuring that accommodations are in place for those who need it.
We discuss A National Day of Racial Healing with our Action and Family Councils in the month of January, acknowledging the actual day celebrated and how we can better incorporate it in our work.
Creating space for individuals to share their thoughts and feelings about racial inequity and encouraging others to create their own opportunities for this type of dialogue lends to a better understanding of how to uplift racial equity across the Region.
We are intentional about connecting with those in priority populations and centering the voices of historically oppressed populations. We use diverse images in our marketing and social media materials and use language that is welcoming, not just inclusive, of all family structures and backgrounds.
We talk about racial equity and ask people how this is accomplished in the spaces that they are in. We speak to all community members with open minds and allow them to voice their stories to us. We let them know that their story is powerful and important.
Because everyone could benefit from a more equitable system, I take the time to read and understand why policies were put into place and educate others about these systems.
Being involved in the conversations and allowing others to speak and listen from across economic or demographic lines.
A National Day of Racial Healing: 2023
For NDORH 2023, we asked our Regional Teams and Council members to consider the impact of racial injustices within the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system by sharing their stories of hurt, and their hopes for achieving racial equity in Early Childhood.
What hurts have you, your children, or family members experienced while using or working in the Early Childhood system?
“I was racially (maybe classist) profiled and blocked from entering a class. I was called ‘the N-word’ by a classmate at my all-white school.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Action Council Member“I was the director of a child care center and hurt because when I reflected on my own program, I saw the disparity in the number of Black children who were expelled from our pre-k program at only the age of five years or younger, particularly males, in comparison to other children.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“Black people are bad, is the statement that was my first introduction to racism. One of my fellow pre-k classmates, a young white male said this to me. He and I were playing together, we played with the purest joy that only children can have. As our time winded down, he asked me if I was painted. He then said you must be painted because you’re good and my parents told me all Black people are bad.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“My daughter was the subject of racism in her classroom when the teacher assistant spoke about her to another teacher who was white. My daughter was referred to as bad and uncontrolled, that she came from a bad family or the projects. Mind you I have NEVER lived in the projects.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“My son experienced trauma at a child care facility when he was only two years old. A worker at the facility hit him with an object on his head. Another worker witnessed it and informed my mother. When we tried to address the issue, the worker was supported, and I eventually removed my son from the facility.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“As we are working to bring together voices from across the Region from multiple communities, we have noticed that responses and reflections show biases that have been formed around specific communities within our Region.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“Our family has been denied Early Childhood services due to having a child with a disability.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“As a child, I was judged and mocked in my Region due to the fact my family rented and was of a lower socio-economic status. I was told I would never amount to anything.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“I was married to an undocumented person. When we separated and I needed to return to the workforce, I was ineligible for many assistance programs like child care assistance, food stamps, and others.”
- Birth to Family Illinois Family Council Member“We don't have equity; my children are not getting the full picture from a lot of teachers. For our area, it is as if you aren't the cornbread white then you get treated like crap.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Family Council Member“It was a deep feeling which made me see just how much we can learn from children and how much we as adults must grow.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“Having only white providers. Need more Latin or African American providers.”
- Community Member“I remember working in a preschool classroom with an assistant teacher who had many feelings regarding the children in our classroom that were Black/African American. This was almost 10 years ago, and I still remember her having a conversation with me about how she expected the Black/African American children to be stronger emotionally and physically than the other children in our classroom. She came to me about this when I was physically holding a three-year-old little boy after he had gotten hurt. She scolded me for providing him with emotional support and comfort. It made me very sad and angry that she had those views and worked in a classroom with children.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff
What are your hopes for a more racially equitable early childhood system?
“I hope my daughter will always have ACCESS to quality education that is not hindered by her race and/or zip code.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Action Council Member“My hopes are for an Early Childhood Education and Care system that is equitable for all children and families. I hope we can support all educators and providers to offer quality programs and social-emotional student support through education, recognition, and proper compensation to provide an environment where children thrive. I hope we can eliminate the disparity of Black children expelled. I hope we can crush the preschool pipeline to prison.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“I want to see a more racially equitable Early Childhood system is where all children are given the support and tools they need to thrive. My hope is that educational systems that were designed to give one race an advantage while keeping another race at a disadvantage will be destroyed, and a new Early Childhood Education and Care system will emerge, lifting all children up to reach their highest potential.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“I wish for all children to get the proper education they deserve, as I feel this will stop the violence our children of color are experiencing because they do not have the same advantages as children of non-color.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“My hope is that all families in the State will have a high-quality, affordable, safe child care facility to take their children to in the near future.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“We hope to dismantle the biases that create barriers for families and provide experiences to create and empower inclusion of all communities in our Region.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“We can't change others, but we can change ourselves. I am committed to collecting other's stories rather than making assumptions.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“We need trained providers that can celebrate everyone, regardless of background and ability; ECEC choices for all families that are accessible and high-quality; and required Social-Emotional programs with coaches for all ECEC group providers.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff“My hope is that good quality service and care is accessible to everyone. For example, language barriers or social/emotional support the child or family might need that the provider isn't able to provide.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Family Council Member“Just equity in a whole. Being able to treat everyone the same, not labeling them based on their color. Not treating them differently.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Family Council Member"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My story comes of a young child, full of innocence, who recognized the difference in skin color her friend had. She said, ‘Mommy I wish I had those curls and her skin; she is so beautiful.’ This simple statement has enlightened me for years because all children are beautiful. It is the beauty of a child's voice and their eye as the beholder that makes it visual and shares a lesson to be learned.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff Member“Having providers to serve all our families in all areas in Chicago. Not only the ‘nice’ areas.”
- Anonymous“First, I wish that Early Childhood providers could reflect a wider demographic. Second, I hope that those who chose to teach/care for children really have a heart for this work, instead of bringing their own personal prejudices into the lives of young children.”
- Birth to Five Illinois Regional Staff