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ERIC Number: EJ1470070
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1920-4175
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Blackness at the Center: An Antidote to Anti-CRT Rhetoric for Early and Elementary Literacy Classrooms
Wintre Foxworth Johnson; Dawnavyn James; Brianne Pitts
Critical Education, v16 n2 p190-206 2025
The contemporary moment has been marred with attacks on diverse children's literature and critical and antiracist pedagogy. The increasing numbers of banned books and curricular materials are aimed at diluting and silencing discussions of difference in classrooms. Moreover, race and racism continue to be "bad words" to some early childhood and elementary educators. As three teacher educators committed to justice-centered pedagogy, we reject the omnipresent whiteness that invades early childhood and elementary education and instead seek to shift the gaze to Blackness. Using the ghost pipe plant as a conceptual metaphor, this article will outline practical, instructional strategies and methods for educators who seek to challenge the persistent and overwhelming anti-CRT discourse and censoring by amplifying the stories, lifeworlds, and futures of Black children, families, and communities. We distill how educators can operate from a place of race consciousness to move beyond fear and colorblindness toward actualizing liberatory teaching and learning for Black children through critical engagements with Black children's literature.
Institute for Critical Education Studies. 2125 Main Mall, EDCP, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4 Canada. Tel: 604-822-2830; Web site: https://ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A