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Top Takeaways from the National Convening on Children’s Racial Learning

  • ffjdane
  • Jun 30
  • 5 min read
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We were thrilled to receive a special invitation to the first National Convening on Children’s Racial Learning hosted by EmbraceRace in Chicago this May. This three-day convening was illuminating, nourishing, and inspiring. 


EmbraceRace works to support parents, caregivers, educators, and others to raise children “who are thoughtful, informed and brave about race so that U.S. multiracial democracy can thrive.” They provide resources, support spaces for adults, and work to build the multi-sector field of children's racial learning. 


We’re big fans of their work and apparently they like what we do too! With this invitation, we were able to bring two FFJ members to the convening and extend the invitation to friends at Freedom Inc. and Woodland Montessori School. 


We’re excited to see what this burgeoning national network will bring. And we’d like to share some of our top takeaways with our Madison community:


  1. There are a lot of people committed to nurturing children’s racial learning, even in these times. The convening included approximately 250 invitees from across the U.S., including researchers, educators, authors and book publishers, librarians, physicians and nurses, mental health professionals, community organizers, and others. We shared in our belief that children’s racial learning is an essential part of child development and must be supported across our society to have the thriving, multiracial democracy that we need.


  1. Now is the time to come together to support children’s racial learning. Some people may feel that there’s so many important things to attend to right now, including democracy itself, that we can’t focus on children’s racial learning or even that to do so is to fuel more backlash. As a group, we did not agree. We heard other attendees express excitement at being at the first-ever convening on Children’s Racial Learning and many spoke of how their commitment to this work was driving them forward during hard times, even giving hope. People talked about the importance of this convening engaging people across sectors – from research, media, education, healthcare, to everyday parents like us –for developing a shared vision and a powerful, actionable strategy. 


  1. Children’s racial learning happens in community. Seeing such a large collective of organizations and individuals dedicated to the work of raising new generations to be race conscious and anti-racist brought forth a palpable sense of hope. In the large ballroom, the many minds and hearts coming together acknowledged that no single person has all the answers and we can make this work more meaningful when we create in connection. We felt welcome to show up as our whole selves: parents, community organizers, and professionals, without needing to be experts in any one arena. The value of community was reaffirmed in various speakers’ calls to bring everyone along as we grow our numbers and further develop this movement for children’s racial learning.


  1. Framing impacts how people view this work. Representatives from FrameWorks Institute shared powerful examples of how the words chosen to present our missions and intentions shift perceptions of the work. They demonstrated the ways in which cultural mindsets such as individualism, fatalism, and other-ism get in the way of how people think and feel about ideas such as children’s racial learning. The speakers emphasized the power of a shared framing for this movement, such as the decision to name and use the term “Children’s Racial Learning.” When we have shared language around a concept, we are able to more effectively change systems. FrameWorks Institute offered several considerations for us to bring into our framing around this movement:


  1. “Explain the relationship between childhood development and children’s racial learning.

  2. When focusing on racial learning in early childhood, be clear that early means early — and use concrete examples to show what that looks like.

  3. Connect the dots between racial learning and a thriving, multiracial democracy.”


  1. Our safety and well-being matter. For all of us involved in supporting children’s racial learning, the task can be daunting and, under current circumstances, comes with justified fears and worries. We explored how we can sustain ourselves, each other, and maybe even build joy around this work. We recognized an immediate need to support caregivers. Those involved in the daily tasks of raising children and youth will benefit from having logistical, physical, and emotional assistance embedded into our pursuit of broader children’s racial learning. We need to “run it like a relay”, taking turns lifting the heavy weight, leaning on each other when we need it, and passing the baton for a bit so we can rest. Practices that prioritize our collective well-being will, in turn, allow our movement to resonate more joy and continue to attract more people to the party!


    As we witness increasingly authoritarian crackdowns on so many programs and people we hold dear, we also recognized that safety and pragmatic steps will ensure the work continues. We need networks of mutual aid for when federal grants are cut. We need legislative backing for when individuals and institutions are threatened and we need decolonized frameworks for healing as we grow the field of children’s racial learning.


  1. Having a clear and shared vision will help us move forward together. One conversation that came up again and again was the need for a shared vision that not only united those in the room, but was also understandable to the broad public and counteracted misunderstandings (and intentional misinformation) that talking about race with kids can be harmful or further division. To build a movement together and bring in more people along the way, we need a shared understanding of what we’re doing and why it’s important. Here are some of the key ingredients we identified:


    1. We focus on children’s racial learning as a key component of child development that we need to attend and attend to better. 

    2. If we don’t support children’s racial learning, they learn about race anyway and often ways that can be harmful to themselves and others, and without the tools, social support, and commitment to lifelong learning that supports a multiracial democracy. 

    3. As we do this, we keep an eye towards building a society where, as one speaker said, “the children always win,” and not just some children, but all. 

    4. And this vision offers something distinctly different and better than what its opponents are offering us now. Instead of fear, isolation, and scarcity, the society we are working towards offers empathy, connection, abundance, and hope. 


  1. What’s Next? We want to bring everyone into the conversation! There are so many families and professionals right here in Dane County who care about and are developing the field of children’s racial learning in unique and beautiful ways. Let’s come together and learn about what we are collectively doing in this moment, what we want our framing to be, and how we can build those networks of safety and wellbeing. Interested in joining us on this adventure? Fill out this form to stay connected as we plan!


In the meantime, we encourage you to check out some of the phenomenal people and organizations we learned about at the Convening. Visit some of these links to learn more!




Families for Justice is a network of people working to dismantle white supremacy in Dane County and beyond through multi-generational community organizing and direct action. Learn more here.

 
 
 

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