Anti-Racism

The United States is a divided nation on many fronts; but, race seems to be particularly divisive. This is not surprising since race is a construct created to divide the masses to be conquered by the few. This conquest allowed the foundation of the nation's social, political, and economic structures to be rooted in the institution of a unique form of slavery based on the fabricated characteristic of race. Racism (i.e., racial oppression and white racial privilege) is a dehumanizing force. When one is dehumanized, all are dehumanized. To restore the promise of life, liberty and justice for all, racial reconciliation efforts must restore humanity by addressing the harm in racial disharmony. In considering the issue of racial reconciliation in the US and focusing on social work responses within a Christian context, this paper: 1) explores foundational concepts pertinent to developing a rigorous and coherent definition of racial reconciliation; 2) develops the steps for the process of racial reconciliation efforts grounded in the conceptual model of anti-racism critical transformative potential (TP), and framed by restorative justice principles; and 3) examines how Christian and/or social work practitioners can participate in racial reconciliation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ample research data indicate that young children recognize racial characteristics and subsequently exhibit both positive and negative racial attitudes toward their own and other racial groups. In the early childhood field, educators commonly adopt an anti-bias/multicultural curriculum to address such issues with young children and—with rare exceptions—such methods are subject to ongoing endorsement in the scholarly literature. This article, however, offers a more comprehensive critique of the anti-bias curriculum, including an analysis of the conceptual frameworks underpinning several of the associated teaching strategies. In addition, the present article illustrates how the anti-bias curriculum, though presented as congruent with the empirical evidence with respect to the education of young children and race, departs considerably from these data. Furthermore, the curricula under scrutiny fail to engage young children in critical discussions and classroom practices centering on: (i) power relations; (ii) racism; (iii) whiteness; and (iv) white privilege. This critique concludes with a preliminary conceptualization of anti-racism in early childhood education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]