Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/untabooing-the-taboo/5026266/
As early childhood education and development professionals, we have known of each other for many years through connections in the field and mutual friends and family. However, it is only in the last year or so that we have engaged in one-on-one conversations about critical practices toward equity in ECE. We have discussed the visible and invisible impacts and expressions of racism, white supremacy, white supremacy culture, and critical race theory. We have discussed our individual and collective socializations into participating and perpetuating systems of dominance and oppression within the field. We have also discussed the potential of creating and centering “beloved community” as a strategy toward equity.
But, as Rukia Monique Rogers reminds us (see page 16), creating “Beloved Community” is not about singing “Kumbaya” or efforts at harmony. The process involves truth telling, deep listening, and a willingness to stick through expressions of anger and conflict; an acknowledgment that different perspectives are contextualized/located within a system of intersecting continuums of power and privilege, all of which needs to be unpacked. If we are to truly come together as beloved to each other, a process of discernment, healing, and repair, honesty and trust must evolve. We want to both explore ...