Black Mothers Enacting Refusal in Early Childhood Education and Care

Anti-Blackness enacted against children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been well documented in the context of the United States, particularly in recent years, where young Black children have been belittled by teachers, more harshly punished than their white peers, and expelled, leading to what’s been called the “preschool-to-prison pipeline.” Anti-Black racism and possibilities for Black futurity in the Canadian context of ECEC (pre-Kindergarten), however, remain largely unconsidered. Through the frameworks of Black feminist theory, critical race theory, and Tina Campt’s concept of Black refusal, the authors explore the counter-stories and lived experiences of five Black mothers with children attending childcare centres in the Greater Toronto Area. The contributions of the mothers are organized into five themes: Black mothers refusing tropes of neglectful and angry Black women; Black mothers refusing the pathologization of their children and offers for liberatory re-imaginaries; Black mothers refusing the erasure of Black cultures and living Black futures; Black mothers refusing the status quo in ECEC and offering alternatives; and Black mothers refusing anti-Black racism against children through nuanced dialogue and alternatives. The authors conclude by discussing the possibilities of refusing unjust systems and reimagining alternatives that centre Black affirmation and liberation.