As we pursue opportunity for every child, in every state, we acknowledge that racism exists and creates unfair obstacles for children and families of color.
For example:
At the Alliance for Early Success, we know the only way we will achieve our vision is through policy changes that disrupt the systems and practices that cause racial disparities, starting at the very early stages of life.
Allies for Antiracism is our commitment to seeing and addressing racial inequality in our strategic planning and in the 50-state network we support to fulfill our mission.
Our Allies for Antiracism initiative has three pillars:
We will continually name the unfairness that hinders opportunities to succeed for many of our nation’s traditionally marginalized children and families.
We will continually learn and self-assess as professionals and as an organization.
We will continually collaborate with state allies and the national organizations that support their work to hear where they are and what they need, and will follow through with technical efforts to help them pursue policies that dismantle racism and undo racial disparities.
The Alliance’s racial equity work includes:
Operationalizing Equity, a program for our grantees launched in 2021 that funds and supports their work to be more equitable in their advocacy and operations.
Hosting national voices on equity in policy advocacy as part of our National Issues > State Action webinar series.
Advancing the disaggregation of racial data in the analysis of early childhood and family support policy.
Naming unfair systems and equitable practices explicitly in our Theory of Change.
Establishing new grant projects and programs to support states in their efforts to build coalitions and hear voices with lived experience.
Several communities of practice that equip participants to strengthen their organization’s ability to center proximate voices and work with their communities in more trauma-informed, non-extractive ways.
More news on advancing equity from the Alliance and our network:
Explore cross-cultural communication, tribal protocol, and consensus-building strategies for respectful collaboration with Native Nations and communities.
This webinar will focus on Native American communities and examine how power operates within early childhood systems—and within ourselves. Understanding the policy landscape and the historical harm experienced by Native American children, families, and communities is essential, but meaningful partnership also requires examining bias, positionality, and the ways institutions continue to shape access, authority, and decision-making.
The majority of Native people now live in urban areas, yet systems often continue to center reservation-based narratives. We will explore the legacy of federal relocation policies, the rise of Urban Indian Organizations, gaps in funding and service eligibility, and the strengths of intertribal networks that sustain culture and kinship across cities.
The separation of Native children from their families was not accidental—it was policy. In this session, we examine specific policies designed to break apart Native families—and their direct connections to contemporary early childhood, child welfare, and family services advocacy.
Learn more about how Native communities have always understood childhood—as inherently relational, community-centered, and rooted in place. We explore kinship systems where children are raised by many, the connection between land and early learning, and contemporary examples of cultural transmission and community-driven care models.
This foundational session explores the historical and legal foundations of Tribal sovereignty, helping participants understand Native Nations as distinct governments. Through storytelling and reflection, we examine how federal Indian policy, the boarding school legacy, and systemic inequities continue to shape Native families and early childhood systems today.
The passage of the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act enacts provisions that advocates have long fought for and confronts some of the barriers fueling poor maternal health outcomes, but they insist Arkansas has a long way to go to ensure a healthy birth for every mother and baby.
This webinar from Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. (BMMA) and the Alliance for Early Success explores how the Black perinatal workforce operates under the principles of Birth Justice and Reproductive Justice framework, how they interact with the current political landscape, and how advocates can utilize BMMA’s policy priorities to advance care for postpartum families.
Learn how cultural safety in Indigenous health care goes beyond cultural competence to address systemic biases, honor Indigenous knowledge, and build relationships rooted in trust and reciprocity.
