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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
BMMA, Inc. (Black Mamas Matter Alliance) shares how they apply the core frameworks of Birth Justice, Birth Equity, Reproductive Justice, and Human Rights to shape policy solutions that advance Black Maternal Health (BMH) and Early Childhood (EC) Health outcomes.
Inspired by the Alliance’s “Alabama Experience” for grantees in 2024, New Jersey advocates brought members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus on a similar pilgrimage to Alabama, in order to deepen relationships and advance equity-centered policy.
EDITORIAL: A recent visit to the civl rights sites in Montgomery crystalized for me the role of law, policy, and institutional choices in codifying racial control. These weren’t unintended outcomes. They were options. Design decisions. Legal architectures. It became painfully clear to me that oppression isn’t accidental. It’s designed. Engineered. Rehearsed. Reinforced. And that clarity brought forth questions—not only “how do I live with this knowledge,” but how do I interrupt it? How do I design for inclusion, for truth, for liberation?
The Alliance and the National Indian Health Board offer an overview of the Indian health system, with a focus on how federal Indian law, tribal sovereignty, and the government’s trust responsibility shape access to care for Native mothers, infants, and young children.
In partnership with Salish Kootenai College, other tribal colleges, and the National American Indian/ Alaska Native Head Start Collaboration Office, Zero to Five Montana helped to launch an Early Childhood Tribal Language Summit in 2019 and recently formed a statewide Early Childhood Tribal Coalition.
