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Allies for Antiracism

As we pursue opportunity for each and every child in each and every state, we know we must center racial equity and antiracism in our early childhood policy advocacy.

The Alliance for Early Success Allies for Antiracism

Over the past four centuries, racist policies in our country have been central to the creation of pervasive systems, practices, and perceptions that rob and constrain children of color from birth—generation after generation.

So we at the Alliance for Early Success believe the only way we’ll achieve our vision is through policy changes that dismantle the structural racism that causes disparity from the beginning. As we work toward our mission of creating an early childhood policy advocacy community that secures the policies and investments essential for every young child to thrive, we know we must center racial equity.

Allies for Antiracism is our commitment to centering racial equity in our strategic planning and in the community building that is central to our work.

 

Our Allies for Antiracism initiative has three pillars:

What We Do Links:

NAMING

We will continually name the racism that permeates all aspects of the opportunities to succeed for many of our nation’s children and families.

JOURNEYING

We will continually learn and self-assess as professionals and as an organization. 

COLLABORATING

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 began this journey in 2015 when we convened a racial equity advisory group to guide the revision of our policy framework, and we are continuing the learning, conversation, and practice that will help us — and the early childhood allies in our national community — get increasingly effective in centering racial equity. 

Additional components of the work currently include: 

  • Operationalizing Equity, a new six-month intensive for advocacy organization leadership. We are working with the first cohort of grantees to co-create this program that will ultimately reach all 50 states.
  • A new Emerging Early Childhood Policy Professionals of Color peer network. We are working with several dozen interested professionals at the state and national levels to co-create a meaningful and supportive network for young early childhood advocates of color and to build a pipeline of diverse leaders.
  • Hosting national voices on structural racism — such as Dr. Ibram Kendi and Dr. Joia Crear-Perry — to address our network as part of our new National Issues > State Action webinar series.
  • Advancing the disaggregation of racial data in the analysis of early childhood and family support policy.
  • Centering racial equity as foundational in the reinvention of the country's early care and education system.
  • Facilitating peer-to-peer learning between states and providing ongoing resources for operationalizing racial equity in early childhood policy advocacy.
  • Establishing new grant projects and programs to support states in their efforts to build coalitions and hear voices with lived experience.
  • Continuing our ongoing all-staff racial equity self-development to ensure we all — as individuals and professionals — continually strengthen our ability to see and address structural racism.

We know this work takes “wild patience” — the urgent pursuit of structural change that comes more gradually than we want —  so we will both act now and make plans to continue to act until our vision for each and every child in each and every state is realized. 

Alliance Webinar on Supporting the Perinatal Workforce in Policy and Practice

The perinatal workforce plays an indispensable role in ensuring the well-being and survival of pregnant people and their babies throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. However, systemic issues and social disparities continue to persist, leaving many birthing people, particularly Black and Indigenous communities, without access to the quality maternal health care they deserve. The Alliance and co-host Black Mamas Matter Alliance will explore strategies to better equip, support and advance the Black maternal, reproductive, and perinatal workforce.

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August 20, 2023

The Alliance Launches Second Cohort to Support Advocates Centering Lived Experience and Sharing Power

The Alliance for Early Success is launching a second cohort of the Centering Parent and Practitioner Power (CPPP) Community of Practice aimed at strengthening the capacity of state grantees seeking to build authentic and impactful partnerships that are rooted in lived experiences and values of racial equity and shared power. The eight-month cohort experience creates the space for courageous conversations necessary to deepen the understanding, appreciation, and skills to equitably center the expertise of community members in policy and advocacy work.

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August 9, 2023

Alliance Webinar on Community Voice in Maternal Health Solutions

In the journey to achieving maternal health equity, the voices and experiences of birthing people and families impacted by these disparities are our most powerful catalysts for change. Despite navigating the painful realities of inequities in maternal health, they remain underrepresented in shaping solutions. It’s time to rewrite this narrative. In this webinar hosted by Elephant Circle and Alliance for Early Success, panelists explore best practices and approaches to community-driven maternal health solutions to address disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality.

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August 8, 2023

Alliance for Early Success Receives $10-Million Investment from MacKenzie Scott and Launches Innovative New Early Childhood Power Equity Fund

The Alliance for Early Success, a 50-state early childhood policy nonprofit, announced today a $10-million grant from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The unrestricted investment will fund the launch of the Power Equity Initiative, a bold strategy to grow an influential voice for young children at the state level by catalyzing equitable coalitions in which parents, advocates, practitioners, and other diverse voices work collaboratively to improve policies and increase funding.

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June 28, 2023

Alliance Webinar on Disparities in Maternal Health

It is clear that good infant health starts before birth and that equitable access to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care are critical for long-term health for babies and their parents. Yet the maternal health crisis in this country has persisted, and it’s a crisis that disproportionally impacts communities of color. This is powerful discussion on the disparities in maternal health care and—most important—what policy advocates can do to eliminate them.

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February 28, 2023

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