Our mission at DCRC is to promote the resilience of children and the adults who care for them. Understanding this resilience among Black and Brown children requires us to acknowledge their unique experience with our nation’s legacy of oppression, and how that impacts development. We will not look away from this moment in our history, where many Black and Brown children’s sense of safety and worth is yet again undermined, and where the COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately impacted their community. We must keep our eyes trained on these injustices and the conditions that made them possible, even after the lens of public outrage has shifted.
Being resilience-focused in this moment means calling upon and nurturing protective factors within others and ourselves. The protective factors of healthy relationships, self-regulation, initiative and internal beliefs can fortify us. To that end, remember that Black and Brown children deserve relationships that affirm their worth, their brilliance and their joy. Acknowledge the feelings of Black and Brown children, and do not mistake natural reactions to trauma for a lack of self-regulation. Listen deeply to the voices of Black and Brown children, so they come to believe in their own initiative and value. Seek to investigate and challenge internal beliefs that are hurtful to Black and Brown children and their families. Together, we must decolonize our minds and start anew.
On behalf of our entire team, we dedicate ourselves to resilience-focused change that fortifies children, families, and early care and education professionals to heal from and fight systemic racism. We stand united with those who are committed to advancing early care and education toward a more culturally responsive and sustaining framework. We will channel our despair into actions that break the cycle of trauma inflicted by racism. Please join us.
In solidarity,
The DCRC Team
