Dr Lucretia Berry and Dr Tehia Glass on Justice and Belonging in the Early Years

Dr Lucretia Berry and Dr Tehia Glass discuss creating inclusive early years environments, emphasising racial competence, self-reflection, and practical strategies for fostering justice and belonging.
· September 13, 2024

Dr Lucretia Berry is the visionary founder of Brownicity, whose mission is to foster education designed to inspire a culture of justice and belonging. As a wife in an interracial marriage and mom of three multiethnic children, Lucretia brings her personal and professional experience to the public sector where she is passionate about serving children and their adult decision-makers.

Her books, courses, and TED Talk quell fears and inspire hope. Her learning-centered approach is inspirational, appreciated, and celebrated.

Dr. Tehia Starker Glass is the Cato College of Education Director of Diversity and Inclusion, the Inclusive Excellence Executive Fellow for Faculty Development for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and an award-winning Associate Professor of Elementary Education and Educational Psychology in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Dr. Glass’ passion resides in ensuring that all marginalized students have successful schooling experiences. She is a former elementary school teacher who now consults nationally with teachers, schools, districts, and organizations to revise their instruction and curriculum to be more anti-racism oriented and is also a TED speaker.

Together they have co-authored a fabulous book called ‘Teaching for Justice & Belonging: A Journey for Educators & Parents’.

This session delves into the crucial topics of justice and belonging in Early Years settings. Dr Berry and Dr Glass share practical insights on creating inclusive environments where all children feel valued and respected. Their approach emphasises self-reflection, understanding racial competence, and implementing small but meaningful changes over time.

In this episode you’ll:

  • Discover why racial competence is essential, even for young children
  • Learn how to create a just learning space where children maintain their full humanity
  • Understand the concept of microaggressions and how to address them
  • Explore practical ways to embed justice and belonging in your setting
  • Find out how to engage parents and create a supportive community for change

Watch this episode to gain valuable insights on fostering justice and belonging in your early years setting, creating an environment where every child can thrive.

Dr Berry & Dr Glass explain why teaching anti-racism isn’t about demanding behaviour changes in others; it’s meeting people where they are. They urge finding parents, colleagues who want to move forward, then taking next steps together. Beautiful metaphors like tending soil before fruits can grow reinforce that this is continual work. But with vision, goals, looking back at progress made, justice and belonging can thrive.

This episode was originally broadcast on the 6th of January 2023.

Links:

You can buy the book on Brownicity here: https://brownicity.com/

Or Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119834325/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Dr Berry’s TED talk can be found here:

https://www.ted.com/talks/lucretia_berry_children_will_light_up_the_world_if_we_don_t_keep_them_in_the_dark

Dr Glass’s TED talk can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVoVsbpfZhA

Dr Glass’s Graduate Certificate in Anti-Racism can be found here:

https://professional.charlotte.edu/programs/anti-racism-graduate-certificate

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Episode Includes

  • Episode Certificate