The Black Nursery Manager

I needed to expand my thoughts about a child’s right to play here after my reactionary response to share a video of a Black child being detained by the police on my stories. If you’ve seen the video circulating you’ll know what I’m talking
about but it’s not necessary for us to watch it to get the arguments I’ve raised here. They still stand.

There is also a wider point that I wanted to highlight here about the reactionary urge that myself and others felt to share this video with the aim of “educating” without consideration for the further harm this causes Black children and how Kasey Robinson BA (Hons) MSc | Inclusion Consultant (see last slide) calls us out RIGHTLY to STOP and interrogate how this is anti-Blackness in action.

This is to say that WE (particularly Black and global majority educators in this space) must continue to practice what we preach whilst fully embracing the call that rightly comes from our peers in this work which reminds us to be accountable.

No point me chatting about impact over intention whilst not considering this in practice.

Big up Kasey every time ❤️

Best Start in Life Conference today.

🤩 Thank you Southend-on-Sea City Council Ms Taylor-Brown and REACHout Early Years Stronger Practice Hub East of England for having me 🙌🏾

and to everyone who chose my workshop and stayed for my closing keynote ✨

When I did the event in Bristol a few weeks ago and Shaddai suggested we do a write up of it to really capture our reflections and the event itself I thought “what a brilliant idea”💡

It wasn’t until I read back what I had said that I realised how much it was an ode to my mom.

She is OFFICIALLY retiring from the nursery business this year.

She’s owned four nurseries in Birmingham.

She’s 72.

She came here from Portland, Jamaica at 14.

She’s been in business for nearly 40 years.

She’s been challenging the system all of that time and has done so relentlessly.

She taught me well 👑

I’ve linked the full write up expertly done by THE Dr Shaddai Tembo, in the resources link in my bio ❤️

Sometimes share the highs of this work 🌤️

I haven’t stopped thinking about THIS statement 😔 … I feel so sick

supper.club are in Belfast raising funds and doing food drops for families. Orla McKeating is on the ground and her love, care and commitment to anti-racism is beautiful to witness.

Please support the fund on .supper.club page if you can and tag any others doing the work locally 💚

On Friday afternoon I travelled to Easton Community Children’s Centre in Bristol to be in conversation and in community with 40 or so early years professionals who have been committed to anti-racism as an integral part of their practice and it left me feeling moved in so many ways.

I was really touched that it was a full room because people had a choice to spend their Friday in that way ❤️

Dr Shaddai Tembo (pleeeeeease read his work if you haven’t already) is more than an early years colleague that I deeply admire but has become a brilliant critical friend who challenges me to think more presently and deeply about this work. He posed questions that interrogated my sense of purpose and caused me to reflect on what it is that I’m actually trying to achieve by working in the way that I do with anti-racist practice at the core and I think it’s really important to have chances to reflect when you’re doing this work 💭

The audience were brilliant and engaged. They shared wisdom that I reflected on like, how they showed up for their children, how they named the racial disparities in their nurseries that they saw as a result of gentrification in the area. They talked about how activism had to be an essential part of their roles as educators in the face of the far right riots outside of hotels in Bristol housing children and families and that nurseries must be a place of sanctuary and peace for all of the children who come through their doors.

I think that I’m always quite emotionally charged when I do this work but two things that brought me to the brink of tears was when a Muslim educator in the room thanked me for my explicit nature and style - she said that her witness to my ability to say it how it is was refreshing but also quite brave. The second moment was at the end of my talk when the few Black women who were in the room came up to me and we had a group hug 🤣😭 they don’t know how much I needed that and from them ❤️

If you’re in or near Bristol, I implore you to support the work that Izzy, Beth, Shaddai and Erin are doing by attending their next EY Forum for anti - racist practice on:

📅 Monday 22nd June, 5.30–7pm
📍 Easton Community Children’s Centre

Another throwback face, more ramblings 🫠

🚨 REMINDER: Next month I’m in Bristol in conversation with one of my absolute faves in the early years space - Dr Shaddai Tembo.

Over the years me and Shaddai have worked in the anti-racism and social justice space in this sector and both of us have come directly from practice - Shaddai a former nursery practitioner in Bristol , me a former nursery manager in Birmingham - and our experiences have ultimately formed the foundations for the work that we both do now.

Me and Shaddai have written together (something we’re hoping to do more of), delivered keynotes at the same conferences and most recently worked together on the Birth to Five Matters guidance.

It’s not often you get to hear perspectives about the landscape of the sector and reflections of how the work feels when you exist as us so I really am looking forward to this event and am hoping that some of you will be there too!

🎟️ I’ll pop the ticket link for the few remaining tickets in the linktree in my bio