Since 90% of a child's brain develops by the age of five, young children’s experiences during this phase provide the foundation for their health, well-being, and overall trajectory of their lives. While there is a wide body of research demonstrating this, the impact that the effects of racism have on infants, toddlers, and preschoolers is less studied. To expand the literature on this topic, Iheoma U. Iruka, PhD, co-edited Early Childhood Research Quarterly’s supplemental issue, “Advancing Developmental Science on the Impact of Racism in the Early Years,” which was published in December 2024.

Iruka serves as a faculty fellow at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) and is the founding director of the Equity Research Action Coalition at FPG. A tenured full professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Iruka collaborated on this publication with co-editors Stephanie M. Curenton, PhD, a professor at Boston University, Jacqueline Sims, PhD, a research scientist at Boston University, and Nneka Ibekwe-Okafor, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

The supplement’s articles look at the effects of racism at both the individual-interpersonal and cultural-structural levels and how this impacts the health and learning of racially and ethnically marginalized families and children. The supplement examines:

• how racism is manifested in early care and education systems, policies, and programs;
• the ways that racism influences the economic and community contexts in which children live; and
• the cultural assets racially and ethnically marginalized families and communities use to cope with—and resist—racism.

Utilizing the lens of the R3ISE Integrative Model (Racism + Resilience + Resistance Integrative Study of Childhood Ecosystem)— developed by Iruka and colleagues, including the other editors of this supplement—the articles look at: inequitable access to and experiences in early childhood care and education (ECE); economic and neighborhood inequity; exposure to environmental racism; and how families use culturally grounded forms of resistance against oppression.

“I am honored and humbled to have taken part in co-leading this special issue; we stand on many shoulders,” said Iruka. “However, I am most excited to ensure the insights of this issue are activated for the flourishing of children, families, and communities from minoritized backgrounds and communities."

Black families’ experiences in early childhood care and education

While significant research demonstrates the importance of high-quality ECE, the historic inequities in ECE for racially and ethnically marginalized children negatively affects their learning and growth.  Supplemental articles examine this topic in a variety of ways. One article calls for ECE programs and policies to focus on the strengths of Black children and families by “moving away from the fallacy of ‘white normality’ views of what is considered optimal functioning.” Another piece emphasizes the importance of educators being culturally responsive when teaching diverse children, focusing on linguistic racism and the deleterious impact of ECE educators’ negative views of African American English (AAE) and children’s performance.

The importance of cultural responsiveness in community-engaged participatory research partnerships is examined in a paper that leveraged a population health framework to address barriers to high-quality ECE programs for Black families. The researchers identified policies that could address barriers for families seeking ECE services and programs.

Economic and neighborhood inequities

Many Black children and other children of color are more likely to live in segregated and low-wealth households and communities, which compounds other inequities such as health and wealth disparities. An article in the supplement notes that debt, home ownership, income changes, and discrimination contribute to racial/ethnic wealth gaps. Another team examined the relation between a geographic area’s historical racism with current structural inequalities—such as economic mobility, racial disparities in poverty rates, implicit bias, and residential segregation—in the same area.

Another article explored how early educators’ well-being impacted young children, especially during the COVID pandemic which fueled anti-Asian hate. The authors found that educators’ experiences with racial discrimination were related to their mental and socio-emotional health, which then had an effect on young children in ECE programs in Asian American neighborhoods.

Exposure to environmental racism

The harmful effects of environmental racism, defined as “the disproportionate exposure and impact of environmental hazards, pollution, and degradation of natural environments faced by racially marginalized people,” is discussed in three papers. One researcher synthesized evidence on the ways that environmental racism increases disparities in health, learning, and well-being in children’s early years while another article shows how “structural racism manifests as environmental racism.”  The third article on this subject uses the ongoing environmental health crisis in Flint, Michigan to demonstrate how a computer-aided strategy approach to policy design could be used to “describe, understand, and advance solutions to environmental racism and its impacts on child development.”

Families’ and communities’ culturally grounded forms of resistance

Families from racially marginalized backgrounds who actively resist historical and contemporary oppression are featured in articles in the supplement. One piece argues for the critical importance of paying appropriate wages to women of color who work in ECE. Another article examines how anti-Blackness manifests in ECE spaces, noting that Black families in the U.S. have long been inadequately served and harmed by ECE programs and policies. The authors stress the importance of eliminating the normalization of white ways of being while also emphasizing the strengths of Black children and families in ECE settings. Another article highlights the importance of community-engaged participatory research partnerships that enhance cultural responsiveness.

“I am honored and humbled to have taken part in co-leading this special issue; we stand on many shoulders,” said Iruka. “However, I am most excited to ensure the insights of this issue are activated for the flourishing of children, families, and communities from minoritized backgrounds and communities."