Week 6 PPC Agenda

Play is a right of all children. Period.

And as practitioners serving all children, we must acknowledge that the experiences of children of color are different from white children because of racist beliefs that show up in inequitable policies, biases, overt actions and also many sneaky, insidious ways. When we talk about dismantling barriers to play, we don't only mean by answering material needs for children at play... There is no question that some barriers that exist for children are based on racist ideologies that change the way children of color in particular are allowed to "be" in this world-- it's shameful and it's our work to dismantle it as people of all colors offering play provision. During this week we're going to dive deep into anti-racism as an essential building block of any good play space, about the experiences of children at play and how racism shows up and we're going to hear from an amazing group of playworkers of color. This week is about amplifying BIPOC voices and diving into the very important role white people have in becoming actively anti-racist allies. This work requires all of our attention because our world is steeped and stewed in racism, let's get into it together and work to end oppression.

Relating to Play as Anti-Racist Provision:

Case Study with Kelsey Langley of KOOP Adventure Play:

Using my love language of story sharing, I'll open each week's content with a short story of play from my playwork experience that highlights the work we're about to dive into and sets the tone for where we're headed during the week.

Ijumaa Jordan, ECE Consultant:

Ijumaa is an amazing anti-racist educator who also runs the Facebook group Play and Equity. We can't wait to hear her talk and I highly encourage you to go follow Ijumaa & subscribe to her mailing list.

Dr. Harrison Pinckney IV, Clemson University

Violence against Black youth in play is not a new phenomenon. From James Thompson and David Simpson, to Tamir Rice, to Dajerria Becton the safety of Black youth remains at risk even during times of play. This talk will examine factors that contribute to this ongoing threat to Black youth at play and highlight policies and procedures that could lend themselves towards providing Black youth the access to play that they deserve.

Panel Discussion from playworkers of color.

We're holding space for some wonderful playworkers we know who want to share their experiences as people of color and how that effects their work. We regard the work of these people as so important and we've been learning from each of them for years now-- we can't wait to share this conversation.