Ki Gross is clear on many things. They are here to serve Black and Brown children, their families, and communities. They center healing and radical love of Black and Brown babies. They create spaces for all manner of Black, Brown, and LGBTQIA+ folx. We’ve been excited about Ki’s work since we first heard of Woke Kindergarten on the Abolitionist Teaching Network’s podcast hosted by Dr. Bettina L. Love, and are deeply honored and humbled to conversate on the show with them.

We were not prepared for the deeply spiritual and healing conversation that ensued. They started by asking us not how we were doing, but “How are you nurturing your spirit today?” And that set the tone. Ki pushes us with passion and love to develop deep learning of the spaces we occupy. Before teachers put a curriculum in place, we must form relationships with our students, their families, and communities. We engage in the practice of education as a community, setting priorities as a collective.

Among the most powerful statements Ki makes to students that “you exist in the future” and that Black and Brown lives are precious. Yes, there are resources shared here, like the Tenets of Woke Kindergarten, the Nap Ministry, 60 second stories, Little Revolutionary, and Black Children Play. But really the power of their ideas is in causing us to reconsider ways in which we may center healing in our work. This conversation was mind-altering, and we hope it gives you the chills of possibility as it did for us.

Please consider attending the Bank Street Early Childhood Symposium TODAY, February 4, 2021!

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