BlackECE

BlackECE Professional Development Institute Cohort 2: Session #3
2026-02-18 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
At Black Californians United for Early Care and Education (BlackECE), we are dedicated to transforming Early Childhood Education (ECE) by offering specialized workshops and training for educators that promote culturally affirming care for Black children. Our training sessions equip early childhood education professionals, including P-3 educators with tools to create enriching, supportive, and inclusive environments where Black children thrive, while also addressing the historical harms that have been created in education systems.
Our Institute is a 5-session, 10 hour professional development series offered online (Zoom), for only $750.00. Space is limited to 30 participants and attendees are required to attend all five sessions. We offer flexible payment options, including installment payments.
Session #3 Training Overview:
Raising Anti-racist Children Through Love and Healing
Offers practical approaches for nurturing anti-racist values in children and educators alike, promoting love and self-care in the process.
Learn More

Black Joy Parade
2026-02-22 12:30 - 17:00 | Downtown Oakland, 1 Kaiser Plaza, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Black Joy Parade is a hyper-positive non-profit based in Oakland, CA that celebrates the Black experience and community’s contribution to history and culture with its signature parade and celebration, partnerships and events.

The Black Joy Parade exists to provide the Black community and allies a live experience that celebrates our influence on cultures past, present and future. We will unite a diverse community by creating a space to express each of our unique contributions to the Black experience. We invite you to be creative, be open, be present, be free.

Lift Every Voice Monthly Meeting
2026-02-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Virtual
Are you ready to stand up for Black child care educators? Are you ready to take your voice to Sacramento, your local community, and maybe (maybe) nationally to fight the racial wage gap? Do you want to join a cohort of Black child care providers in community, support, fellowship and action? You must be able to:

Attend virtual twice a month 1-hour gatherings/trainings with your fellow advocates
Be willing to make phone calls and/or send emails to decision makers
Be willing to travel to Sacramento to testify or provide public comment at hearings, meet with legislators at least twice in 2024
With training and support, be able and willing to tell your story to legislators, possibly present workshops at conferences or to other interested parties
Provide your voice to help develop solutions to Black child care educators being paid .78 less on average than their white counterparts

All advocates will have travel expenses covered, receive a $1500 annual stipend, stipends for out of town advocacy, and small stipends for the twice a month gatherings.
Are you in?
Complete the Commitment Form.

Understanding Black English: What It Is and Why It Matters
2026-02-25 13:00 - 15:00 | Virtual
Wednesday, February 25 | 1:00 PM (PT)
This session centers the historical roots of Black English and its deep connections to early literacy development. Grounded in community knowledge and parent–child relationships, the conversation highlights how honoring home language is an act of cultural affirmation that shapes how young children understand language, learning, and themselves.
The webinar features a dynamic conversation with a special guest speaker, moderated by Dr. Ashley Williams (BlackECE), and draws from family and community listening sessions to connect history, language, and early literacy.
Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9l8iyT7vRfK1qRlsyoYkWA

Black Literacy Matters Conference
2026-03-11 - 2026-03-14 | Norfolk State University, 700 Park Avenue, Norfolk, VA, 23504, United States
About the Conference

The Black Literacy Matters® Conference is a national professional learning convening dedicated to strengthening literacy outcomes through evidence-based instruction, structured literacy practices, and effective intervention for struggling readers.
The conference was founded in response to a measurable and persistent challenge: too many students across the country remain below proficient in reading. Among them are students who have historically experienced limited access to high-quality, explicit literacy instruction — including students with learning differences, students navigating language variation, and students in communities where literacy outcomes have remained disproportionately low over time.
The Black Literacy Matters® Conference focuses on solutions. Rather than centering rhetoric, the conference centers research. Sessions highlight the science of reading, structured literacy implementation, language development, culturally responsive instructional alignment, and practical classroom strategies that improve foundational skills and long-term achievement.
BlackECE will be presenting at the conference!

Language as Identity: Supporting Early Literacy Through Black English and Black Languages
Presented by Samantha Thompson & Lisa Wilson
Learn More: https://blackliteracymatters.org/black-literacy-matters/conference/

2026 Annual CAAASA PD Summit
2026-03-18 - 2026-03-20
BlackECE will be attending the 2026 Annual CAAASA PD Summit.

Lift Every Voice Monthly Meeting
2026-03-22 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-04-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Virtual
Are you ready to stand up for Black child care educators? Are you ready to take your voice to Sacramento, your local community, and maybe (maybe) nationally to fight the racial wage gap? Do you want to join a cohort of Black child care providers in community, support, fellowship and action? You must be able to:

Attend virtual twice a month 1-hour gatherings/trainings with your fellow advocates
Be willing to make phone calls and/or send emails to decision makers
Be willing to travel to Sacramento to testify or provide public comment at hearings, meet with legislators at least twice within a year
With training and support, be able and willing to tell your story to legislators, possibly present workshops at conferences or to other interested parties
Provide your voice to help develop solutions to Black child care educators being paid .78 less on average than their white counterparts

All advocates will have travel expenses covered, receive a $1500 annual stipend, stipends for out of town advocacy, and small stipends for the twice a month gatherings.
Are you in?

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Black English Webinar Series: Webinar #2
2026-05-06 13:00 - 15:00 | Virtual
The Black English Language Workgroup is a collaborative partnership of organizations committed to advancing language justice for Black children in early childhood education. The workgroup brings together BlackECE, Californians Together, Catalyst California, and Early Edge to challenge harmful language hierarchies and affirm Black English as a legitimate, rule-governed language rooted in Black history, culture, and community.
Grounded in research, community knowledge, and lived experience, the workgroup centers the voices of Black families, educators, and advocates to address how language bias shows up in early learning spaces—and how it can be dismantled. Together, the partners work to shift narratives, strengthen practice, and influence policy so Black children’s home languages are honored as assets rather than deficits.
About the Webinar Series
This three-part webinar series brings together parents, educators, advocates, researchers, and community leaders to explore Black (English) Language as a rule-governed language and a powerful asset in children’s identity, belonging, and early literacy development. Through shared learning, research, history, and policy dialogue, participants will strengthen their ability to advance language-affirming practices that uplift Black children and families across early childhood systems.
Webinar #2: Honoring Home Language: Black (English) Language, History, and Early Literacy Development
The second webinar deepens the series by examining the historical roots of Black (English) Language and its connection to early literacy development. Centering community knowledge and parent–child relationships, this session highlights how honoring home language is grounded in the wisdom of families and cultural insiders and shapes how young children come to understand language and learning. Join us for a dynamic conversation with a special guest speaker, moderated by Dr. Ash from Black Californians United for Early Care and Education (BlackECE). The session will draw from family and community listening sessions to connect history, language, and literacy, offering grounded insights that support language-affirming practice across early childhood settings.

BlackECE Wisdom Circle Meeting
2026-05-18 16:00 - 18:00 | Virtual
The Wisdom Circle is a space where Black community members and industry professionals serve as cultural brokers—offering perspective and bringing lived experience, knowledge, and thoughtfulness to inform the BlackECE leadership team’s strategic decision‑making.
Ideally, the Circle includes the following perspectives:

Co-founders
Staff & Consultants
Child development experts
Community representatives

If you would like more information how you can contribute to the BlackECE Wisdom Circle, please contact Samantha@blackece.org.

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Black English Webinar Series: Webinar #3
2026-07-15 13:00 - 15:00 | Virtual
The Black English Language Workgroup is a collaborative partnership of organizations committed to advancing language justice for Black children in early childhood education. The workgroup brings together BlackECE, Californians Together, Catalyst California, and Early Edge to challenge harmful language hierarchies and affirm Black English as a legitimate, rule-governed language rooted in Black history, culture, and community.
Grounded in research, community knowledge, and lived experience, the workgroup centers the voices of Black families, educators, and advocates to address how language bias shows up in early learning spaces—and how it can be dismantled. Together, the partners work to shift narratives, strengthen practice, and influence policy so Black children’s home languages are honored as assets rather than deficits.
About the Webinar Series
This three-part webinar series brings together parents, educators, advocates, researchers, and community leaders to explore Black (English) Language as a rule-governed language and a powerful asset in children’s identity, belonging, and early literacy development. Through shared learning, research, history, and policy dialogue, participants will strengthen their ability to advance language-affirming practices that uplift Black children and families across early childhood systems.
Webinar #3: From Recognition to Action: Policy, Advocacy, and Black (English) Language as a Language
The final webinar concludes the series by focusing on advocacy and policy pathways that support language-affirming systems. Participants will examine how Black (English) Language can be recognized within broader understandings of Dual Language Learners and why naming it as a rule-governed language matters for early childhood policy and practice. This session offers practical insights for educators, administrators, and advocates supporting providers, children, and families who speak Black (English) Language—while contributing to inclusive policy conversations at the local, state, and national levels.

BlackECE Wisdom Circle Meeting
2026-07-20 16:00 - 20:00 | Virtual
The Wisdom Circle is a space where Black community members and industry professionals serve as cultural brokers—offering perspective and bringing lived experience, knowledge, and thoughtfulness to inform the BlackECE leadership team’s strategic decision‑making.
Ideally, the Circle includes the following perspectives:

Co-founders
Staff & Consultants
Child development experts
Community representatives

If you would like more information how you can contribute to the BlackECE Wisdom Circle, please contact Samantha@blackece.org.

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2026 BlackECE Symposium: We are the Return
2026-08-06 08:30 - 2026-08-07 16:00 | Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, 828 I St., Sacramento, 95814, United States
Save the Date!
Thursday, August 6, 2026 – Friday, August 7, 2026
Tsakopoulos Library Galleria
Join us for our Third Annual BlackECE Symposium: We are the Return: Culture, Capital & Economic Justice in Early Care and Education.
REGISTRATION OPENS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2026!
