“I’m Gonna Cook My Baby in a Pot”: Young Black Girls’ Racial Preferences and Play Behavior

Abstract

Despite calls for an increase in diversity and equity in early childhood classrooms, preschool teachers sometimes struggle to effectively address race in their classrooms, leaving young children to try to make sense of it themselves. Therefore, in this qualitative study, researchers examined how race issues were manifested in the play of young Black preschool girls. Findings indicate that young Black girls had a strong preference for the nonblack dolls. This preference was evident in their repeated rejection of the Black dolls. These findings have significant implications for early childhood teachers and how they anticipate notions or misconceptions children may have about race, structure discussions and activities about race and racism, and scaffold children's development of their racial identity. Further, the paper presents how teacher educators can help to prepare future practitioners for work in helping to foster positive racial identities.