Tell preschoolers every day they're racist? Professors have this advice for K-12 educators.

Four scholars recently told early childhood educators that they "must talk about race every day" in their preschool classrooms. 

In an article for the Summer 2021 issue of National Association for the Education of Young Children's journal, Rosemarie Allen, Dorothy L. Shapland, Jen Neitzel, and Iheoma U. Iruka also recommend "1619 Project" by Nikole Hannah-Jones, "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi, and "White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo. 

“Unlike the more common approaches taken, being anti-racist is more than loving all children the same or teaching children more generally about kindness and fairness," the scholars write. "Anti-racist teachers teach about racism throughout the day and the curriculum.”

Jen Neitzel, executive director of the Educational Equity Institute, told Campus Reform many “falsely believe that children are colorblind.” Citing a 1997 study by Katz & Kofkin, she explained that “infants are able to nonverbally categorize people by race and gender at six months of age.”