Threads OF Justice
Collective
The Threads of Justice Collective is a grassroots organization. We are a unique collective of volunteers. We are predominantly BIPOC and LGBTQIA+. We care deeply about creating a more just and inclusive world for young children and bringing systemic change to the field of early childhood education. We Strive to operate in a nonhierarchical, shared leadership model - Addressing power dynamics that threaten our efforts for equity and inclusion.
Threads of Justice Collective is one and the same as the communities we serve. We are the early childhood community as workers, parents, advocates and activists.
The negative impact of oppression on young children’s development is significant. We believe that oppression creates harm and trauma in the lives of young children and their families. Our work centers on addressing oppression and promoting justice and inclusion practices with the adults in the lives of young children (families and care/education providers). We support adults in recognizing the impact of their implicit and explicit bias in their interactions with children.
As a Collective we are committed to building relationships with the communities we serve and collaboratively providing them with resources and supports that are relevant to their ongoing and emergent needs. We want to counter the narrative (told by dominant culture) that we are in it alone, and that there is only one right way - we know that our impact, work, and learning are made infinitely stronger by building with the community that we serve. This means that we are always inviting feedback, reimagining how things might be done, and working to invite and widen accessibility to an even more broad spectrum of identities.
Our society does not value its children as intelligent, capable humans. Especially children of color, children who live in poverty, children who do not fit into the gender binary, children who are refugees or immigrants, or children who live with disabilities. The existence of bias, racism, and discrimination negatively impacts all children’s social/emotional development. It diminishes every child's full potential and is dangerous and life-threatening for those from targeted and marginalized group.
Teachers and families play a central role in children's lives when they are given the information and tools to counter bias and oppression, they can be powerful participants and activists for change. TOJC is committed to providing that information and those tools. It’s a long game, but TOJC believes that in order to truly shift power, we must start with how we raise future generations and bring them into the conversation/practice from a young age, as well as engage in intensive individual reflective work to understand systems of power and oppression in our society. Together, we can dismantle those systems and work towards equity for all.
