'The Good Cops, Bad Cops, Bullets, and Wounds': Toward Culturally Sustaining 'Prison Abolition Literacies' in Early Childhood Education

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Bibliographic Details
Title: 'The Good Cops, Bad Cops, Bullets, and Wounds': Toward Culturally Sustaining 'Prison Abolition Literacies' in Early Childhood Education
Language: English
Authors: Rachel McMillan, Nathaniel Bryan
Source: Reading Research Quarterly. 2025 60(1).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Descriptors: Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Teachers, African American Students, Culturally Relevant Education, Correctional Institutions, Criminals, Social Justice, Social Action, Social Change, Family Influence, Parent Influence, Early Experience, Emergent Literacy, Change Strategies, Teaching Methods, Curriculum Development
DOI: 10.1002/rrq.586
ISSN: 0034-0553
1936-2722
Abstract: Dominant discourses on the prison industrial complex/ mass incarceration tend to prioritize the experiences of Black adults. However, Black children are dual victims of the prison industrial complex. By that, we mean that they are subjected to incarceration in and beyond early childhood education, and the negative impact of the incarceration of parents/caregivers and other family members. With such considerations in mind, early childhood teachers should teach young Black children to become aware of the injustices of the prison industrial complex. To that end, we ask the following question: How can teachers raise Black children's consciousness of the prison industrial complex and encourage them to build a longstanding commitment to dismantle it through early literacy practices? In this conceptual article, we draw on culturally sustaining pedagogy, the imprisoned Black radical tradition, and abolitionist teaching to introduce and explain the utility of culturally sustaining "prison abolition literacies"--a literacy practice that acknowledges the pervasive injustices of the carceral state and action-oriented ways to combat them to protect Black children and other minoritized children--in early childhood teaching and curriculum.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1458562
Database: ERIC
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Abstract:Dominant discourses on the prison industrial complex/ mass incarceration tend to prioritize the experiences of Black adults. However, Black children are dual victims of the prison industrial complex. By that, we mean that they are subjected to incarceration in and beyond early childhood education, and the negative impact of the incarceration of parents/caregivers and other family members. With such considerations in mind, early childhood teachers should teach young Black children to become aware of the injustices of the prison industrial complex. To that end, we ask the following question: How can teachers raise Black children's consciousness of the prison industrial complex and encourage them to build a longstanding commitment to dismantle it through early literacy practices? In this conceptual article, we draw on culturally sustaining pedagogy, the imprisoned Black radical tradition, and abolitionist teaching to introduce and explain the utility of culturally sustaining "prison abolition literacies"--a literacy practice that acknowledges the pervasive injustices of the carceral state and action-oriented ways to combat them to protect Black children and other minoritized children--in early childhood teaching and curriculum.
ISSN:0034-0553
1936-2722
DOI:10.1002/rrq.586