California Advocates Push to Affirm Black English in Early Childhood Education Policies

Progressive education advocates in California, led by the nonprofit Black Californians United for Early Care & Education (BlackECE), are calling for state policies to recognize and affirm Black English—also known as African American English or African American Vernacular English—as a legitimate, rule-governed linguistic system in preschool and early learning settings. The effort aims to challenge language hierarchies, support literacy development, and affirm the cultural identity of Black children, similar to existing supports for bilingual and dual-language learners. BlackECE, a coalition of advocates, educators, researchers, and organizations, has developed a 10-point policy agenda focused on Black children and families. It argues that California's dual-language learning initiatives should explicitly include Black English speakers. Co-founder Ashley Williams has emphasized the need to value children's natural speech patterns to prevent feelings of invalidation, drawing from her own experiences with linguistic bias. The group has partnered with entities like Early Edge California, Catalyst California, and Californians Together to form the Black English Language Workgroup, which is producing knowledge briefs and professional development resources. Recent coverage from KQED highlights how these advocates seek inclusion in state-funded preschool identification and curriculum guidelines for dual-language learners. While the initiative builds on broader equity efforts post-2020, it revives debates around Ebonics and language affirmation in education without proposing to replace standard English instruction.