Carrying Memory, Building Capital: Black Family Child Care Educators’ Community Mothering and Educational Equity

Authors

• Ashley R. WattsFollow
• Crystasany R. Turner, University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeFollow

Abstract

This narrative unfolds not only as research but as living archives of Black family child care educators’ daily acts of care, resistance, and cultural preservation. Each image and story becomes a window into the layered identities of FCCEs—community mothers, pedagogues, and cultural stewards—whose homes and classrooms are sites of both survival and joy. The photographs capture the textures of their caregiving environments: the toys worn smooth by generations of children, the kitchen tables transformed into learning hubs, the walls adorned with cultural symbols and affirmations. These visual and narrative fragments remind us that FCCEs are not simply providers; they are archivists of memory, builders of capital, and anchors of community. Together, the images and testimonies illuminate how professional identity, diasporic traditions, and educator agency converge to sustain families and resist erasure, offering a collective portrait of resilience and belonging.

Author Biography

Ashley Watts is a Black scholar, educator, and equity‑driven leader in early childhood education. Her work bridges research and practice, elevating family child care educators’ resilience and traditions to resist erasure, advance equity, and build movement infrastructure for systemic transformation in education and care. With a career spanning program leadership, participatory research, and systems reform, she has directed multi‑site initiatives, consulted with grassroots organizations, and facilitated communities of practice that embed equity frameworks into daily operations. Ashley’s scholarship highlights the resilience and resistance capital of Black women in care work, positioning their histories and traditions as vital to sustaining liberatory practices in the face of educational inequity and workforce instability. Her vision is to build movement infrastructure that centers equity, solidarity, and collective memory as foundations for durable systems change in early childhood education.

Recommended Citation

Watts, A. R., & Turner, C. R. (2026). Carrying memory building capital: Black family child care educators’ community mothering and educational equity. Occasional Paper Series, (56), 127-138. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1636