Honoring Scholars Shaping a More Just Future for Children
Scholars of Color Series
Scholars of Color Series: Honoring Legacies. Amplifying Voices. Inspiring the Future.
The Foundation for Child Development’s Scholars of Color Series celebrates the profound scientific, policy, practice, and community contributions of scholars committed to enhancing the lives of children marginalized by racism, xenophobia, and economic inequality.
Launched in 2022, amid a period of social and political upheaval in the United States, the series serves as a response to current challenges and a beacon for future generations. It affirms the transformative power of scholarship rooted in lived experience and connected to policy and practice.
This series uplifts the voices of scholars of color whose groundbreaking work has redefined the fields of child development and education research, policy, and practice. Their work challenges entrenched systems of oppression, honors the strength and resilience of marginalized communities, and illuminates pathways toward a more just future.
From Whence We Came: Understanding the Past to Shape the Future
The Series situates each featured scholar’s contributions within a broader sociohistorical context, exploring how shifts in science, politics, and culture influenced their work and worldviews. By reflecting on the ideas and contexts that shaped their work, the Series illuminates the evolution of thought, the power of resisting orthodoxy, and the enduring relevance of scholarship grounded in an understanding of race, culture, indigeneity, inequality, and oppression.
Legacy Building: Science in Pursuit of Social Justice
The Series honors each scholar’s scientific, policy, and practice contributions, celebrating their efforts to advance equitable, inclusive, and culturally responsive research. These scholars remind us that science is not neutral. It is shaped by power: who conducts the research, whose voices are heard, and who interprets the findings.
Enduring Legacies: Charting the Path Forward
Looking ahead, the Series invites us to build upon these foundations, continuing the fight for social change and creating a more just, equitable, and inclusive future for all children. The legacies of these scholars offer insights for future generations: to challenge injustice, embrace the strengths of children and families, and reimagine what is possible.
Ultimately, the Series serves as both tribute and call to action, honoring those who paved the way, while inspiring a new generation of scholars to continue their legacies to confront injustice, celebrate the strengths of families and communities, and imagine the full developmental potential of all children.
Our Honorees
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Dr. Asa Grant Hilliard III
Dr. Hilliard’s legacy reshaped how educators and researchers understand intelligence, learning, and the development of Black children, championing educational equity and research that honors children’s strengths, identities, and lived experience.
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Dr. James Comer
Dr. Comer pioneered a whole-child approach to education through the School Development Program, advancing a developmentally grounded framework that centers supportive relationships, engaged families, and positive school climates to foster inclusive learning environments where all children can thrive. Watch: Dr. James P. Comer: His Work & Relevance for Today
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Dr. Cynthia García Coll
Dr. Cynthia García Coll transformed developmental science by challenging Eurocentric norms and advancing a liberatory framework that confronts systemic inequities and centers culture, context, and community strengths to advance research that is inclusive, just, and rooted in respect for the identities and experiences of children of immigrants and their families. |
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Foundation.