Youtube’s Tab Time: A Master-Class in Identity Affirming Early Childhood Programming
As I sat on my living room sofa, watching Tab Time with my daughters, I beamed with pride as they giggled and danced along to the afro-donning, African American Language speaking, Ms. Tab. Tabitha Brown, vegan influencer, entertainer, and entrepreneur plays Ms. Tab on her newest Youtube project, an original scripted show made for young children. The show reminds me of being a young child enamored by Mr. Roger and all of the events of his neighborhood. That is with one major exception: the wise and friendly adult looked like she could be a member of our family. Not only does Ms. Tab look the part but she also behaved and spoke the way we do too.
I realized that this feeling of pride from seeing a part of myself (and my daughters) joyfully singing, dancing, and experiencing life is exactly what an identity-affirming early childhood classroom should feel like. In the first two episodes, Ms. Tab has taught us about physical science, music, feelings, vocabulary, nutrition, and storytelling. She has taught her viewers all of this while being true to herself through her spoken dialect, southern accent, brown skin, and afro hair.
In a piece published by The Conversation, What I learned when I recreated the famous ‘doll test’ that looked at how Black kids see race, I spoke of the tragic findings of my study with young children who decades later, behaved similarly to the children in the Clark’s doll studies that played a role in school desegregation. Though sad, the findings of the study are worth sharing because they serve as a call to action for adults to create positive images of Blackness and to challenge anti-Blackness in all of its forms so that Black children can develop healthy racial identities and all children can understand the value of all people. But centering race and Blackness is not always sad.
Tab Time is an excellent exemplar of what identity-affirming, joyful early childhood media can be. The bright and kind 20-minute show engages all children but carefully embraces Black children, children that may have internalized feelings of inferiority due to anti-Blackness being ever-present in our society. Because of its joyful approach to emergent academics, Tab Time can serve as a resource for early childhood educators. Since the show is published on a free website, educators can play clips of an episode to get children excited before hands-on learning experiences. Parents can watch the show with their young children and then work together to create the craft or snack of the day.
With many educators feeling nervous about discussing aspects of diversity with their students because of changes in legislation, Tab Time, a positive and yet racially affirming and educational show presents an option. Racial identity, one’s feelings about their assigned racial group’s worth relevant to the rest of society, plays a crucial role in academic achievement and overall success. Therefore it is crucial that early childhood educators support the identities of their children in a way that makes sense for them. Regardless of the method, I hope that each child is able to feel the joy and warmth that I experienced as I sat in my living room watching Tab Time with my daughters.