Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Causey-Golden.
Ashley, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all started with a loving push from my former director, Sharifa Hodges of Seneca Village Montessori Preschool, and an Instagram account that breathed life into my creativity to start Afrocentric Montessori in June 2019. There was and still is such a need for our children to not only be reflected in the materials, but we must be mindful what messages are being bounced back at our Black and brown children. Our narrative is deeper than hardships, poverty, resilience, and success stories. We have joy, community, and grounding practices that connects to the Earth and our ancestors.
These truths need to be retaught to our children to push back against a narrative that teaches our Black and brown children that their bodies and minds are not valued. America’s history and our current events prove that, and it is my intention to create as well as connect teachers and families with materials and resources that uplift and affirm Black culture and identity.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has not been smooth, but it has been a beautiful learning journey about self. I am finding out that I am my biggest hurdle as I work to grow Afrocentric Montessori. Fighting against the negative self-talk has been the hardest part of my journey. Inner thoughts like, Will this idea take off? Am I the “right” person for this idea? Should I wait until I have more money and time before I put myself out there?
But the hardest parts of this journey have also been the most beautiful. Every time I stop working on Afrocentric Montessori, God would bring people to walk with me for the different seasons of my journey to encourage me, inspire me, challenge me, and expand me. Trust me. I must renew my mind every day and make an active choice that this dream, my idea, is worth the late nights and early mornings. It is worth stepping out of my comfort zone and it is worth not giving up on despite what my current situation is because situations are moments, mere snapshots. They are not permanent fixtures in my life. I am meant to learn, grow, embrace, grieve, heal, and rejoice from the different situations I have along my journey.
Afrocentric Montessori – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Afrocentric Montessori is here to help facilitate enriching moments for parents, teachers and children ages 16 months to five years of age. At Afrocentric Montessori, you can purchase wooden Montessori-inspired learning materials to build and strengthen gross and fine motor skills, numbers and counting, geography skills, and cultural identity. In addition to wooden learning materials, Afrocentric Montessori also offers curriculum for Black children ages 16 months to five years of age to develop a positive self-identity with their racial and cultural identity while learning about: Letters & Phonics, Numbers & Counting, Shape & Color, Culture, Arts, Animal & Plant Study, Gross & Fine Motor Skills, Practical Life Skills, African Proverbs.
Afrocentric Montessori was created on the belief that Black children should not learn about their history for the first time, starting with pain and loss. For many students, the first time they learn about Africa or the contributions of Black people in America—slavery is at the beginning of that narrative. For European history–the introduction for students builds on the narrative of exploration, invention, patriotism, and becoming presidents. As a company, I am uncomfortable with that harsh reality for our Black and brown students. Afrocentric Montessori is here to provide the learning materials, confidence, time, content knowledge to families, teachers and schools to allow Black children a different learning experience with their history.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success has been its own journey for me because I had to go through an unlearning process when creating Afrocentric Montessori. When I first started out, success meant being in the black—being financially smart with product creation, pricing, marketing, and the list can go on. Although those aspects are vital to the operation and sustainability of a business, my idea of success has shifted to a more intentional and holistic focus.
Success, to me, means that Afrocentric Montessori will be more than a product. It is important to me that my business has a pulse on the educational health of communities of color. In the words of Audre Lorde, “The personal is political.” When it comes to the education of Black and brown students, it is personal to me because we have to move beyond the rhetoric of good intentions and understand how schooling and its curriculum affect the physical, mental, and emotional health of our Black and brown children.
I started a Black Montessori Parent Group in August based on the desire from parents to build a community to learn, grow and heal. Community is one aspect of the work but the other is about providing exposure and alternative ways of educating and parenting children. Advocacy is a big part of my work because how can parents make the best choice for their child if they don’t have access, knowledge, or exposure to alternative ways of education?
I see my work as liberation work because when you provide access to resources, whether those are my products or other educational materials that are enriching and culturally-affirming, you are creating generational ripples. You are providing opportunities for parents to parent in a way that may be different than their own experiences and if you ask me, that’s powerful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.afrocentricmontessori.com
- Email: afrocentricmontessori@gmail.com
- Instagram: @afrocentric.montessori
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/AfrocentricMontessori/
- Black Montessori Parent Meetup: Black Parent Montessori Group Interest Form
Image Credit:
The Africa puzzle Images (Angie Januchowski from Aspen Studio)
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