Walter Gilliam of Yale University was the keynote speaker when the Westchester Children”™s Association held this year”™s advocacy breakfast at Doral Arrowwood. He delivered the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Child Advocacy Lecture. The lecture is supported by an endowment established by the late philanthropist who had been chair of the association.
Gilliam is director of The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy and associate professor of child psychiatry and psychology at Yale”™s Child Study Center. He told the audience that racial bias can be found in the classroom as early as preschool. Gilliam, who authored a 2016 study, “Impact Bias in Preschool,” explained that implicit bias, micro-aggressions, bigotry, and racism impacts our daily lives regardless of who we are, but the implications for children of color are enormous and can cause lasting, harmful effects.
Cora Greenberg, WCA”™s executive director said, “Children of color face obstacles that are not of their own doing, that”™s why we are here today.” In 2016, WCA launched an initiative to help ensure that Westchester children and youth thrive regardless of race or ZIP code.
