For-profit

Woke Kindergarten

Location:

Germantown, MD

Type:

Consultancy

Founded:

2020

Founder:

Akiea Gross

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Woke Kindergarten is a for-profit consulting firm based in Germantown, Maryland that offers clients critical race theory-aligned “antiracism” services and materials. It was founded and is operated by left-of-center Tactivist Akiea Gross.

Background

Woke Kindergarten was incorporated on April 17, 2020 in Germantown, Maryland by Akiea Gross, a left-wing activist. 1 Despite its for-profit status, the organization states that it “relies primarily on donations” and asks that fans support it either directly or through Patreon, a crowdfunding platform. 2

Workshops

Woke Kindergarten advertises six workshops to clients: “abolitionist teaching in the early years,” which claims to demonstrate how “the prison industrial complex manifests in early childhood”; “Protecting Joy: The Art of Critical Conversations,” which shows participants how to use the firm’s toolkits and resources to engage in “critical conversations”; “It’s Lit! Early Literacy Through the Woke Kindergarten Lens,” which specializes in showing participants how to make use of “60 Second Text” materials (and which is bundled as a product with the “60 Second Text Lesson Plan”); “Woke Read Alouds: Making Life Affirming Connections to Our World,” which claims to demonstrate how reading aloud constitutes “an act of resistance” conducive to “experiential exploration”; “Reading with ya Babies: Literacy in the Early Years,” which aims to help parents and caregivers interested in fostering an appreciation for reading in children; and “Youth Workshop: Wondering Towards an Abolitionist Future,” which is offered directly to children. 3

Woke Wonderings

Woke Kindergarten offers clients materials meant to provoke classroom conversations. These materials, largely centered on left-wing advocacy points, styled “woke wonderings,” include questions such as “if we challenge the legitimacy of the supreme court, how might we transfer power back to the people?”; “if we eradicate borders, how might we build our communities to include and support neighbors from all over the world?”; “if every military in the world was defunded and abolished, how could we use that money for care instead?”; and “if the United States defunded the Israeli military, how could this money be used to rebuild Palestine?” 4

Woke Word of the Day

Another tool that Woke Kindergarten offers clients is a selection of pieces of far-left vocabulary intended for students to “digest” and “use in their critiques of the system.” Such pieces of vocabulary include “abolish,” “protest,” “anti-racist,” and “manifestacion.” 5

Activities

According to a report published in City Journal by Chris Rufo titled “Sexual Liberation in Public Schools,” on July 20, 2022 the Human Relations, Diversity, and Equity department of Los Angeles Unified was using teaching materials from Woke Kindergarten, particularly videos encouraging five-year-olds to experiment with gender pronouns such as “they,” “ze,” and “tree” and adopt “non-binary” gender identities on the basis of whatever felt “good.” 6 A report from the Federalist concluded that the school district, for the aforementioned videos, as well as consulting and workshop services, paid the firm a total of $57,000. 7

Akiea Gross

Akiea Gross, a left-wing activist, is the founder and director of Woke Kindergarten. 8 Previously, Gross has collaborated with critical race theorists at the Bank Street College of Education, where she has presented on panels at the institution’s “Black Lives Matter at School” Conference. During one speech given at the conference in 2019, Gross reportedly remarked that “we have to burn the whole system down” for “black children to thrive in schools.” 9

References

  1. “Woke Kindergarten, LLC.” Open Corporates. 2020. Accessed August 22, 2022.  https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_md/W20441564
  2. Homepage. Woke Kindergarten. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.wokekindergarten.org/
  3.  “Workshops.” Woke Kindergarten. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.wokekindergarten.org/workshops
  4. Woke Wonderings.” Woke Kindergarten. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.wokekindergarten.org/woke-wonderings
  5. “Woke Word of the Day.” Woke Kindergarten. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.wokekindergarten.org/woke-wonderings
  6. Rufo, Chris. “Sexual Liberation in Public Schools.” City Journal. July 20, 2022. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.city-journal.org/sexual-liberation-in-public-schools
  7. Lindquist, Spencer. “Public School District Pays $57k For ‘Woke Kindergarten’ To ‘Disrupt Whiteness.” The Federalist. January 14, 2022. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/14/public-school-district-pays-57k-for-woke-kindergarten-to-disrupt-whiteness/
  8. [1] “Who We Are.” Woke Kindergarten. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.wokekindergarten.org/who-we-are
  9. Lindquist, Spencer. “Public School District Pays $57k For ‘Woke Kindergarten’ To ‘Disrupt Whiteness.” The Federalist. January 14, 2022. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/14/public-school-district-pays-57k-for-woke-kindergarten-to-disrupt-whiteness/
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Woke Kindergarten

20494 SUMMERSONG LANE
Germantown, MD