About Early Risers

About Early Risers :

George Floyd’s death was a tragedy and a wakeup call — expanding a global conversation about race and racism. And young children watched it unfold. So how do we help them make sense of race in our society?  Early Risers is a podcast from Little Moments Count and MPR that offers frank facts, engaging stories, and practical guidance for anyone who cares about raising children with a clear-eyed understanding of cultural differences, race and implicit bias.

About the hosts

Following the killing of George Floyd, early childhood leader Dianne Haulcy wrote a blogpost in which she called on colleagues and peers to wake up to the realities of racism and implicit bias in how we raise and teach our children. That message planted the seed for Early Risers, a podcast about racial equity in early childhood and the hope of raising a generation who will bring a new dawn of racial equity for the future. Dianne hosted Early Risers until 2024, when she was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Early Childhood at the Minnesota Department of Children Youth and Families.

Andre Dukes is the current host of Early Risers. As a respected early childhood leader and trusted expert on the topic of identity development, Andre first appeared as the featured guest on the inaugural episode of Early Risers in 2021 and became its host in 2025. Andre has spent the last decade of his career focused on child development and academic success in North Minneapolis, a community with a deeply rooted history of strategic disinvestment and racial segregation. Andre serves as Vice President of Family and Community Impact at Northside Achievement Zone, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit.