Children's Defense Fund’s Post

https://lnkd.in/ev5zBj65 60 years after the Freedom Summer of 1964, the Freedom Schools spirit is alive and well! Read more about the history of this movement and the relevancy of today's programs to our society and the conditions our children, families, and communities face. #CDFFreedomSchools is the answer.

What is the color combination of all of the pigments? The American freedom celebration, Juneteenth, compels us to advocate for human rights and humanitarianism, to speak truth against current illicit takings, and to feel peace in our hearts and in our communities. I feel such pride in my community which celebrates Juneteenth with festivals all week. The Richard Allen School, which hosts Juneteenth, was a segregated school until 1954, when school segregation was ruled unconstitutional. Brown. Delaware garnered national attention in the few months post-Brown v. Board of Education (May, 1954), when eleven 10th graders were admitted to a public school in Milford, DE, which soon closed after a supremacist rallied 1500 parents to oppose the Supreme Court mandate, and the school Board resigned. In September, 1954, the Board reconvened and decided to remove the eleven students "in the interest of the welfare of the children and the community as a whole." Eight years passed before school integration there was resumed. In 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, Gov. Wallace refused to implement the 'Brown' law still years after it was enacted, so President Kennedy federalized the National Guard to safely escort students to school. The forced integration sparked civil rights violence based upon fabled supremacy of one color as better than another color, still a full century after Juneteenth. Juneteenth celebrates the day in 1865 when Southern slaves in Galveston learned they had been freed 2 years earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation. The Federal Order No. 3, delivered by General Granger, required “absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves,” and forged a new relationship “between employer and hired labor.” The U.S National Colored Troops, comprised of recently-freed Northern enslaved persons, coincidentally attended the announcement, and indicated that they would deliver the Order if Granger recanted his duty. In 1866, this select army became the Buffalo Soldiers, which are powerful icons at my state's Juneteenth celebrations. Juneteenth is also an allegory that represents ongoing, prosocial community manifestation. Sometimes enforcing equality is easy as a summer breeze. And it helps everyone. Happy Juneteenth! #Juneteenth #Healingjustice #Equalityiscurative #Freedom #communityartproject

#Schoolchoice isn’t some newfangled trend for Black folks. It’s woven into the very fabric of our fight for education, resistance, and liberation. While others slam shut doors and whisper “not good enough,” we’ve been kicking them wide open, building our own damn schools, brick by brick, book by brilliant Black mind. Remember segregation’s suffocating walls? We used “choice” as a battering ram, sending our kids to freedom schools, makeshift classrooms in churches and basements, anywhere it meant escaping the poisoned well of #JimCrow education. Fast forward, the script changes, but the struggle remains. Unequal funding, biased curriculums, teachers who don’t see our potential – still not good enough. So, we dust off our choice toolbox, charter schools, homeschooling, whatever it takes to shape our children’s futures, not some pre-packaged, one-size-fits-none mold. Now, some folks wanna rewrite history, paint us as pawns in their political chess game. Don’t let them. Our fight for choice ain’t about trendy hashtags or soundbites. It’s about the legacy of generations past, the mothers who walked miles for decent schools, the fathers who toiled night and day to fund scholarships. It’s about the burning desire to see our children thrive, not just survive. So, the next time someone tries to diminish our fight for choice, remind them: Black families have been choosing freedom since the first bell of oppression rang. #BlackChoiceHistory #EducationLiberation #MoreThanATrend #WeBuiltThis #BlackFuturesMatter #UnheardVoices #RewriteTheNarrative #OurLegacyOfChoice #StillFighting https://lnkd.in/eaMMCvcv

Creating more affirming and asset-based narratives about young people, particularly young people of color, is essential to ensuring #thrivingyouth. The BELE Network and its partners are working to change narratives in communities across the country. Check out the great work Kingmakers of Oakland is doing to change narratives and end racial inequality. https://lnkd.in/gztVPvvZ #philanthropy #equity

Afrofuturism, the idea that Black people will thrive and create new worlds for themselves, is becoming increasingly popular in schools across America. Educators at Assemble, a non-profit STEAM education center in Pittsburgh, have developed an in-house Afrofuturism curriculum which is now taught in several area schools. The movement is particularly helpful for young Black students to imagine a future where they are thriving and can create tools to dismantle racism and build a fair and equitable society. Even amid the challenges of racism, poverty, and the COVID-19 pandemic, a 2021 Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that Black students are more optimistic about the future than their white peers. Experts say Afrofuturism lesson plans can teach everything from understanding literature to writing computer code. Join the conversation: what are your views on Afrofuturism in education? Read the full story by Joseph Williams from Word in Black at dallasweekly.com #iamdw #blackpress #Afrofuturism #BlackToTheFuture #EducationForAll #DismantleRacism. @wordinblacknews

It is not surprising but still appalling that the forces of White supremacy will not rest until they undo any notions of racial progress. A Virginia school board recently voted to RESTORE the names of Confederate leaders to schools, after voting to remove them during the racial reckoning of 2020. Companies and so called allies who are running from the term "DEI" need to understand that political pressure will not change the reality of the day. The racism, racial trauma, and micro-aggressions which existed in 2020 and over the last 400 years, did not disappear over these last 4 years. Black people are still being discriminated against in the workplace, in our schools, in housing, and healthcare systems. Yet it is no longer trendy for some to call themselves an anti-racist. Let us be clear there is no honor in the Confederacy. They were defenders of slavery and the false notion of White supremacy. They are akin to American Nazis, and they were traitors to this country. They have no place in our society except in history books and museums so we can learn about their heinous goals and lost cause. So stop using "heritage" as a defense for maintaining Confederate iconography. ALL Confederate names on streets, schools and other buildings should be permanently removed and barred from ever being restored. Until we have a true reckoning with the descendants of slave holders and those who defended slavery continuing to want to honor their wicked ancestors, we will have no true racial progress, especially in the South. The federal government should act now and remove all Confederate names and make it illegal to have such offensive votes. It is disgusting that there aren't enough well intentioned people in that school district to prevent such a measure, and as a young Black man indicated, it sends the message that Black people are not welcome in these schools. It must end, and all allies, and those who truly want racial progress must make their voices heard, so that such actions can no longer occur. #antiracism #blackmentalhealhmatters

CIVIC PRIDE brings a community together and makes us feel good about where we live. It encourages individual loyalty and instills a deep sense of belonging by contributing towards the development and growth of one's lifestyle and well-being. I can recall as a young primary school student, CIVICS was one of my favorite subjects. There was where I learnt about Civic Pride and Civic Spirit. The lessons covered the study of the rights and obligations of citizens in a society, as well as basic information on the structure of one's country's government and names of its ministers and their rolls. Homework assignments were to read an article from any local daily newspaper, to be presented the following day for open discussions. Our source of research would be our parents. This really encouraged wonderful interaction in the homes and parents were given a glimpse of what their children were learning in school. Daily lessons on Civic Spirit emphasized on citizens roles in society. Lessons covered a wide spectrum - keeping their properties clean, not to damage government properties like street signs and buildings, keeping dogs secured in properties, do not litter the streets, assist senior citizens in carrying bags or walking across the streets. Civic Pride was learning about the structures of the different bodies in our government system, and others such as: different Religious bodies, banks, Credit Unions, Cooperatives, Libraries, Hospitals, house of cultures like Baron Bliss, Bliss Institute, The Government house, Belize Supreme Court Building. Landmarks in the city like the Baron Bliss Lighthouse and its history, the Only Swing Bridge in the world that is swung manually, Libraries, etc. it was important that our young children be well informed about their country. I can say beyond a doubt, that this subject matter of CIVIC PRIDE contributes tremendously to a child' growing up and being informed together with learning about values. I would state in no uncertain terms, that all education system should revisit the curricular activities in primary schools and if CIVICS is not included, it should be looked into as a matter of urgency. Our country is our backyard. Let's join hands and make a covenant to cherish, preserve and protect. Let's do our part as stewards of our piece of this God-given land called earth to love, nurture and develop in a sustainable manner for our children and our childrens'children. The seed must be planted, and nourished to take root. It starts in schools........

Researchers from the think tank New America looked at segregation in schools, analyzing 24,658 pairs of districts that share a border. On average, they found that neighboring school districts differ in student poverty rate by five percentage points. Researchers point out that the inequities they uncover in the report are not unavoidable. They’re simply products of government policies — like the decision to tie school funding to property wealth — and policies can be changed. At NBCDI, we envision a nation where Black children are given the opportunity to reach full educational prosperity regardless of what school they attend. For Black youth, that means attending schools that affirm who they are as individuals and learners. Read more about this research on school segregation and the steps we can take to address it here: https://bit.ly/3TMnpps

Not what I planned on posting about today but... 4 years after changing the school names that honored Confederate leaders, the Shenandoah County school board voted to change them back. Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School will return to be known as - Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School.  3 men who fought to protect the institution of slavery in the United States. And it will cost the school district approximately $300,000 to make the changes. In 1860-61 South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas all presented "declaration of causes" for their secession from the United States and formation of the Confederacy. All included statements regarding slavery, including this one from Mississippi: "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world." The State of Texas complained against the northern states: "They have encouraged and assisted thousands of our slaves to leave their homes; and those who remain, have been incited by emissaries, books, and pictures to servile insurrection." This is only one county, in one state - we shouldn't generalize this as being a representation of the entire country - BUT, we shouldn't underestimate it's representation either. Open your eyes. #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #slavery

The most critical work that we must do is to work against racial inequity by exposing and changing the systemic practices of local school districts. Thanks for sharing this article, Edward!