Note: Excerpts from article published by Rise Magazine:
The International Parent Advocacy Network (IPAN) partnered with Rise to develop the Toolkit for Transformation. Here, we highlight groups featured in the Community Organizing section of the toolkit.
Protests, Meetings and Rallies Led by Aboriginal Grandmothers, Australia
In 2014, Aboriginal grandmothers in New South Wales, Australia, who were determined not to let their grandchildren become the next “Stolen Generation,” began to organize.Aboriginal grandmothers Deb Swan, Suellyn Tighe and Jenny Swan connected with other grandmothers who’d seen their grandchildren placed in care despite a lack of specific evidence that they were in imminent danger. They’d been turned down as resource parents for their grandchildren, sometimes with no more concrete reason than that they were deemed “unsuitable.” Together they formed an organization called Grandmothers Against Removal NSW.
They took to the streets in protest, even when parents with children in care feared that joining them might lead to repercussions from local child welfare authorities. They held meetings and rallies to educate Indigenous families about their rights and about the increasing numbers of Aboriginal children being placed. Learn more about their organizing and its impact.
To read the rest of this article published in Rise Magazine.
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