Structural Oppression & Solutions

By Wajahat Ali , The New York Times, November 13, 2021 My 5-year-old daughter, Nusayba, twirled around in her princess dress, fixing her silver tiara and checking out her newly applied eye shadow and red lipstick in the bathroom mirror. Then she examined her beautiful, brown skin. “I don’t like my skin color,” she declared. “I wish my skin was lighter. It’s prettier.” Her comment, several months ago, was a gut punch. Up to that point, my wife and I were confident that we had protected our...

By Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, November 8, 2021 In Social Justice Parenting , Traci Baxley emphasizes the rewards of teaching our children to empathize with and care for others. The holidays will soon be upon us. What is likely to make you feel better — receiving a gift, or giving one to someone in need? Research is clear that, as the proverb goes, it’s better to give than to receive. “Doing kind things makes you feel better,” said Andrew Miles, a sociologist at the University of...

From First Nations Development Institute, November 2021 With the support of the Keepseagle endowment, First Nations will establish a Breastfeeding and First Foods Grant that reinforces Native traditional food systems, supports producers/practitioners of traditional food systems, and communicates the value of traditional foods in a Tribal food system. The Breastfeeding and First Foods Grant aims to support communities and programs focused on increasing access to first foods and supporting...

Growing up, the kinds of toys you play with can make all the difference. When I was a child, I always felt like the way I looked was wrong because there were no dolls, cartoon characters, or actresses that looked like me. Thankfully, things are changing. Bigger companies like Mattel are now producing dolls in different shapes, genders, and skin tones. But gaps in the market still exist, especially for kids with special needs, physical disabilities, and skin disorders. That's where Amy...

“Signal for Help” is a simple one-handed sign someone can use on a video call. It can help a person silently show they need help and want someone to check in with them in a safe way. There’s ample evidence that disaster situations can lead to a surge in gender-based violence. Public health directives on home isolation might increase danger and risk for people in abusive relationships. The Signal for Help is a tool that may help some people, some of the time. Some people do not have the...

Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016. Please visit the website by clicking here, https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/p/best-books.html American Indians in Children's Literature is used by Native and non-Native parents, librarians, teachers, editors, professors, and...

By Dasia Moore, The Boston Globe, October 13, 2021 When Felicia Love found out she was expecting her second child, she knew she needed a care provider who would make her feel safe. Love was in her early 30s, but the news transported her back to her teenage years, when she first became a mother. “It was a really scary experience for me. I felt really unsupported. I had so many questions that went unanswered,” she recalls. Love’s children are now 24 and 8, raised in her home state of Rhode...

By Lizzie Tribone, Talk Poverty, October 5, 2021 When Jennifer Brown left Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee on a work-release program, it had been six-and-a-half months since she had seen her son, Elijah. The last time they’d been together was when she gave birth to him, under the watch of two prison guards, in a hospital near the prison. Brown had forty-eight hours with her newborn before she had to hand him over to a family chosen by Together for Good, a religious nonprofit that...

By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Kaiser Health News, October 5, 2021 The tipping point for Dr. Paula Braveman came when a longtime patient of hers at a community clinic in San Francisco’s Mission District slipped past the front desk and knocked on her office door to say goodbye. He wouldn’t be coming to the clinic anymore, he told her, because he could no longer afford it. It was a decisive moment for Braveman, who decided she wanted not only to heal ailing patients but also to advocate for...

These suggestions offer some starting points for parents who want their children to develop a just and inclusive worldview. Look at your baby or toddler. They are still learning to eat from a spoon, roll over, stack blocks, walk a few steps, or say their first words. It’s hard to imagine that even in these early years, young children are being shaped by the biases that surround them in the world. This is why parenting for social justice begins at birth. Get started with the following tips.

By Joanne Chen, Greater Good Magazine, August 23, 2021 In January 1995, Tariq Khamisa was 20 years old. Tony Hicks was 14. Khamisa, a college student, was working his shift delivering pizza the night Hicks’s gang tried to rob him. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune , when the gang leader handed Hicks a gun and told him to shoot, he did. Khamisa died. Hicks was tried as an adult and ultimately received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Justice seemed to have prevailed—a severe...

By Leah Wright Rigueur, The Atlantic, August 11, 2021 My first two children entered the world to the sound of my laughter—peals of uncontrollable laughter. When my third child was born on a cruelly hot night last summer in a sterile delivery room, his experience was no different. My reaction to birthing a child may have seemed bizarre to a besieged and battle-weary hospital staff in the midst of a pandemic, but I believe that my joy was a normal response to my scenario. Celebratory joy felt...