For weeks now, as our community approached the anniversary of the killing of Keith Lamont Scott, folks began to gather in churches and lecture halls, in neighborhoods across the county, to remember and to reflect on where we are today, just one year later. What have we learned and what changes are still needed? 

As those events were unfolding last fall, Council's executive director Bob Simmons was meeting with members of the Opportunity Task Force as part of a special two-day training on Dismantling Racism hosted by Race Matters for Juvenile Justice.   At our blog, Bob tells the story of those three days and shares some thoughts about what happened when theoretical conversations met real life conflict and challenge.   

FROM THE BLOG: 

"At this first anniversary of those three days in September, we cannot say any of the problems of inequity facing our community - problems 400 years in the making - have been solved.   The transition of the Opportunity Task Force from research, findings, and recommendations into the planning and implementation phase called "Leading on Opportunity" has proceeded slowly. The work of the Board of Education and the Board of County Commissioners to bring greater equity into our schools has met resistance, and the General Assembly has opened the door to the possible de-consolidation of CMS - which would likely increase the inequity of access to education for many children in our community.

 

"Even so, today most of our community remembers the truth of what those days last fall forced into our collective consciousness, and most of our community is still at least talking about how we can make right what is wrong for our children and our families who still suffer the inequity embedded in our socioeconomic structure, our systems, and our institutions.  

 

"None of us can un-see what we have seen. None of us can un-hear what we have heard. We cannot be who we were. As we are different, we will act differently. Together we will dismantle racism for our own sake and the sake of our children. That is our new truth on this anniversary."    Read the editorial here

Council for Children's Rights engages in policy work at the legislative, organizational, and professional levels. Monitoring legislative policy and its impact on children is a critical component of that work.  Our just released 2017-2018 Legislative Summary details action taken by the NC General Assembly (NCGA) during the 2017 long session as it relates to children and families.

In the document, we have identified 137 bills as relevant for children, 29 of which became session laws.  The report, now available at our web site,  summarizes and categorizes the bills, includes expanded descriptions of 12 laws and bills having potentially significant impact on North Carolina's children, and concludes with a table of brief descriptions of all 29 session laws and other bills to watch. Check it out! 

 

Also available at our web site:  

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For all you do to support children.