In This Movement for Racial Justice,
We Need to Listen to the Voices of Kids
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I hope this update finds you navigating the “new normal” well, and you are staying healthy and as sane as possible. We’re still in the middle of a global pandemic, and while countries around the world are in reopening in different ways, the one constant is the
inquiries
,
surveys
, and
questionnaires
asking young people for their perspectives and experiences of living during COVID-19. This is good news, and I wish we were seeing more of this here!
As I shared last month, the inequities affecting our kids—whether engrained by systemic racism or brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic—are deep, and we must be steadfast in our commitment to ensuring they have what is needed for them to thrive. Of importance is asking for input from kids themselves—and listening to what they say.
Kids have been especially active in advocating for racial justice, with young people organizing and leading Black Lives Matter marches and peaceful protests; providing actionable tasks on social media; and speaking out and sharing personal experiences. This is the topic of my
latest blog post.
Additionally, we now have a dedicated section on our
resources page
highlighting the ways young people are involved in this work. Kids’ voices are important and powerful, and we need to listen to what they are saying.
Be well,
David
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David Alexander, M.D.
President, Leading for Kids
(650) 714-6609
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One of our overarching goals is to create a new narrative framework for the way we, as a culture, think and talk about kids in our country. As we move forward with our seminal research project, generously funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Children’s Health Association, we wanted to ensure that the youth perspective is reflected in
what we want the public to think about kids
. Over the next few weeks, we will be meeting virtually with two separate groups of young people from across the country to hear about what they hope all Americans believe about kids. These will be invaluable conversations as we move this work forward.
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Alicia Keys hosted
Nickelodeon’s Town Hall on Race and Bias
for kids! The special featured a team of experts to discuss race, discrimination and unconscious bias. Sesame Street and CNN also partnered on a
Town Hall on Racism
for kids and parents; the hour-long program sought to explain racism and why people are protesting in the U.S.
Professor Kirsten Sandberg delivered the
2020 Moray House Annual Lecture
, entitled
Making Children’s Rights Real: The Opportunities of Incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Dr. Sandberg is Professor of Law at the University of Oslo and recent member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
NPR received 2,200 submissions from 46 states and Washington, DC, for its
2020 Student Podcast Challenge
. The
winning podcasts
? Sixth graders using Mandarin and English to express how Asian students suffered at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and high school seniors who looked at inequality and activism in the fight against climate change.
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We are in the midst of a multitude of societal crises, and whether it be asking about school reopening plans, climate change, or racial justice, we will all fare better if we actively listened to the voices of children and young people.
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thank you! let’s stay connected!
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Leading for Kids is committed to improving the health and well-being of children by creating a movement to change how we talk about kids, how we can invest wisely and productively in their futures, and how our decision makers can better protect their rights and reflect their voices.
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