A Disease That Harms All Children

Only last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics found that racism is a “socially transmitted disease: It’s taught, it’s passed down, and the impacts on children and families are significant from a health perspective.”

It’s a disease that takes a terrible toll on black children, many of whom fear their lives will end well before adulthood. Yet, children of every race are affected when this sickness is left untreated, growing up learning to oppress or being the target of oppression and dealing with its toxic effects.

The continuing demonstrations are an appropriate response to the anguish carried by black parents who fear that their sons may be killed at the hands, or the knee, of racist police officers, or others who are charged with protecting our communities. The sheer diversity of the protesters, as well as the determination they demonstrate, despite the inherent dangers of increasingly militarized city streets and shocking occurrences of brutalization by police is extraordinary.

Led by scores of the next generation of inspiring American leaders, the overdue groundswell demonstrates a genuine willingness to confront the disease, that we’ll stop making excuses for the hatred visited upon black, brown, indigenous, and Asian Americans, and gives us hope that white supremacy will wither under the light of justice and decency.

But, while we who abhor racism may be winning the message war, we must also win the substance war. As we rage against the death of George Floyd and other injustices that must be accounted for today, we must also fight for the reforms that will shape the future we seek.

That’s where our energy at PCCY is focused. We are demanding an end the educational apartheid propagated by the way Pennsylvania funds its schools, so that every child in cash-strapped school districts can expect an education as high in quality as their peers in wealthy communities.

We are fighting to reform the early childhood education system so that all children, regardless of their race, ethnicity or socio-economic status, can benefit from the same high-quality early education that currently paves the way for privileged children to start school years ahead.

We are working to stop the injustice of a criminal justice system that fills youth detention facilities with black and brown boys, while their white peers are sentenced to community service for the same offenses.

Over the last four weeks we gathered engaged students around virtual tables with Pennsylvania lawmakers and listened to their impassioned pleas for educational equity fueled by the shameful injustices they experienced, and continue to experience, in their daily lives.

Their first-hand accounts made undeniable that the lives of far too many young people are fundamentally undermined by a school funding system that prioritizes predominantly white school districts while turning its back on black and brown students whose classes are overcrowded, whose textbooks are out of date and where technology is a rare commodity.

On June 12^{thứ tự}, we will listen to these students once more, as they describe how racism affects their lives and discuss what changes are needed to end structural racism in their lifetime. Đăng ký ở đây and join us for RACE: Let’s Talk About It—A PCCY Led Teen Conversation.

In memory of the countless victims of racial violence, from Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin to Tamir Rice, we at PCCY rededicate ourselves to advocacy and activism to help heal ourselves, our communities, and our country from the disease of racism.

Black lives matter.

Serve kids…by listening.

Join us on June 12th for “RACE: Let’s Talk About It—A PCCY Led Teen Conversation”

“The perpetrators of this urban domestic terror are radical left-wing hate groups like Black Lives Matter.” Montgomery County commissioner Joseph Gale.

READ “Hundreds Rally in Montco to Demand Gale’s Resignation”

Evictions remain illegal in PA until at least July 10^{thứ tự}. Please retweet and help us reach embattled renters so they know their rights.

RETWEET

For more information in multiple languages, BẤM VÀO ĐÂY

“When schools mirror our society’s hate, educational justice becomes out of reach.” Bettina L. Love, author, professor of educational theory and practice.

READ HER COMMENTARY IN EDUCATION WEEK

A Disease That Harms All Children–June 5, 2020

A Disease That Harms All Children

Tra cứu nhà lập pháp

A Disease That Harms All Children–June 5, 2020

A Disease That Harms All Children

Tra cứu nhà lập pháp

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