Dare to Lean on Love, Power & Strength in Spite of Fear
Starting the Conversation Why this work matters Violence has long been a fundamental part of the American experience for communities of color and immigrants, but the visibility and frequency has jumped dramatically since this president took office in 2016. And now, with this past weekend’s historic level of violence and the mass ICE raids we, like…
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Blackface incident is just the latest moment of anti-blackness & racism in Fresno Unified
The recent news of a Bullard High School student donning blackface and using the n-word on social media has hurt our community deeply. While the student’s actions are disappointing, the student’s ability to make that choice exists in an America where there is a long and toxic history of systemic racism and anti-blackness. Incidents like…
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CFJ Youth Leading Together with LBUSD to Interrupt Bias in the Classroom
This weekend CFJ youth leaders and staff led a powerful bias training for Long Beach Unified School District teachers and administrators. The session was a unique twist to traditional trainings that center conversations on adults rather than students. CFJ youth leaders led the space and trained LBUSD staff participants on the ways implicit biases show…
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Time for Radical Revision of what Public Education Can Look Like for Black Students & Families
Black History Month offers an important time to examine issues of racial justice in communities and our education system. When public education was dreamed up by its founders, Horace Mann and Thomas Jefferson, neither person envisioned Black students attending integrated schools. That much is evident when we look at the history of schooling in America…
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Check Us Out: CFJ Youth Leading School Safety Conversations Locally & Nationwide
Californians for Justice is working across three levels of government to improve school climate, school safety, and student and family engagement. Building Relationships in Long Beach On November 30th, CFJ hosted a series of teacher luncheons in partnership with Long Beach Unified School District. Youth leaders and staff learned more about what Relationship Centered Schools…
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Communities across CA mobilizing in solidarity with Asylum Seekers
While the violence experienced by children, families and young people at the California border may have slipped from the news cycle, it’s important to remember that our government continues to attack and vilify this community. The violence these asylum seekers are fleeing from is directly linked to U.S. intervention in Central America, and yet our…
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When schools and districts invest directly in our students, academic outcomes improve
Yesterday, dozens of educators, policy makers and advocates heard from the researchers involved with Getting Down to Facts II, California’s most ambitious education research collection in a decade. Co-hosted by Policy Analysis for California Education and EdSource, the event explored current trends in education including how the state’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) has changed…
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Equity That’s About Racial Justice – Hector Castaneda
The Institute for Educational Leadership held their National Family and Community Engagement Conference this past weekend. The conference brought 1700 participants from across the country to engage in conversation about family and community on a deeper level. Our Californians for Justice student leader Hector Castaneda participated as keynote speaker, sharing his indispensable experiences and bold…
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