Childwatch Column

  • Nikki Giovanni

    When poet, essayist, scholar, and activist Nikki Giovanni passed away on December 9, the world lost a singular voice.

    | National

  • Education

    Giving the Gift of Books

    As parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and adults everywhere are busy choosing holiday gifts for the children they love, books should always be at the top of the list.

    | National

  • A Litany of Thanksgiving

    On this Thanksgiving, I share once again the beautiful prayer of great Black theologian Howard Thurman, A Litany of Thanksgiving. For many years I always made Thanksgiving dinner for our whole family and for friends away from their homes.

    | National

  • Saying Grace

    During the Thanksgiving season I often share the description of an editorial cartoon my father kept pinned up in the vestibule of our church that made a deep childhood impression on me I have never forgotten.

    | National

  • Honoring General Tubman

    On Veterans Day, November 11, the state of Maryland posthumously named Harriet Tubman a one-star brigadier general in Maryland’s National Guard.

  • Keep Rising

    This is a moment when many people are feeling as if the dream they have of what America can and should be has been deferred yet again, while the forces that seem willing to ignore, excuse, or embrace misogyny, racism, bigotry, bullying, and cruelty may appear to be ascendant.

    | National

  • The Most Powerful Tool

    On March 7, 1965, a group of us attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to dramatize to the nation that people wanted to register to vote.

    | National

  • Prayers for Our Nation’s Young People

    Amidst the final few weeks of calls for adults to vote right now for people and policies that will ensure children and young people’s well-being and joy, I share these prayers for all of our nation’s children and the country they need and deserve.

    | National

  • Voting for the Future

    Every third weekend of October congregations across the nation join Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) in participating in the annual multifaith National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths® Celebration.

    | National

  • Hope and Help After Storms

    Once again, the aftermath of the recent hurricanes and storms has left children and families across the Southeast reeling as they work to repair homes and rebuild lives.

    | National