National

  • Child Welfare

    For Our Children: Back to School

    While many of us caregivers are scrambling to make sure our students have the right supplies (I forgot crayons!), clothes, and enough lunch money, we can’t lose focus on the disturbing social challenges that no pencil, pen, or notebook can prepare our students for.

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  • Education

    For Our Children: National Day of Social Action

    I have often said that CDF Freedom Schools® is the heart and soul of our work at Children’s Defense Fund. The program teaches more than 16,000 young scholars across the country how to tap into their own power and that of their communities in order to make meaningful change.

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  • We Must Be the Examples

    When our children see the news right now, what are they thinking? We are at a moment where adults everywhere are reminded once again that we must all continue to strive to be the examples we want our children to emulate.

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  • Racial Justice

    Bringing Truth to Light

    On July 25, the day that would have been Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday, President Joe Biden hosted a White House signing ceremony for a proclamation establishing the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois.

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  • Gun Violence

    “Youth Aren’t Bulletproof”

    When 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez was murdered by an assault rifle in her fourth-grade classroom alongside two teachers and 18 classmates, her parents had to identify her body by those favorite sneakers.

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  • Gus Newport

    Gus Newport, who passed away in June, was a warrior for social justice, equality, and peace who spent his life pushing local, national, and international communities to get closer to “best.”

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  • Christine King Farris

    Christine King Farris, who passed away on June 29 at age 95, embodied a legacy of servant-leadership as an educator and activist. She taught generations of students at Spelman College and helped establish the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change in Atlanta, where she served as a founding board member, vice-chair, and treasurer.

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  • Overturning Opportunity

    The Fourth of July holiday is meant to bring Americans together to celebrate the promise of our Declaration of Independence. This year we are reminded again of the work that still needs to be done to make our nation live up to its ideals.

    | National