National

  • Education

    Shaping the Future by Shaping Teachers 

    In the face of rising book bans and calls to eliminate Black history from school curriculums, CDF’s Ella Baker Child Policy Teacher Training Institute has never been more important.

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  • Mentoring Tomorrow’s Leaders

    Reagan believes in taking initiative. So when she learned about our Black Student Leadership Network (BSLN) and our NBA HBCU Fellowship Program, she was eager to do both.

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  • The Lasting Benefit of CDF Freedom Schools®

    Dr. Joy Carrington could tell you about the lasting benefits of CDF Freedom Schools. She and her mother are raising Joy’s twin nieces, Jayda and Jayde, together.

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  • Our Moonshot Goals

    We know that while events at the national level are important, we need to continue our grassroots movement to impact policies at the state and local levels where many of the decisions impacting the lives of young people are made.   

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • Education

    Championing the Freedom to Read

    Banned Books Week, which is typically observed the last week of September and this year is September 22-28, brings together the entire book community – including librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all ages – to support the freedom to read.

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  • Gun Violence

    Rejecting Hate

    Eleven-year-old Aiden Clark was killed in a traffic accident in August 2023 in Springfield, Ohio, when the school bus he was riding in on the first day of school was hit by a minivan. The van’s driver was a Haitian immigrant, and Aiden’s death has become part of a larger hate- and conspiracy-filled campaign targeting his community’s immigrant residents.

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