Huffington Post: The Racism All Around Us

“I don’t have easy answers,” Children’s Law Center’s Executive Director Judith Sandalow says in her latest Huffington Post blog written in response to the recent tragedies in Baton Rouge, St. Paul and Dallas. “But I believe as a first step, we can all acknowledge the reality within which so many of our children live. And how the toxic mix of racism and violence affects them.”

Here’s more:

“…The youth we work with at Children’s Law Center are overwhelmingly African American and living in poverty. They grow up as witnesses to and sometimes victims themselves of violence at home and in our streets. Often, these children have loving and caring parents who struggle to protect them from the dangers that come with extreme poverty, homelessness and crime. Many grow up believing adults can’t keep them safe.

These same children have witnessed the recent events unfolding around the country and the many similar tragedies before that. When they see violence by police against adults who they may identify with — or learn the courts don’t always provide justice to families — they are learning the lesson that as black children, no one can keep them safe.

…The truth is the tragic deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have been felt by more than their families. Their deaths touched a nerve that is already raw for so many of our young clients — and for many other Americans, including me.”

Read more at the link below.