Creating communities is essential in our efforts toward a more inclusive society because, as Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn, LFJ deputy director of Learning & Engagement notes, “This work is more sustainable when we share it with others.” Whether for educators in spaces where censorship is a reality, young people and others who bear the brunt of oppressive policies and actions, or those who face targeted attempts of erasure, building connections reminds us we are not alone in this work.
Nurturing children requires a community’s efforts to come together, as reflected in the proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” Our nation’s children deserve love, not just in words but in our actions. These new Learning for Justice magazine articles offer models for parents, caregivers, educators and community members to nurture children’s growth, learning and well-being. And they remind and encourage us that: “[We] are better together and more effective when we work together rather than in isolation.
Millions of young people in the United States are children of immigrant families. And many immigrant children are feeling high levels of fear and anxiety right now due to the current anti-immigrant political environment. All students in the U.S. have a right to public education, “regardless of a child’s or guardian’s citizenship, immigration status, or English language proficiency. These rights were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark 1982 decision in Plyler v.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. We honor the memory of the 6 million Jews and the millions of Roma, Sinti, Slavs, disabled persons, LGBTQ+ individuals, political dissidents and others who were murdered in the Holocaust. And we encourage learning from the survivors as we reflect on the significance of this history.