Blog

Ambiguity. Nuance. Gray. We are living in this every day now. How do we support one another as we come back together in our schools and communities? Giving Grace in the Gray.

By Linnea Feldman Emison, The New Yorker, July 15, 2020 Last October, a fire tore through the apartment complex in Stockton, California, where Laura Kidd-Plummer had lived for five years. Nearly a decade earlier, Kidd-Plummer, who will turn seventy this year, had retired from her job in the wardrobe department at the Oakland Coliseum, where she had worked for twenty-one years. She eventually moved to Stockton in search of cheaper rent. After the fire, she and her dog, Poopee, a...

By Tom Frieden, Jeffrey Koplan, David Satcher, and Richard Besser, The Washington Post, July 14, 2020 As America begins the formidable task of getting our kids back to school and all of us back to work safely amid a pandemic that is only getting worse, public health experts face two opponents: covid-19, but also political leaders and others attempting to undermine the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the debate last week around reopening schools more safely showed, these...

By Pitchfork Economics, July 2020 The foundational metaphor of neoliberalism is that a rising tide lifts all boats. But, like many other assumptions in economic thought, that idea willfully ignores racism. Economist Joelle Gamble joins Jessyn and Nick to explain that when economists fail to scrutinize theories through the lens of race, they perpetuate racist outcomes. Plus, The Sadie Collective co-founder Fanta Traore describes how the economics field can take deliberate measures to address...

By Will James, Center for Health Journalism, July 2020 Covering homelessness puts reporters in the middle of a contradiction. On the West Coast, homelessness is so visible that it touches virtually everyone. But it can also feel like another world to which most people don’t have access. Audiences take in so much information about homelessness, but at a distance or second-hand or filtered through politics or advocacy. It’s hard for many people to create a mental picture of this issue that...

Because I work in the field of child trauma and ACEs science education and prevention here at ACEs Connection, I end up talking about the subject nonstop. I am passionate about this field and making change so I enthusiastically share what I'm reading and learning with everyone who will listen. Those who will listen are often my parents. (This blog, by the way, is a personal piece of writing and does not necessarily reflect the views nor represent ACEs Connection.) I know not everyone's...

Over the next few days, I am going to provide a little food for thought about the loss of cultural identity that has profoundly impacted Africans across the Diaspora. Remember that the descendants of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that live off of the Continent, are perhaps the only collective in the world that does not know their origin. We are African, but Africa is a continent of fifty-two countries with thousands of different cultures and dialects. Today’s micro-discussion is on names.

Please join us tomorrow, Thursday July 16th as Emily Read Daniels and myself facilitate a discussion around the return to school specifically the anxiety and stress we are feeling/hearing/seeing. Emily will share a bit about regulation, we want to hear what is going on with you, and we will do a breakout session to discuss in small groups. Weekly themes include: How do we create physical and psychological safety, especially in the face of so much uncertainty? What strategies can we use to...

My life is not a picture perfect life, but it is the most amazing and crazy life around.

Thank you to those who were able to participate in Part 1 of our Community Resilience Series with Dr. Ken Ginsburg-- Parenting in an Age of Uncertainty , on July 7th, 2020. In case you missed it or want to watch it again, here is the video recording of the workshop. Please share this widely with your networks so this message of resilience, self forgiveness, and love can get out to other parents during this challenging time! Thank you to our sponsor Orlando Health and thank you to those who...

By Joel Burgess, July 15, 2020, ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES. ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In an extraordinary move, the Asheville City Council has apologized for the North Carolina city's historic role in slavery, discrimination and denial of basic liberties to Black residents and voted to provide reparations to them and their descendants. The 7-0 vote came the night of July 14. "Hundreds of years of Black blood spilled that basically fills the cup we drink from today," said Councilman Keith Young, one of...

Health and Wellness Town Hall - August 5th, 2020 3-4:30PM PDT Adverse Childhood Experiences 101 Class How ACEs Impact the Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color This event will be led by Alfred White. Alfred is the founder of The League of Extraordinary People. After nearly 40 years experiencing homelessness, Alfred swallowed a 1/4 ounce of crack cocaine in 2004 and nearly died. He awoke paralyzed and that is when he made the decision to seek help for his history of...