Blog

This is a compilation of interviews with scholars outlining the historical origin of the concept of race and its use as a tool for economic and power advantage. It is essential knowledge for those of us working on decolonizing our minds and conceptualizing white body supremacy.

By Josh Axelrod, Samantha Balaban, Scott Simon, National Public Radio, July 27, 2019 Dr. Julie Rickard thought her visit to Wisconsin over the Christmas holiday would bring a break from her day job working in suicide prevention in Wenatchee, Wash. The visit didn't go as planned. After a tense fight broke out between her mother and another family member, everyone dispersed. Rickard readied herself for the trip back to the Pacific Northwest. At the airport, she received a call from her mother,...

By John W. Bull, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, July 17, 2019 Texas was the last of two states—Wyoming being the other—that treated truancy as a crime. Students and their parents faced court fines, and if penalties went unpaid, teen truants could be cuffed by constables and sent to jail. None of this made any sense to me when 10 years ago, as San Antonio’s presiding municipal judge, I inadvertently began the process of changing the system across the state. I had heard from a friend who...

By Kimberly Burrowes, How Housing Matters, July 24, 2019 Last month, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) used a Detroit wall as a platform to highlight how discriminatory housing policies have divided our communities. The wall, six feet high and about half a mile long, was built in 1941 to segregate black homeowners from their white neighbors. It stands as a reminder of how inequitable access to housing was intentionally created through urban planning tools and policies. Now planners, community...

By Tom Jacobs, Pacific Standard, July 24, 2019 Can art change the world? Or can it at least inspire people to engage with an urgent issue they'd otherwise be inclined to ignore? A new study of activist art about climate change suggests that art can be an effective form of activism—if artists create compelling works that call attention to the problem and offer hope for a solution. Artworks that achieve this tricky balance "have the potential to retell the stories of climate change in a way...

By Maria Trent, et. al., American Academy of Pediatrics, July 29, 2019 Racism has a profound impact on children’s health. With the goal of helping all children reach their full potential, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is publishing new recommendations on ways to lessen the impact of racism on children and teens. In the policy statement, “ Racism and Its Impact on Child and Adolescent Health ,” the AAP calls on pediatricians to create welcoming, culturally competent medical...

By Sally Ho, Associated Press, July 26, 2019 SEATTLE (AP) — Rachel Whalen remembers feeling gutted in high school when a former friend would mock her online postings, threaten to unfollow or unfriend her on social media and post inside jokes about her to others online. The cyberbullying was so distressing that Whalen said she contemplated suicide. Once she got help, she decided to limit her time on social media. It helps to take a break from it for perspective, said Whalen, now a 19-year-old...

By Steve Davis and Peter Laugharn, July 29, 2019 The Seattle Times The World Health Organization just unveiled an initiative that could improve millions of children’s lives and boost the global economy by trillions of dollars. The initiative, known as the Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development , [ PDF attached ] seeks to change how we raise infants and toddlers. Children’s experiences during their first three years of life heavily influence their well-being as adults,...

Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php To sign up for an e-mail copy, please write to me @ mikeskinner@comcast.net or sign up @ Website via Contact Us, Thanks! Michael. Newsletter Contents : 1] The Courage of Parenting When You Have A History of Trauma(c) by Gretchen Schmelzer 2] The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing entitled, “Identifying, Preventing, and Treating...

In 2018, Scotland, Iceland and New Zealand established the network of Wellbeing Economy Governments to challenge the acceptance of GDP as the ultimate measure of a country's success. In this visionary talk, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon explains the far-reaching implications of a "well-being economy" -- which places factors like equal pay, childcare, mental health and access to green space at its heart -- and shows how this new focus could help build resolve to confront global ...

What if your future could work out better than you think even with ACEs? What is the future of the ACE Study? Listen to Dr. Vincent Felitti tell you what he would love to see! Recent TV interview with Dr. Brian Alman. They’ve been collaborating since the very beginning & teaching groups together, training professionals, seeing patients & developing treatment programs. https://vimeo.com/349163412/8ff372fbee For more information, questions or to share your work, reach out to them in...

By K. Hecht, P. Berman & A. Hosack It happened again. His screams were so painful to hear. I hate that such a small child feels such fear. Mrs. Carson is making a special pancake breakfast for Davy and Claire. She and her husband heard Davy’s screams last night. It was hard, but they had stayed out of the way and let Claire handle it herself. They heard Claire creep out of the room ten minutes later and go downstairs. Now, she was taking a shower and getting ready for work. They were so...