By Lutona Giwa, Guest Writer, HuffPost - May 31, 2020 Today is my due date, and I can’t stop thinking about George Floyd . I keep telling myself I shouldn’t be thinking about “things like this” right now, that the moments before I give birth should be spent in meditative relaxation. Surely, now is the time to reflect on the beauty and hope of new life, not the pain and ugliness of this world. But my mind keeps wandering back to a Black man’s face being flattened into the ground by the weight...

We post this resource in honor of African American parents and caregivers who, in the face of unremitting racial injustice and trauma, show courage and strength as they seek to create to safe and nurturing homes and communities for their children. We lift our voices in solidarity with African American communities across the country. https://youtu.be/0Qtn2ZFx6ZM Media coverage of community racial trauma and civil unrest can cause children to experience fear, worry, sadness, confusion, and...

Los Angeles Protesters were among those who turned out in cities across the U.S. on Saturday to protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) ...The black community is used to the institutional racism inherent in education, the justice system and jobs. And even though we do all the conventional things to raise public and political awareness — write articulate and insightful pieces in the Atlantic, explain the continued devastation on CNN,...

Following the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed in custody of Minneapolis, MN police, protesters have marched in solidarity across Louisiana, cities have taken steps to address racism, and leaders across the state have released statements. You can find links to news articles below. Gov. Edwards releases statement on the death of George Floyd [KATC] LSU's Ed Orgeron makes first comment in wake of George Floyd's death: 'Players are hurting' [The Advocate] University of...

People’s response to the great chasms of structural inequities glaringly laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic have been further inflamed by the murder of George Floyd and deaths of other African Americans in recent weeks. The acute emergency of the pandemic has eased, but the violence inflicted on racial minorities and now those who are protesting the inequities in our society has compounded the outrage. Right after the pandemic began running riot across the US, I often heard people ask: When...

By Tia Taylor Williams, American Public Health Association, May 2020 Alarming disparities within the COVID-19 pandemic — such as higher hospitalizations and death rates among African Americans — are sadly predictable and highlight the urgent need to address the root causes of health inequities. APHA is hosting this four-part webinar series to give an in-depth look at racism as a driving force of the social determinants of health and equity. The series will explore efforts to address systems,...

I listened to this great conversation between Dan Harris and Resmaa Menakem last night. Here's more information about this conversation from the 10% Happier podcast notes:

By Jennifer Jones and Bart Klika, The Chronicle of Social Change, July 21, 2020 As we navigate the effects of a global pandemic and economic recession, we have the opportunity to rethink the ways we provide services and supports to children and families before they find themselves in crisis. Essential to this new thinking is the realignment of our systems to make them more prevention-oriented, integrated, science-informed, and equitable, and thereby better meeting the needs of children and...

By Jeanne Tedrow, The Business Journals, July 17, 2020 Many nonprofit leaders, along with other business and community leaders, have made public statements recently about structural racism, especially in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery and in light of the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. These expressions offer hope that we are at a crossroads. Such remarks, including my own, assert our commitment to work together to dismantle structural...

Monica McCasklill, left, and her daughter Kena Johnson, at their home in Greenwood, Missisppi. They respectively lost their grandmother and great grandmother, Ethel Huntley, to Covid-19. Huntley lived in a nearby nursing home and the family allege failings in her primary care. Photograph: Rory Doyle/The Guardian. By Oliver Laughland, The Guardian, August 5, 2020 Poor access to healthcare, failed political leadership and the endurance of segregation and racism have contributed to a surge in...

Cecil J. Picard Center for Child Development & Lifelong Learning, March 2020 The landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and the Kaiser Permanente Managed Care Consortium in San Diego, CA (Felitti et al., 1998) demonstrated that cumulative adversity in childhood is associated with significant long-term consequences for adult health and well-being. The “ACE Study” findings have been replicated in numerous studies and the research...

By Tatiana Sanchez, San Francisco Chronicle, August 24, 2020 Elaine Shelly has lived with multiple sclerosis for 30 years. But she said she still panics whenever she has to see a new neurologist because of racial discrimination she’s experienced in the past. Even getting a proper diagnosis for her illness was a battle. “I’d go to these neurologists who would tell me that Black people don’t get M.S. and that I must be mentally ill,” said Shelly, 63, of San Leandro. A former print journalist,...

Join us next Wednesday for two excellent CTIPP CAN presentations to begin our 2022 lineup. Baltimore Councilman Zeke Cohen will discuss the work, started by the late Congressman Elijah Cummings, that is making the city of Baltimore trauma-informed. Claudia Remington will describe new trauma informed initiatives by the State of Maryland, including legislation that created a Commission to develop a comprehensive strategy to make the State trauma informed. We will also report on the first...