True Social Justice & Racial Equity Is Hard Work
White progressive educators and parents, I know lots of you. And I know you think diversity in schools is important. But you all are pushing a sales job on other White parents that has harmful consequences for children of color. We need intentionally diverse schools because Black students deserve access […]
My mom and society have taught me that it is rude to offer advice when no one asks for it. But Black folks aren’t talking about disabilities with each other, and that silence is negatively affecting our children. And, while many of us in the Black community are too ashamed and afraid […]
The media is all over Cardi B for making a video with democratic socialist candidate Bernie Sanders. People who don’t know her are quick to dismiss her as an “uninformed, uneducated Black woman rapper.” But those of us who are Cardi fans know she has always been a history and […]
This week America celebrated the 99th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s passage, which granted women the right to vote. However, like much of American history, the words in our Constitution don’t reflect the reality of what actually happened. THE TRUTH IS THAT THE SUFFRAGETTES WERE RACIST, OPPORTUNISTIC AND THEY SOLD […]
Dear Black Students: I want to tell you something controversial, something different from the messages most people will give you. I want you to know that simply reading books isn’t the key to academic success, nor is it the key to beating racism and White supremacy. Here’s the truth: Reading […]
As a parent of a child with special needs, I pay a lot of money to provide the services that she needs to be successful in school. A lot. A lot of money, and energy, and time, and lawyers, and researching, and fighting schools, and feeling like I don’t know […]
To all members of the GLBTQ community: I want to apologize and make you a promise. Although some people will say it is silly for one person to apologize for an entire community, I disagree. I think if you are a part of a community that is doing hateful, discriminatory […]
A growing number of people are outraged by our current immigration debacle involving refugees on the southern border of the United States: children in concentration camps and denied basic services, like blankets and soap. Many folks so outraged see inhumanity not only in the treatment of refugees upon arrival, but also […]
Nationwide, health coverage for autism-related services is seriously lacking. In my home state of Illinois, advocates are pushing newly elected Governor Pritzker to expand Medicaid coverage for early intervention therapies for children with autism. Research shows that early intervention can make a remarkable difference in children’s academic outcomes. This was also the case in […]
The question must be asked: What do we have to do to get school districts to follow the law and give students who are disabled the services they are legally entitled to receive? I’ll give you an example. Chicago Public Schools was illegally limiting access to special education services in an […]