Our Voice for Children
July 2021
"Kids Have the Right to Be Somebody in Life"
On July 21, children in kindergarten through grade 12 from across the country joined us for our annual CDF Freedom Schools® National Day of Social Action. They marched on city hall, met with elected officials, hosted community events, and brought attention to the issue of youth justice—a topic that was chosen by our CDF Freedom Schools sites after a year of highly publicized police violence against Black communities and a renewed racial reckoning. We marked the day and celebrated their activism with a virtual rally, in which elementary-aged "scholars" from our New City Fellowship CDF Freedom Schools program site in South Carolina told us why youth justice matters to them. We also premiered their brand new music video on the topic! If you missed our virtual rally, or if you want to experience the scholars' passion and power again, you can watch the full virtual rally here.
Our Advocacy for Children
July brought the realization decades in the making of a policy that could lift millions of children out of poverty, and it also reminded us of the painful cost of inaction when we know children's lives are at stake. Through it all, we fought with partners like you to ensure children and families are always at the top of the agenda. Here are some of the ways we advocated for children and their families this month:
Child Poverty: We celebrated the fact that transformative Child Tax Credit (CTC) monthly payments have begun hitting the bank accounts of millions of families across the country and provided helpful resources for families seeking to ensure they receive their payments. Learn more.
Housing Security: We highlighted a new tool released by the Biden administration to help renters and landlords identify the state and local programs that are distributing billions of dollars in rental assistance that could provide a lifeline for struggling families. Learn more.
Voting Rights: CDF-Texas commemorated the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the 26th Amendment, which formally eliminated age discrimination in elections and lowered the voting age to 18. At the same time, they condemned nationwide efforts to suppress civic participation that deliberately target marginalized communities, including young voters. Learn more.
Child Welfare: We joined our partners in the Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign to provide recommendations to the Biden administration for actions they can take to improve services for LGBTQ+ children and families in the child welfare system. Learn more.
Gun Violence Prevention: We once again responded to preventable and heartbreaking acts of gun violence—including the killing of a 6-year-old who was riding her scooter in Washington, D.C.—with pleas to Congress to strengthen background checks, ban assault weapons, and pass other gun safety measures to protect children, not guns. Learn more.
Child Poverty: We joined our partners at the ACLU in calling on President Biden and Congress to make the Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansion permanent with critical improvements so that Black, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and immigrant children can receive the benefit. Learn more.
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Listening to the Children
Last week, we also held our 27th Annual CDF Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry, held fully virtually this year. While we missed being on the storied grounds of the CDF Haley Farm, this year's theme of "Listening to the Children: A Radical Revolution of Values" brought with it invaluable opportunities to join with and learn from young people, as we pursue a vision in which marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive. Click below to watch recordings of each evening's sessions, including our nightly conversations with young people.
Tuesday evening's session, featuring a discussion about building power for child-centered policy with young advocates from New York.
Wednesday evening's session, featuring a discussion with young advocates from Washington, D.C. about the most critical issues they are facing.
Thursday evening's session, featuring a discussion about reforming the youth justice system with young advocates from Los Angeles.
Child Watch Roundup
In a Child Watch column published this month, Marian Wright Edelman called on all of us to be vigilant against the dangerous and systemic assaults on voting rights that are spreading across our nation and asked us to take up the fight started so many decades ago to make democracy more equitable and accessible for all. Read the column.
Catch up on the rest of Marian Wright Edelman's recent Child Watch columns:
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