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THE MOMENT
Responding to Children’s Bereavement During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In LFJ’s newest article, writer, strategist and organizer Dorothee Benz, Ph.D., looks at how educators are attending to grief as over 200,000 children are experiencing the loss of a parent or caregiver during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without significant new resources to call on to deal with this reality, responses include local initiatives and sharing experiences. Addressing loss on this scale poses significant concerns as Benz states, “Bereavement is a normal part of life, and if a grieving child is supported, the process is unlikely to have a lasting traumatic effect. However, COVID-19 bereavement has additional dimensions that can make it extra challenging.” Read about some of the initiatives here.
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Humanity, Healing and Doing the Work
Article Spotlight: In this 2021 LFJ Q&A with Dena Simmons, Ed.D., founder of LiberatED, a collective at the intersection of racial justice, social emotional learning (SEL) and healing in education rooted in radical love, Simmons insists that it’s imperative for educators and caregivers to create supportive situations for all children. She offers strategies that educators and caregivers can employ—in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, continued police brutality, deliberate misinformation and heightened political polarization—to sustain healing and help children feel safe.
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Future Voters Project
With Take 10 Minutes to Register Future Voters Today, LFJ highlights the second in a series of voting rights resources. If you work with students who are eligible to register or pre-register to vote, taking just a little time on your own to prepare, and no more than 10 minutes of class time to help them register will go a long way. Supporting students through the registration process is one of the most effective ways to help amplify student perspectives.
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Reflections on a Dream Deferred
We commemorate the life of Rep. John Lewis in his own words. “Are we closer to building a society based on simple justice that values the dignity and the worth of every human being? Yes, we are closer, but we still have a great distance we must travel before we build a Beloved Community, a nation and a world society at peace with itself.” Rep. Lewis’ 2008 reflection on the ideals of Martin Luther King Jr. and assertation that “there are still millions of Black people in this country, and people of color across the globe, who are left out and left behind” is of the utmost relevance right now.
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2022 EduColor Summit
EduColor is hosting its third annual summit featuring educators, scholars and advocates for educational justice for a full day of virtual professional development, critical conversations and community building. This year’s EduColor summit includes keynote speakers Julia E. Torres, Venus Evans-Winters, Ph.D., and Helen Gym with remarks from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona and National Book Award-winner Jacqueline Woodson. Set for July 21, register today!
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Check Out What We’re Reading
“But enslavers tended to marry enslavers, so I have no idea how many thousands of people were held in bondage by those associated with my family.” — The Washington Post
“The highest concentration of trans people in the United States live in the South, which is also where some of the most stringent abortion restrictions or bans are in place.” — Teen Vogue
“Caustic fights over which books belong on the shelves have put librarians at the center of a bitter and widening culture war.” — The New York Times
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Have a comment, question or idea for Learning for Justice? Drop us a line at [email protected].
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