#black-children
#black-children

Books

'We Were Once a Family' exposes ills of U.S. child welfare system

Farrar, Straus and Giroux The saga of the Hart family murder-suicide slammed the zeitgeist in 2018 with its brutal combination of cruelty, violence and social media narcissism.In late March of 2018, Jennifer Hart and her wife Sarah drove their family off a cliff.Seated in the back seat of their SUV were Ciera, Abigail, Jeremiah, Devonte, Hannah and Markis all between 12 and 19 years old.

www.npr.org

Books

'We Were Once a Family' exposes ills of U.S. child welfare system

www.thisislocallondon.co.uk

Books

Interview with Looking Up Author, Abena Eyeson- Olivia Eyeson, Parmiter's School

Interview with Looking Up Author, Abena Eyeson- Olivia Eyeson, Parmiter's School (Image: Abena Eyeson) British-Ghanaian writer Abena Eyeson is a Faber Children's FAB Prize 2021 Commended Text winner and was longlisted for the Literary Consultancy TLC Pen Factor Writing Prize in 2022.She writes contemporary fiction focussed around black children, with her current novel Looking Up being described as a breezy read that gives great insight into teenage life, immigrant viewpoints, and multicultural perspectives, by Anastasia Shown of African Access Reviews USA.

moreBooks

www.standard.co.uk

10 months ago

Musician Fuse ODG says Met Police racially profiled' him after being handcuffed in Brixton

S inger Fuse ODG has claimed he was racially profiled by the Met Police after he was handcuffed by officers in south London.The London-born Afrobeat artist, real name Nana Richard Abiona, was cuffed by four officers in Brixton on February 28.He posted footage of the incident on Instagram, in which the officers tell him they can smell cannabis.

www.aljazeera.com

Black children six times likelier to be strip-searched: UK report

An investigation was launched after a Black 15-year-old girl was strip-searched at a London school in 2020.Black children in England and Wales are six times more likely to be strip-searched by police, according to a report that finds children were failed by those sworn to protect them.The report, released on Monday by Children's Commissioner Rachel de Souza, found nearly 3,000 children were strip-searched from 2018 to mid-2022 and more than half the searches were conducted without an appropriate adult present.

Washington Post

UK report: Black kids 6 times likelier to be strip-searched

LONDON - Black children in England and Wales were six times more likely to be strip-searched by police, according to a report being released Monday that found children were failed by those sworn to protect them.Are you on Telegram?Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.

www.independent.co.uk

Police strip-searches of children are racist and traumatising', say charities

Charities have criticised the findings of a report on police strip-searching of children as shameful and called for officer training to be reviewed in order to ensure young people are kept safe.The breakdown of searches by ethnicity in the Children's Commissioner's research shows that black children are disproportionately represented and subjected to this traumatising and intrusive practice, the Children's Society said.

BBC News

Children as young as eight strip-searched by police

By Celestina Olulode & Jemma Crew

Children as young as eight are being strip-searched by the police, according to a report showing "deeply concerning" and "widespread" failures.It also found black children were up to six times more likely to be searched than the overall child population.

BBC News

Police defend big jump in officers in UK schools

Community affairs correspondent

Police chiefs have defended a 43% year-on-year rise in the number of officers based in UK schools.The Runnymede Trust race equality think tank found 979 Safer Schools Officers (SSOs) in schools last spring, compared with 683 in 2021.It found SSOs are more likely to be based in schools with higher numbers of children on free school meals, often with higher numbers of black pupils.

www.cbc.ca

11 months ago

Toronto

Police investigation finds no evidence of hate-motivated confinement of student by TDSB staff | CBC News

Toronto police have ended an investigation into the alleged hate-motived forcible confinement of a Grade 1 student at John Fisher Junior Public School, saying detectives found no evidence to support laying charges against staff.The boy's mother alleged in March that he was subjected to months of anti-Black racism at the north Toronto school.

www.cbc.ca

Toronto

Free legal aid now available to all Black students in Ontario schools | CBC News

Haweya Farah's family is in a dispute with her 10-year-old brother's Ottawa-area school and its school board, Conseil des ecoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario (CEPEO).

Los Angeles Times

California

California legislator proposes 'Ebony Alert' bill to report missing Black children, young women

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A California legislator proposed a bill to establish an "Ebony Alert" system that would inform people of missing Black children and young women - similar to the Amber Alert.State Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) introduced Senate Bill 673 last week, citing the overrepresentation and underreporting of missing Black children and young women in California.

www.standard.co.uk

Police cannot be trusted' with power to strip-search children, London politician says

N ew data on the strip-searching of children by police proves that officers cannot be trusted with the devastating power to strip-search anyone, a London politician has said.Caroline Russell, a Green member of the London Assembly, said the statistics about strip-searching contained in a report from Children's Commissioner Rachel de Souza, showed that the power should be taken away from the police.

www.independent.co.uk

Child strip-search report findings deeply concerning, says policing minister

Following safeguarding practices around child strip-searches is vital, the policing minister said, as a report revealing failures was branded deeply concerning.Of the almost 3,000 strip-searches of children by police in recent years, more than half have taken place without an appropriate adult present, research by the Children's Commissioner's office showed.

www.npr.org

Arts

Martin Luther King Jr. paid the bill for Julia Roberts' birth. Here's the backstory

Julia Roberts poses at a red carpet premiere in London in September.That same month, she spoke publicly about her family's friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.Niklas Halle'n/AFP via Getty Images The world is finally learning a thrilling fact about Julia Roberts' birth, exactly 55 years later: It was paid for by Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

www.independent.co.uk

Pupils should not be unfairly singled out' at school because of their afro hair

Pupils should not be unfairly singled out at school because they have afro hair, the equalities watchdog has said.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said policies which ban certain hairstyles without making exceptions on racial grounds are likely to be unlawful.This includes styles such as afros, braids, cornrows, plaits, locks and head coverings.

The Independent

Numbers of children in custody set to double by 2024

The Government expects the number of children in custody in England and Wales to more than double by September 2024, according to a new report, while the opening of a new secure school has been delayed by three years.

www.independent.co.uk

Police strip searching children as young as eight, damning report finds

Police stopped and strip-searched more than 2,800 children in four years - with the youngest only 8-years-old, a damning new report has revealed.Using data for forces across England Wales, Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza found that nearly a quarter of children strip-searched were aged between 10 and 15.

www.independent.co.uk

Police strip searching children as young as eight, damning report finds

www.independent.co.uk

Children being failed' as figures show almost 3,000 strip-searches by police

Black children were up to six times more likely to be strip-searched by police and more than half of the almost-3,000 strip-searches in recent years have taken place without an appropriate adult present, a report has shown.Locations for searches across England and Wales included police vehicles and schools with a small number even taking place in takeaways and amusement parks, the research by the Children's Commissioner revealed.

www.theguardian.com

Police stopped a couple in Tennessee. Then they took their children away

Nearly a month ago, Bianca Clayborne, Deonte Williams, and their five children were on their way from Georgia to Chicago for Clayborne's uncle's funeral when a highway patrol officer stopped them in Manchester, Tennessee.That moment about 60 miles outside Nashville has since upended their lives as Clayborne and Williams try to regain custody of their children after they say state authorities kidnapped them on account of a minuscule amount of marijuana in the car, the Tennessee Lookout first reported.

Towleroad Gay News

Julia Roberts: 'Martin Luther King Jr And His Wife Paid Hospital Bill For My Birth' - Towleroad Gay News

Julia Roberts says the late Martin Luther King Jr and his wife Coretta Scott King paid the hospital bill for her birth.The actress, 55, revealed the couple made the gesture as her parents couldn't afford the fee, and said her mum and dad befriended the Kings while living in Atlanta running a theatre school.

Vulture

Julia Roberts's Hospital Bill Was Paid for By Dr. MLK Jr. and Coretta King

Yes, you read that correctly.When Ticket to Paradise's Julia Roberts was born, Dr. Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta King, paid for her parents' hospital bill.The clip of Roberts talking about the historic connection resurfaced on Roberts' 55th birthday yesterday on Twitter.Roberts's parents, Betty Lou Bredemus and Walter Grady Roberts co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop and a children's acting school where Dr. King's children attended classes.

Towleroad Gay News

Kanye West Rants About 'porn Addiction' And Kardashian 'sperm Donors' - Towleroad Gay News

Kanye West has aimed a blistering rant at Kim Kardashian raging about a "porn addiction" which "destroyed" his family and comparing the men to "sperm donors".

www.cnn.com

Kids under 5 aren't getting their greens, but they are drinking sugary drinks, new CDC report says

Children under 5 in the US are missing out on vital nutrition by drinking sugary drinks and passing up fruits and vegetables, a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.Researchers surveyed the parents of more than 18,000 kids ages 1 to 5 in 2021, asking them how many times the child ate fruit, the number of vegetables eaten and the number of sugar-sweetened beverages consumed in the preceding week.

www.cnn.com

MIS-C has been more common and more severe than previously reported, study finds

Although still rare, MIS-C after Covid-19 has been more common and more severe than previously reported, and there are significant racial disparities in cases, according to a study published Thursday in JAMA Network Open.Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children which primarily emerges after a Covid-19 infection causes inflammation in various parts of the body and can affect major organs including the kidneys, brain, lungs and heart.

www.cnn.com

Indigenous and Black children increasingly experiencing racism, new study shows

A growing percentage of Indigenous and Black parents in the United States reported that their children have faced racist experiences, according to a study published in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine.The study looked at parental reporting of racist experiences their children faced between 2016 and 2020.

www.npr.org

A U.S. pediatricians' group is trying to eliminate race-based medical guidance

A pediatrician examines a newborn baby in her clinic in Chicago on Tuesday in 2019.

Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles

Family files claim against Upland school district, alleging Black kids were targeted with racist abuse

A family has filed a legal claim against Upland Unified School District, alleging that their three children were targeted with racist drawings and abuse by other students at the elementary school.The claim comes a week after a series of racist incidents at Pepper Tree Elementary School sparked outrage from parents.

Vulture

Podcast

The Best Podcasts of 2023 (So Far)

And we're off to the races.After 2022, this year might've started out with big questions over Spotify and the podcast biz, but from a new-releases standpoint, it's already been an intriguing year.Serial Productions delivered a new entry - late winter seems to be a favored slot for the studio, as The Trojan Horse Affair came out around the same time last year - and I reckon there'll be more to come.

www.cnn.com

US news

Benjamin Crump wins NAACP Social Justice Impact Award and vows never to stop fighting racism and discrimination'

Attorney Benjamin Crump has been at the forefront of some of the highest-profile cases involving civil rights and racial injustice but acknowledges there's much more work to be done.While accepting the Social Justice Impact Award at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday night, Crump vowed never to stop fighting racism and discrimination.

Chicago Tribune

Chicago

Jeffery Leving: Illinois should follow federal guidance and stop charging parents for their kids' foster care

Many are not aware, but most foster care systems around the country force parents to pay the state or county child support if their child is in the foster care system.Many studies have found that this type of arrangement can keep children in foster care for several added months and burden already poor and troubled families with added debt, often for years.

www.independent.co.uk

Police pay tribute to Solihull boys as six-year-old fights for life - follow latest

Jump to content Sign up to our newslettersSubscribe News Sports Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium Close Video: Mourners leave floral tributes and soft toys near scene after Babbs Mill lake incident Tearful police officers have paid tribute to the three boys who died after falling through ice into a lake in Solihull.

the Guardian

Growing 'culture of extremism' among UK and European police forces, report warns

Police forces in the UK and across Europe are suffering from a growing "culture of extremism", according to a report that warns of an increase in officers sharing racist and far-right content online.

The Independent

2 years ago

Council urges Met Police to admit racism after Child Q strip-search case

A London council has called on the Metropolitan Police to admit to being institutionally racist after officers strip-searched a black shoolgirl who was wrongly suspected of possessing cannabis.

Truthout

Left-wing politics

Supreme Court Poised to Side With Anti-LGBTQ Web Designer in Discrimination Case

The plaintiff claims that a Colorado law barring anti-LGBTQ discrimination violates her religious freedoms.Demonstrators in favor of LGBT rights rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on October 8, 2019.Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit brought by an evangelical Christian web designer who alleges that a Colorado law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation is in violation of her religious freedoms.

www.redlandsdailyfacts.com

California school district agree to pay $15.75 million to family of 13-year-old student who died fter an asthma attack.

The Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District has agreed to a $15.75 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by the mother of a middle schooler who died after an asthma attack.Adilene Carrasco was a 13-year-old student at Mesa View Middle School in Calimesa.She had a history of asthma attacks, as noted on the home screen of her student profile in the Aeries online student database, according to the lawsuit against the district.

www.mercurynews.com

Oakland community responds in wake of racist message, threat found in school bathroom

OAKLAND Concerned parents are calling on school district leaders to address a racist and violent message directed at Black students that was written in an Oakland hills elementary school bathroom.Parents gathered with elected officials outside Thornhill Elementary School this week, where a week prior someone wrote Black lives do no matter.

Washington Post

Zimbabwe students scoop international awards for moot court

HARARE, Zimbabwe - A history-making team of Zimbabwean high school students that became world and European moot court competition champions has been widely praised in a country where the education system is beset by poor funding, lack of materials and teachers' strikes.

East Bay Times

Oakland Unified, teachers' union face off over planned strike against school closures

OAKLAND - The Oakland Unified School District and the union that represents its teachers and other staff may be headed for a legal battle over the union's planned one-day strike Friday to protest the pending closure of Oakland schools.

sfist.com

2 years ago

ACLU Joins Fight Against Oakland School Closures, Claiming Racial Discrimination

The American Civil Liberties Union has now filed a complaint with the California Department of Justice urging the attorney general to look in to the Oakland Unified School District's plan to close seven schools and merge two others next year, saying the plan disproportionately impacts Black families.

www.nytimes.com

Europe news

U.K. Tells Schools They Can't Ban Afro Hairstyles

LONDON Ruby Williams was 14 when a teacher stopped her as she walked down a corridor of her school in London and told her that her Afro hair was too big.A few days later, her mother, Kate Williams, said, the teacher summoned Ruby out of her class and sent her home, recommending some chemicals to straighten her hair.

KQED

Independent films

In 'The Silent Twins,' an Intense Sister Act for the Ages

Describing the ineffable yet oh-so-real connection between sisters-or any siblings-isn't easy.

Washington Post

DC food

Review | 'The Silent Twins' is a strange but true story of sibling connection

Movies based on true stories don't typically open with a sequence made with stop-motion animation.But then "The Silent Twins" attempts to tell two stories, only one of them more or less true.

Boston.com

Boston

Suspect in Acadia hit-and-run death of girlfriend arrested in Mexico

Raymond Lester, 35, of Portland, was arrested Monday in Cancun and returned to the United States.

the Guardian

Exercise

Blacks Can't Swim: Rewind review - a deep dive back into troubled waters

Statistics from Sport England show that 95% of Black adults and 80% of Black children in England don't swim.People from ethnic minorities are at an increased risk of drowning according to the WHO.

Engadget

Artificial intelligence

Oregon is shutting down its controversial child welfare AI in June | Engadget

In 2018, Oregon's Department of Human Services implemented its Safety at Screening Tool, an algorithm that generates a "risk score" for abuse hotline workers, recommending whether a social worker needs to further investigate the contents of a call.

the Guardian

World news

Walsall mayor suspended from Tory party over racist WhatsApp post

The newly elected Conservative mayor of Walsall has been suspended from the party over a racist post from her WhatsApp account.

Medium