Charles Johnson lost his wife, Kira Johnson, post childbirth and he's fighting to make sure no more Black women die from poor post-natal care. He’s a great dad raising his two sons, Charles V and Langston. He’s fighting for justice! Support HR.1318 & S.1112.

https://bit.ly/2SO5Rgd

Watch this Ted talk with Kimberle Williams Crenshaw on "The Urgency of Intersectionality" 

https://binged.it/2NfyYTC

MichaeLA interview with Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H75oQN-gFaE

I start with the pain. A couple times a week I give a speech somewhere in the country about social isolation and social fragmentation. Very often a parent comes up to me afterward and says, “My daughter took her life when she was 14.” Or, “My son died of an overdose when he was 20.”

Their eyes flood with tears. I don’t know what to say. I squeeze a shoulder just to try to be present with them, but the crying does not stop. As it turns to weeping they rush out of the auditorium and I am left with my own futility. What can I say to these parents? What can I say to the parents still around who don’t yet know they may soon become those parents?

This kind of pain is an epidemic in our society. ..

source: By David Brooks Opinion Columnist

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/18/opinion/culture-compassion.html

Dance — and physical activity — should have the same status in schools as math, science and language. Psst: it may even help raise test scores, says Sir Ken Robinson...

Source: TED ED 2018

https://blog.ed.ted.com/2018/04/02/why-dance-is-just-as-important-as-math-in-school/

Watch this video with Khiara M. Bridges who is an anthropologist specializing in the #intersectionality of race, reproductive #justice, and law. She is best known for her book, Reproducing Race: An Ethnography of Pregnancy as a Site of Racialization, in which she argues that #race and #class largely affect women's #prenatal, #childbirth, and #postnatal experiences. #BHM #NewHaven #HealthyStart #blackchampions4health

Check out video here: https://bit.ly/2GVfvXj

If you or know of someone that is pregnant, contact #NewHaven#HealthyStart and we will get them enrolled into our program! Contact us at 203.777.7086. #BHM #blackchampions4health

https://bit.ly/2vmjXKs

As a little Brown girl with a big Arabic name growing up in a place called Lynchburg, Virginia, I always looked forward to Black History Month. I reveled in the opportunity to see performances hosted by the local Black Theatre ensemble. I developed a profound appreciation for the genius of George C. Wolfe, Lorraine Hansbury, and August Wilson. I learned about the complexities of African-Americans’ lived experiences in and the persistent struggle to survive in spaces that brand Black folks both invisible and hypervisible at once. Living in a small town with five colleges allowed us to skip from campus to campus to see performances by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, take in a lecture by Dr. John Henrik Clarke, or listen to a poetry reading by Dr. Maya Angelou...

Source: Diverse Issues in Higher Education by Khalilah L. Brown-Dean- https://diverseeducation.com/article/138702/

Read the facts on reproductive justice: https://bit.ly/2tmy5iN

Cedric Jackson knows firsthand the impact that regular exposure to a positive black man can have on impressionable students — especially young black boys...

Continue reading: 

https://theundefeated.com/features/only-two-percent-of-teachers-are-black-men-yet-research-confirms-they-matter/

Source: The Undefeated

Take a look at The #History of #Reproductive #Justice #BHM #NewHaven#HealthyStart #blackchamptions4health

https://binged.it/2MUEvyG

The United States ranks 47th globally for its maternal mortality rate and the maternal death rate continues to rise despite major advancements in medical technology and treatments. The statistics on #maternal death are staggering. Each year in the United States, about 700 to 1,200 women die from pregnancy or childbirth complications, and black women are about three to four times more likely to die of #pregnancy or delivery complications than white women.  Many are working to address the crisis with #Black mothers.

Read articles here: https://nyti.ms/2GOKeCf and https://cnn.it/2HcPjZG

Watch the video: https://binged.it/2MUEvyG

Terry H. Jones

New Haven, CT (January 29, 2019) The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has welcomed Terry H. Jones, of Shelton, to its board of directors, and the board has voted Khalilah Brown-Dean to serve as chair and Flemming “Nick” Norcott Jr. as vice chair. 

Jones was appointed by The Foundation Trustees Committee for a seven-year term beginning January 1, 2019. Jones has run the seven-generation Jones Family Farms for 50 years. He is also the vice president of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Board of Control, a member of the Shelton Economic Development Commission, and chairman of CT Working Land's Alliance, a wide coalition advocating for farmland preservation and healthy food. 

Brown-Dean will serve as chair of the board of directors. An associate professor of political science at Quinnipiac University, Brown-Dean is an expert on the political dynamics surrounding the American criminal justice system and a frequent contributor to the Washington Post, CNN, Ebony.com and other media outlets. She was appointed to the board in 2015. 

Norcott, the vice chair, is a retired state judge who served on the Connecticut Supreme Court for 22 years. He was appointed to the board in 2016.

Read full bios here.

Dr. Mindy Fullilove is a clinical psychiatrist who focuses on the ways social and environmental factors affect the mental health of communities. She is currently a professor of Urban Policy and Health at The New School. Her research examines the mental health effects of environmental processes such as violence, segregation, and urban renewal. She is one of the organizers of “400 Years of Inequality”.

400 Years of Inequality is a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals calling on everyone - families, friends, communities, institutions - to plan their own solemn observance of 1619, learn about their own stories and local places, and organize for a more just and equal future.  We are dedicated to dismantling structural inequality and building strong, healthy communities. We call on everyone to prepare observances for the 400th Anniversary of the arrival in 1619 at Jamestown of the first Africans to be sold into bondage. #blackchampions4health

Check out: http://www.400yearsofinequality.org/

This is a must read for parents and school staff. Includes a news video clip that is also worth watching.

Roland School can also squat, do pushups or crawl down the main corridor to stay active...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/physical-activity-guidelines-children-1.4932070

Discover and develop world-class materials with a community of educators committed to diversity, equity and justice.

https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/2018-01/Teaching-Tolerance-magazine-58.pdf

The Organic Role of Libraries as Centers of Inclusiveness and Support

January 22, 2019;  Source: Next City

People may check out fewer books from libraries than they used to, but libraries have continued to grow as their role as community hubs deepens. Here at NPQ, we have profiled libraries that have become maker spaces, supported gardening, and rented out musical instruments. In some cities, librarians have been trained to administer Narcan to interrupt opioid overdoses. In Ferguson and in Baltimore, as those cities were in a state of unrest after the killings of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray, respectively, the libraries served as sanctuaries, remaining open to the community. They have, in some cases, even been affordable housing partners...

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2019/01/24/the-organic-role-of-libraries-as-centers-of-inclusiveness-and-support/

In New Haven:

Now in its sixth year, NHFPL continues its successful partnership with Liberty Community Services (LCS), offering one-on-one consultations for those with basic needs (jobs, food, shelter, and health and wellness issues). In 2018, LCS had 976 appointments and served 563 individuals (with 268 waitlisted). In the fall of 2018 the LCS and NHFPL forged a new partnership with SCSU’s graduate Social Work program, whereby trained graduate interns, (whose academic clinical experience is overseen by Community Services Administrator, Dr. Muley), carry out their field credit work at Ives Main Library. LCS’s library case managers are trained to use the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and are credentialed to conduct emergency Coordinated Access Network (CAN) assessments. NHFPL also received a National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) grant that allows it to expand LCS services to the Fair Haven and Wilson library branches, effective January 2019. The grant includes monies earmarked for books on health and wellness in English and Spanish. The NNLM recognizes public libraries as trusted sources of health and wellness information, such as the freely available MedlinePlus.gov web site among other quality resources. For more information contact John Jessen: jjessen@nhfpl.org

Source: City Librarian Martha Brogan.

Barbara’s reporting got us thinking about the importance of urban trees, so we called up Colleen Murphy-Dunning to learn more. She is the Director of the Hixon Center for Urban Ecology and the Urban Resources Initiative at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. 

Hear the interview hear: https://nenc.news/podcast/episode-130-bobcats-on-the-prowl-in-new-england-small-colleges-battle-to-survive/

East Boston neighbors walk by a tree recently planted on Trenton Street. Photo by Jesse Costa for WBUR

The CT Community Nonprofit Alliance (The Alliance) and the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) are working together to better understand how the new tax law and state budget crisis are affecting nonprofits in Connecticut, what nonprofits and grantmakers are doing to address these challenges, and what more could be done to support the health of Connecticut's nonprofit sector. Analysis of this survey will be shared with all participants and the public later this winter.
 
We hope you will add your organization's perspective.
 
Here is the Nonprofit Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FBV8MVF
 
All responses will be confidential and reported in aggregate. Please participate by Friday, February 8.
 
Many thanks for sharing your time and information!