Politics & Policy

NC kids in adult jails?!?

We are at a pivotal moment to change the lives of kids in communities across our state. North Carolina is one of only two states in the country that still charges 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in our criminal justice system, without exception. We can change this outdated policy, but we need your...

On Women’s Equality Day, Still Fighting for Voting Rights for All

Perhaps a million women will be left on the sidelines as we celebrate 96 years of voting rights this Women’s Equality Day . These are women affected by felony disenfranchisement laws – state laws that deny individuals convicted of felony offenses the right to vote while they are incarcerated, while...

Child Watch® Column: Filling in the Stories

Do your children love the books on their summer reading lists? Are your children reading about diverse cultures and books that reflect their experience or history? Children of color are now a majority of all public school students and will soon be a majority of all children in America yet children’s books and the publishing industry have failed to keep up with the rainbow of our children’s faces and cultures and needs. Every summer our Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools® curriculum is focused on a superb collection of diverse books that reflect children’s own images and a wide variety of cultures and experiences. For some children it’s the first time they’ve seen books with characters who look like them. For others the storylines draw them in, teach them about moments in history they may not have studied in school, and allow them to fall in love with reading in a way they’ve never experienced.