Systems change can be a daunting challenge, requiring cross-sector coordination across organizations. But even the most complex systems are made up of people. When we support people to take up their roles and use their individual power, we can create lasting change. StriveTogether’s coaching program, Coaching for Collaborative Action, supports leaders in stewarding their work…
Systems change can be a daunting challenge, requiring cross-sector coordination across organizations. But even the most complex systems are made up of people. When we support people to take up their roles and use their individual power, we can create lasting change. StriveTogether’s coaching program, Coaching for Collaborative Action, supports leaders in stewarding their work…
Nikole Hannah-Jones ended the 2020 Cradle to Career Network Convening with a powerful message for the audience of more than 1,400 community changemakers: Keep pushing and bring along allies to reconstruct the architecture of racial apartheid. Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the New York Times Magazine’s “The 1619 Project,” which shares the history…
There is an urgent need to report openly and clearly about the complexity of racial identity, inequality and racial bias and their deep roots in our culture, history and institutions. When race enters public conversation, however, racialized language used is often dehumanizing and inaccurate. How can we ensure nuanced and deeper story telling in covering…
“Much is at stake when African American communities are undercounted,” said Kareem Butler, 2020 Census project coordinator at the Chicago Urban League. At an event called 2020 census: Barriers to inclusion in African American communities, the Chicago Urban League hosted nonprofit organizations across the city to strategize about messaging and outreach material for African American…
When reflecting on educational experiences that shaped who I am, I must admit, I don’t readily think of my earliest experiences before the age of 5. However, after attending a conference at the University of Chicago last week, I’m now more aware of how those early language and learning environments affected my future. The 2018…
While reading Linda Villarosa’s New York Times article “Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-death Crisis,” I had some visceral reactions as a soon-to-be mother. There are glaring and alarming disparities in maternal and infant health for women of color, particularly for African-American women like myself. The article came to mind last…
Sessions at PolicyLink’s national Equity Summit 2018 around inclusion, diversity, equity and access across various sectors challenged participants to advance racial and economic equity at a greater scale. As a former educator, I found it impossible to disentangle the monumental task of creating a more equitable society across sectors from the work of the education…
Design and artwork by Tabitha Jordan-Nichols, StriveTogether’s graphic design co-op. Tabitha is a second-year student at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), where she is majoring in communication design. View more of Tabitha’s work at www.tabithajordannichols.com.
Ever wonder why housing in most major metropolitan communities is segregated by race? Take Chicago — my hometown — where there is a clear north/south and east/west racial divide. Gaps in wealth, income and access to education, especially between whites and African-Americans, become increasingly apparent as you cross the invisible dividing line between the city’s affluent and economically deprived areas.…
Often, educators and education services leave parents out, expecting families to feed, clothe and shelter students but remain separate from the education process. While directors, educators and administrators are heard, parent voices are often ignored or silenced. Bridge to Success in Waterbury, Connecticut, strives to uphold those voices, believing that family engagement is essential to…
As the third StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network community designated as “proof point,” Higher Expectation for Racine County’s work is changing systems and improving education outcomes for children. The local partnership and its partners are seeing improvements across five of the seven outcomes being tracked in service of Higher Expectation’s vision — a fully capable…