And here’s the link to the guide on google docs. From the introduction:
As radical childcare collectives, we join the millions who are heartbroken and horrified at the continuing examples in a long history of state violence against people of color, and specifically, against Black communities. We bear witness to the devastating effects of this systematized racism, especially on the youngest in our communities.
George Floyd was a father and grandfather, and his younger daughter was six at the time of his murder. Korryn Gaines’ son bore witness to the murder of his mother by the police. Alton Sterling leaves five children without their father. Philando Castile worked with young people. Lavish Reynolds’ daughter bore witness and comforted her mother when her mother’s boyfriend was killed by the police. Eric Garner had five children and three grandchildren. Tanisha Anderson had a daughter. Michael Brown was a teenager. Trayvon Martin was a teenager. Tamir Rice was a child. Aiyana Jones was a child. And this list is far from complete. These appalling acts will continue if we let them. In this context, childhood is a privilege available only to a select set of children. Children not afforded this privilege learn to be fearful from the earliest of ages, monitoring their bodies and movement, clothing and speech, in a way that no person, let alone a child, should ever have to do.
In our childcare work, it is made apparent to us that raising a Black child in this racialized atmosphere is in and of itself a revolutionary undertaking, an act of defiance against a world that says there is no place for them here. For people raising white and non-Black children, bringing them up with race-consciousness is a critical step towards challenging this violence. To this end, we have begun to collect resources that are helpful in this work. This list is a living document, and we encourage you to explore it, and add to it any resources that could aid all of us in this collective journey.*
We do this work because we believe that another world is not only possible, but coming into formation through the powerful leadership of Black organizing spaces like Black Lives Matter. It is the world that all of us long for: where all children can enjoy being children, precisely because Black communities are no longer subject to the oppression that has had such heavy impact for so long.
In struggle and solidarity,
The Intergalactic Conspiracy of Childcare Collectives
The ICCC is a loose network of childcare collectives across North America (though intergalactic in our aspirations!). As childcare collectives, we support the participation of families in movement spaces by providing childcare and children’s programming that furthers a vision for collective, intergenerational liberation. Learn more about the many childcare collectives that make up our network!
New Year, new resolution