The Value of Connecting Racial Justice and Resilience: Reduction of racial disparities is critical to the common good and beneficial for all members of society. It’s our “shared fate.” Stephanie Doyle, Director of Boston Defending Childhood Initiative Sojourner Rivers, Program Manager Boston Defending Childhood Initiative

Boston Public Health Commission and Anti-Racism The Boston Public Health Commission's (BPHC) Racial Justice and Health Equity Initiative is a broad organizational transformation process, which aims to integrate health equity and racial justice principles and practices into all Commission work, both internal and external, in order to measurably reduce inequities in Boston. 

What Do We Mean When We Say “Resilience?” Resilience is the ability to overcome challenges of all kinds and “bounce back”- key factor to this is children’s confidence with a positive self-perception. McClain, Bonny. 2007. “Building Resilience in Children.” Healthy Children Magazine: 8-10.

Context for This Work: Our Values We want resilience  and growth for all children from all communities we work with; For some of the communities and families we work with, because of the history and impact of racism, there are more obstacles to being healthy and flourishing.  To truly support all families, we must be intentional about incorporating racial justice into our daily work.

Racism Impacting Resilience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQACkg5i4AY Anderson Cooper 360°May 18,2010. Anderson Cooper 360 attempted a pilot study to remake the famous 1947 Marnie and Kenneth Clark doll study

Reflection Questions What does this video reveal about the children’s self-perception? How do you think this would affect their development or resilience? How do they learn these messages?

Results from the White children Cohort About 76% of the younger white children pointed to the two darkest skin tones for the “dumb child” About 66% of the younger white child pointed to the darkest two skin tones for the “mean child” More the 59% of the older white children pointed to two darkest skin tones for the “bad child” Spencer, Margaret. 2010. “CNN Pilot Demonstration”

Where Do the Messages Come From? What does it mean, as on organization, to reflect back a positive image of the child to themselves so they can have healthy resilience development? How do we interact with and value their caregivers as equal partners? How does the leadership of the organization reflect the communities they serve in a meaningful way (both in terms of demographics and experience and understanding)? How are organizational staff of all backgrounds given the support to grow and develop leadership in how to support the communities of color they serve? How may implicit bias create disparate impact that may be at work in our institutions policies and discipline practice?

Moving to Working Solutions Racial Justice and Resilience Supporting and Advocating for Families Needs Understand individual families rather than blaming or making assumptions, and respond by collaboratively problem solving and/or advocating for the children and family’s needs. Honoring Identity in Center Environment Center toys, curricula, books and visuals reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of center families and promote the self-esteem and resilience of all students. Equitable Leadership Development: Center professional development efforts support leadership development to facilitate retention and promotion of staff from all backgrounds. Understanding Implicit Bias Data on race and ethnicity are collected, reviewed, and used to identify and guide strategies to address inequities and avoid implicit bias in center practices, decision making, and outcomes. Opportunities to Learn and Reflect Professional development efforts include ongoing trainings on racial justice issues and topics particularly relevant to the centers’ racial and ethnic communities and staff are reflective of their experiences and understanding of race impact their interactions with children and families.

Thank you for your time!