“‘Let me light my lamp,’ says the star, ‘And never debate if it will help to remove the darkness.’” - Rabindranath Tagore

I have spent months reviving my lamp. The flame had grown weak, and the brass, tarnished. I polished it for many weeks, discarding blackened rags one after the other. I washed the clouded glass with my tears until it was as clear as mid-ocean waters. I refilled the empty well. It was an abyss; I had burned down all the oil. Now, the flame is bright and strong enough to shine through even the darkest of these unexpected winter nights in New Zealand.

This past week, I’ve been listening to what is happening in the US. I’ve sought out new voices to help me understand our history of institutionalized racism & oppression. Kelsang Gyatso said, “Listening is a lamp that dispels the darkness of ignorance.”

I’m ready to speak here again, but at this moment, more than any sailing story, this is the one that must be told first. . .

For every black adult victim of systemic racism in the US, there are many more black children harmed every day, because inequities in every society start with our young.

I’ve been learning & grappling with a truth I’ve known for years. The privilege granted me by the color of my skin led to a far different foster care experience than that of black children, who:

are 2x more likely to enter the foster care system than white children
primarily enter care for neglect (due to poverty), not abuse
have the highest prevalence of having parental rights terminated
are less likely to be adopted than white children
have the highest rate of moving from child protection to juvenile detention

If we want to dismantle racism in America, we must start here. Black Children Matter, so I support not only criminal justice reform, but also child welfare system reform.

How you can learn/support this:

in Minnesota: pass the African American Family Preservation Act- see https://www.preserveourfamilies.org, give to Amherst H. Wilder Foundation’s Kofi program to provide black children with school-based mental health care, give to EVOLVE Family Services UMOJA MN camp
Nationally: support the Children's Defense Fund, and national efforts to reform the child welfare system, like through the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
Locally: seek out orgs serving poor black families & foster kids like Amara in WA state, Black Family And Children Services in AZ. Call your reps and tell them that #blackchildrenmatter, especially those in poverty, homelessness, and foster care.

Let us light our lamps and, together, remove the darkness.

Lighting a Lamp For Child Welfare Reform

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