Juneteenth 2023
Juneteenth 2023
On Juneteenth 2023, the BUILD Initiative celebrates countless history-making African Americans – from scientists, teachers, authors, and politicians to activists, athletes, and entertainers. Books have been filled with their achievements which are too numerous to list, but we’d be remiss to not include just a few here and here.
We also celebrate the strength of a people who have remained resilient in the face of a long and continuing history of systemic oppression. And we remember that the struggle for equity among African Americans is ongoing: Black people in this country still “face systematically higher unemployment rates, fewer job opportunities, lower pay, poorer benefits, and greater job instability” than their white colleagues. Looking at just one example, more than two million people in the US are our young children’s educators. They make up an experienced workforce that is largely women, often women of color and immigrants, providing care and education, yet they are devalued. Their experience, knowledge and skills are often ignored, and their well-being undermined by poor working conditions and low pay and Black educators are routinely paid less than their peers.
News of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Galveston, Texas 158 years ago. On Juneteenth, we honor Black resilience, but we also recommit to using our respective roles to dismantle systemic inequities and put an end to seemingly never-ending delays to justice. Black resilience alone cannot overcome the structural and systemic roots of our country’s racism. As Chris Watler, Executive Vice President, Center for Employment Opportunities noted, “White people must also do their work, and it begins by listening to Black people, understanding Black history, and addressing the present-day manifestations of racism.” But listening alone is not enough. White people must also take action and ensure that we/they are not complicit in maintaining white privilege and power disparities.
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Advocating for Early Intervention Our Passion, Our Future
Archived Webinar April 12, 2024
Parents, advocates, early interventionists, and their partners in four very different states will share their experiences to discuss how they formed new partnerships to strengthen Early Intervention and their struggles and solutions. Key themes including equitable access, adequate funding, workforce recruitment/retention, and family voice in decision-making will be highlighted.
Reducing Disparities for Latino Children and Families: A National Latino Infant Policy Agenda Provides Solutions
Blog April 10, 2024
BUILD believes that to effectively meet the needs of young children and their families, we must recognize existing disparities, including opportunity and achievement gaps. Therefore, we see the urgent need to support policy solutions to better serve Latino infants, toddlers, and families.
Operationalizing High-Quality Dual Language Programming: From the Early Years to the Early Grades
Report April 9, 2024
The aim of this brief, from Children's Equity Project and The Century Foundation, is to operationalize what high quality dual language immersion looks like for infants/toddlers, preschoolers, and students in Kindergarten through second grade. The brief provides an overview important context and core concepts foundational for this work, including a description of emergent bilinguals in the United States, a strength-based approaches to bilingualism, a historical account of bilingual education, and a description of how DLI education is part of a broader, equitable child serving system.