Politics & Policy

Child Watch® Column: Changing Our Racial Narrative

Bryan Stevenson, the brilliant founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, believes it’s possible to change our nation and world despite the inequality and violence that sometimes threaten to overwhelm us. He’s thought long and hard about the steps needed and believes a key to changing America’s future is changing the narrative we tell ourselves about our shared past. This is especially true about our legacy of Native American genocide, slavery and Jim Crow, and the injustices throughout our history that linger and simmer under the surface then boil over again and again. He speaks often about the urgent need to confront our historic narrative including recently to young servant leaders preparing to teach children in Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® programs across America.

Speak up to keep our daughters safe from female genital mutilation

I am a survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM). I am also a mother. I’ve dedicated my life to ending FGM and other gender-based violence; I refuse to see my children’s peers undergo the same trauma I endured. While many consider FGM to be an international issue, it affects women and girls here...