Yesterday, those of us at Sierra Nevada Journeys paused our in outreach to make space to listen, learn, and stand alongside the black community in sadness, solidarity, and hope.
Image from embracerace.org’s article “31 Children’s Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism, and Resistance”
Sierra Nevada Journeys works to ensure educational equity, accessibility, and inclusion by focusing on reaching youth from historically marginalized communities. We know that the key to effective learning is feeling safe, and as such, Sierra Nevada Journeys condemns systematic racism that compromises the safety of so many people of color. The death of Mr. George Floyd is the latest example that highlights the disparity in the treatment of people of color in our society, played out for young people of color regularly in school and outdoor spaces.
We are committed to implementing more culturally relevant programs, wider partnerships with historically marginalized communities, and broader diversity of staff reflective of the communities we serve. The tragic events of the last week have reminded us of the need to listen, gather advice, and work to apply our efforts where they will best serve the youth of the communities we serve.
We are thankful to partners leading Equity and Inclusion work with youth and the outdoors, recognizing the challenges facing youth from historically marginalized communities at camps, in nature, in STEM classrooms and in STEM careers. We are learning from them and from the youth we serve, and we encourage all of our stakeholders to please get involved in your own way to work toward eliminating racism for the benefit of all youth in our community.
We recommend these resources for parents to guide discussions with your children about racism and racialized violence:
Children’s Books to Support Conversations on Race and Racism from EmbraceRace
Resources for Talking About Racism and Racialized Violence With Kids from the Center for Racial Justice in Education
Talking to Kids About Race by National Geographic
Black History Movies That Tackle Racism from Common Sense Media