The day after the Super Bowl is always an interesting time to visit social media. From armchair quarterbacks critiquing every play, die-hard football fans trying to convince everyone that there was a bias against their team and those who simply watch the game for the halftime performance and the commercials, it is not difficult to …
Read more “Kendrick Lamar’s Superbowl LIX Halftime Show: Layers of Meaning”
Newtown Allies for Change (NAFC) is pleased to announce Ariana Leggio, second-grade teacher at Middle Gate Elementary and Erika Carlson, Library Media Specialist at Hawley Elementary School, as the 3rd annual Allies in Education award winners. The awards were presented on May 30th at the Newtown Community Center. In April, NAFC asked educators, administrators, and …
Read more “NAFC Presents the Third Annual Allies in Education Award.”
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” If you pay attention to discussions about race and racism in the news, chances are you have seen the quote …
On Saturday, March 30, eleven students from grades 5-8th gathered in the Maker’s Space at C. H. Booth Library for the first meeting of Newtown Allies For Change Youth Group. These young students are local Newtown residents who are interested in making the community a more inclusive and welcoming space for all people. Local resident, Christine …
Read more “NAFC’s Youth Group Kicks off With Acts of Kindness.”
In May of 2020, George Floyd was brutally murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, MN while bystanders looked on in horror. The aftermath of that terrible incident and the subsequent rallies and protests around the country did not skip the community of Newtown, CT. In the wake of this terrible crime (along with the …
On October 25, 2023 around 100 local residents filled a conference room in the Newtown Community Center. Some of the women wore head coverings while many of the men wore Kippahs. Black, white and Latinx neighbors; clergy of various religions; elected officials (along with current candidates) and law enforcement officers all gathered together with one …
Our family took a vacation to Europe early this summer. Part of our travels brought us to Germany, where we spent time visiting with old friends and seeing the beautiful countryside. However, in spite of all of the beauty and history, we were constantly reminded of the history of antisemitism and the programs put in …
NAFC is pleased to award four local educators with the 2nd annual Allies in Education Award. This award is given to local educators who are nominated by members of the NAFC Education Committee. These educators are recognized for the ways in which they have gone above and beyond to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the …
Read more “Announcing the 2023 NAFC Allies in Education Award”
This is the third in a series of posts that will break down the vocabulary for techniques and fallacies that racists use when confronted with their racist actions and ideals. If you have attempted to have conversations with people about systemic racism in America at any point since 2016, there is a good chance you …
On February 19th, 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the country of Japan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted Executive Order 9066. This order was put into place to protect the United States from possible espionage by those of Japanese heritage. However, what really took place was that over 120,000 Japanese people in California, …
The history of racism against people of Asian American and Pacific Island descent (AAPI) runs deep in America. For as long as people have immigrated to this country, the government has fought hard to keep them from being an equal member of society. Various laws were passed to keep them from gaining citizenship as well …
Read more “Why Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is Important“
All last month NAFC group focused on what it means to be an ally. We hosted a book discussion about being anti-racist, we defined terms, and we interviewed our young allies and their BIPOC peers at Newtown High School to better understand what it means to be an ally. We challenged our followers on Facebook …
In May of 2020 the country was rocked when the death of George Floyd streamed all over Facebook. Even though Black men have died at rates disproportionate to their White peers throughout the history of the police force, this incident was in our faces and undeniable. The response of the country, mixed in with the …
A new barrier was broken on Sunday, February 12th. Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles faced each other as the starting quarterbacks of their respective teams. This was the first time ever in the history of the Super Bowl where both men were Black. Along with the …
In May of 2020, during an arrest gone awry, George Floyd was murdered in broad daylight by Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis Police Officer with a history of using unnecessary force. This wasn’t the first act of police violence against a Black man in my lifetime. One of my earliest memories from the nightly news is …
Read more “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice“
This is the second in a series of posts that will break down the vocabulary for techniques and fallacies that racists use when confronted with their racist actions and ideals. Since I have started educating myself about systemic racism and how it has harmed BIPOC in our country, I have engaged in many conversations about …
As white people start to do the work of becoming anti-racist, there are some phrases we hear that we might not be super familiar with. Part of the purpose of the NAFC blog is to help those who are on this journey understand the language of this field of study. Today we are going to …
On Saturday, September 24th, Newtown Allies For Change hosted a family picnic at Dickinson Park in Newtown, CT. It was a great way for families in the community to meet up with like-minded individuals in order to encourage, support, and inspire one another. More than 10 familes showed up with blankets and lunches in tow simply …
Are you trying to be a better ally? Are there times you find yourself reading an anti-racist book, listening to a podcast, or even reading the NAFC blog, when you come across a phrase that you don’t completely understand? Perhaps you’ve even heard a phrase multiple times, but you do not quite have a firm grasp on what …
Many members of our community often speak during the public participation portion of the town Board of Education meetings. Below is the speech written by Danielle Lozer about her family’s personal experience. My main reason for speaking today is to thank Dr. Correia, in public, for his willingness to confront the racism going on at …
When Linda, a white woman from Newtown, CT, was sixteen years old she walked to the local mall and back with another teenaged girl from her neighborhood. On the way back, the young woman leaned over and said, “don’t look now, but there’s a Black man following us, and I think he wants to rape …
This is the first in a series of posts that will break down the vocabulary for techniques which racists often use when confronted about their actions. When I attended graduate school I was one of only three women in my program. Because I attended a Seminary with aspirations to someday work on staff in an …
On April 23 Newtown High School’s SADE club along with the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library hosted a read aloud for kids in grades K-4. This event, overseen by Social Studies teacher Rachel Torres, was ran by local high school students who are passionate about creating safe spaces for all students in the Newtown …
As I continue to do the work to actively learn how to be anti-racist, I find myself having similar conversations with various white men. While some of these men engage in actual conversation before throwing the question out, many simply use the statement as a reason why they aren’t trying to learn more about how …
The residents of Newtown, Connecticut ought to be very concerned with the way the school district is conducting the hiring process for the new superintendent. First of all, just like the hiring of the past three superintendents, the current members of the board are the only ones who will be a part of the interviewing …
This post was originally published in March of 2022. With the recent push from the local “Our Kids Deserve Better” group in Newtown, we decided that this was a good time to revisit this topic. Book banning is a slippery slope. While these parents may have good intentions of keeping what they feel is inappropriate …
Read more “Book Banning: A Political Tool to Uphold Racism in Schools?”