This week Gloria Riviera is live at KDOL-TV with a trio of women who are fighting against racial inequities facing families in Oakland. They shine a light on how the struggle for racial justice and access to early childhood development go hand-in-hand.

We meet panelists Clarissa Doutherd, executive director of Parent Voices Oakland; LaWanda Wesley, director of government relations of early learning at the Child Care Resource Center; and Myeisha Jones, a parent of two beautiful children and a pre-school educator. Myeisha is also a parent leader with Parent Voices Oakland. 

All three speak about the multiple crises families face when obtaining child care and the work of making care more affordable while also making  educator wages more equitable across the Golden State. 

Show Notes

Presented by Neighborhood Villages. Neighborhood Villages is a Massachusetts-based systems change non-profit. It envisions a transformed, equitable early childhood education system that lifts up educators and sets every child and family up to thrive. In pursuit of this vision, Neighborhood Villages designs, evaluates, and scales innovative solutions to the biggest challenges faced by early childhood education providers and the children and families who rely on them, and drives policy reform through advocacy, education, and research.

This season was made possible with generous support from Imaginable Futures, a global philanthropic investment firm working with partners to build more healthy and equitable systems, so that everyone has the opportunity to learn and realize the future they imagine. Learn more at www.imaginablefutures.com

Thanks to Oakland Starting Smart and Strong for making this show possible. Oakland Starting Smart and Strong is a citywide early childhood collaborative that advances racial justice, develops and amplifies community-driven solutions, and advocates for changes in policy and resources. Our work proves that restorative, healing, and racially just work can take place when systems center the priorities of the most impacted early educators and families. Visit oaklandsmartandstrong.org to learn more.

We also ant to thank the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and KDOL-TV for their partnership and sponsorship of this event.

Check out these resources from today’s episode: 

Visit Parent Voices Oakland to learn how families are advocating for themselves in the struggle for high quality, affordable early childhood education.

Learn about the Child Care Resource Center’s work to support families and early childhood educators in Southern California and beyond.

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For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com.