Tag Archives: kids

Colin Kaepernick Teaches Kids Their Rights at his Oakland Camp

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Colin Kaepernick’s fight the power “Know Your Rights” day camp for kids was officially in session Saturday. No afros required.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback schooled over 100 Oakland pre-teens on how to be a responsible adult in the real world. I think even grown ups can learn some lessons from this woke player.

First lesson: know your rights (hence the name of the camp) which in turn can lead to better interactions with police. Hopefully.

Other topics covered–college prep, financial independence and health and nutrition.

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Colin–with some help from friends– founded and organized the “Know Your Rights” camp, according to Theybf.

It isn’t shocking given Kaepernick’s silent protest to take a knee during the National Anthem for the country’s racial disparity problem.

So why not teach the kiddies to be just as fearless?

Kaepernick took a page out of the Black Panther Party’s play book; adopting their 10 Rights for his camp kids to follow. He printed them on a t-shirt lest the kids forget.

1. You have the right to be free.

2. You have the right to be healthy.

3. You have the right to be brilliant.

4. You have the right to be safe.

5. You have the right to be loved.

6. You have the right to be courageous

7. You have the right to be alive.

8. You have the right to be trusted.

9. You have the right to be educated.

10. You have the right to know your rights.

“We want to teach you today about financial literacy, how you can pursue higher education, how you can be physically fit and healthy,” said Colin. “We will talk about police brutality, and what to do about it, but we also have lawyers, professors, health and fitness experts, because we want you to be able to live the life of your dreams.”

Colin wants to take his camp beyond the Bay Area, so every kid knows their rights in the country. Assuring the campers:

“This is just the beginning man. What we’ve done here today in Oakland, we want to do all over the country, in cities all over this country, by bringing together local leaders, local activists and local youth, and not only giving them the skills and lessons they need, but we want to show them how much we love and value them.”

Sounds like a plan.

 

IYB Woman Crush | Woman Creates Safe Haven for Baltimore Kids

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In case you haven’t noticed, news outta B-more has gone from bad to worse this week with one of the cops, who had a hand in Freddie Gray’s murder, was cleared of charges. Yes, yet another one. Lost count? Good thing they are.

Unfortunately no one is keeping a tally on how this is affecting kids and their ability to…I don’t know…be like normal young’uns. Luckily Erika Alston carved out such a safe haven for 100 neighborhood kids between ages 5 to 17.

CBS Evening News reports Alston revamped an old laudromat into an after-school rec center– Penn North Kids Safe Zone, a few days after the riots sparked by Freddie Gray’s murder.

“The whole world got to see our children standing face-to-face with officers, and throwing rocks, and they didn’t have another outlet. We’ve created that outlet.”

The Kids Safe Zone includes homework help, peer support, field trips and a range of recreational activities–from Xbox video games to sports teams–for kids to escape.

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Funding for Safe Zone comes from the state (Maryland’s governor donated $50G’s for the computer lab) and private donations. The center got a big boost when Alicia Keys made a surprise visit in November. Soon after A&E Network donated $30,000, followed by $10,000 from Kaiser-Permenete.

Say it loud: More safe zones and less jail cells. To donate to Ericka’s Safe Zone click here.

 

Wom-Er, Girl Crush Wednesday | This 11-year-old Wants to Expand Your Bookshelf

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As the old saying goes, if you don’t see what you’re looking for in stores, create it. That’s just what eleven-year-old Marley Dias did.

The sixth grader was tired of reading about “white boys and dogs.” In other words, stories and characters that she couldn’t relate to. Sadly that invisibilty is more pervasive than you think.

So her mom, Janice Dias, asked what she was going to do with her frustration?

That’s when Marley launched #1000BlackGirlBooks, a book drive for black girls as main characters not sidekicks or background pieces, in November.

Partnering with her mom’s GrassROOTS Community Foundation, Marley has collected 700 books–nearly at her goal of 1,000 books for black girls.

 

With her visit to  Ellen today it’s safe to say not only will she meet her goal but surpass it. Watch what gifts Ellen Degeneres gives to help Marley’s book campaign here.

And if you’re wondering where all those books are heading? To Jamaica mon.

On February 11th Marley will visit St. Mary, Jamaica (where her mama hails from) to host a book festival. The New Jersey res will also donate the collected books to schools and libraries. In hopes of inspiring more black girls to read more after seeing images of themselves.

“I know there’s a lot of black girl books out there, I just haven’t read them,” Marley tells Huffpost.”So if we started this I would find them and other people would be able to read them, as well.”

Marley’s #1000BlackGirlBooks is just one do-gooder deed the pre-teen’s taken part in. According to Huffpost, last year she won a Disney grant to empower young girls to follow their passion. Then followed that up by feeding orphans in Ghana.

Did we also mention Marley started a nonprofit, BAM, with her friends? They frequently volunteer at local soup kitchens.

No wonder she’s pegged supergirl–step aside Melissa Benoist– with her superpower being writing. She’s gunning for a job as a magazine editor. Or as Toni Morrison.

Either way Marley knows the weight of the written word.

“[Representation] definitely matters because when you read a book and you learn something, you always want to have something you can connect with,” she told Huffpost.

Adding,”If you have something in common with the characters, you’ll always remember and learn a lesson from the book.”

To learn more about the literary activist and how you can help click here