The Village is Burning

In this episode of Children Deserve Better, Dr. Jasmine Moses takes a hard look at the popular saying, “It takes a village,” and asks the question no one seems willing to: What kind of shape is that village actually in?

She advocates for community action and mutual aid, encouraging listeners to engage in local decision-making and support community spaces. The conversation highlights the need for systemic change to ensure a better future for children.

Top Takeaways: 

• Community support is essential for raising children.
• The idea of a village is often romanticized but not practiced.
• Systemic neglect affects children's access to education and care.
• Caregivers are overwhelmed and under-supported.
• Advocacy is necessary for change in community resources.
• Rebuilding after destruction can lead to new growth.

Looking for additional resources and community on your mission to raise and teach socially conscious children? Consider subscribing to Little Sprouts of Equity! www.equityinbloom.com/join

Transcript

Welcome back to Children Deserve Better. I am your host, Dr. Jasmine Moses, and today we are going to be diving into a topic that I'm not only passionate about as an early childhood community worker, but one that I have firsthand seen and felt the ramifications of even in my own parenting and adulting.

In our society, we like to stay very connected to this idea that it takes a village. I am sure that if you are listening to this podcast, you have heard that saying at least once in your life. Because we love a quick and easy saying to throw out there, especially when someone is struggling or reaching out for support. But

What we've seen is that no one wants to talk about what kind of shape that village is actually in. The systems that our society is rooted in and the fact that our individualistic nature is prioritized makes it nearly impossible for that village that folks talk about to function.

in the way that people pretend that it does. It also pushes us away from building meaningful community because it's teaching us that we should handle everything that we come into contact with on our own and that needing help is a weakness and that asking for support makes us a burden on other people. It keeps us isolated.

just enough to make us forget how much we actually need each other. And by the time we are reaching for that village and we're trying to move past what we're surrounded by, it's already burning. Because we haven't been taught to build this village, to care for this village, or to even protect our villages. We've only been taught

to say the words, it takes a village. And right now, that village is tired. That village is underpaid. The village is being closed. It's being defunded. It's being stretched beyond what's humanly possible. The village is on fire. So what do we do? What happens when that village that we are told

to lean on is burning.

If you've been paying attention to the news around us, I'm sure that you've at least heard a few of the decisions being made right now that tell you exactly where children stand on this country's priority list and where the supports of their community rank and shocker, it's not where it should be. If we are leaning into the

quote, that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members, then I think it's a clear indication that the US doesn't actually care about its children or the people caring for them, as well as other marginalized populations across the nation or anybody else. But we knew that already. We know that in our society right now,

Pivotal hubs and connections are being attacked Even places of great joy. Libraries! Libraries are under fire and they're right in the line of attack. And when we talk about libraries being attacked, we tend to focus a lot on book bans and the freedom to read, which is also of the utmost importance and very much under attack.

But there is more to this impact. And that is something that I really wanted to take a second to focus on, especially this week because this podcast is being recorded during National Library Week. Do you actually know how much your library offers to support your community? I put together a list for us in case some of us needed to know how much it was and some of us needed a few reminders.

So of course we have Libby, one of my most favorite favorite apps. They offer Hoopla, Kanopy, interlibrary loans. There's bookmobiles and communities. There's story time programs. There's summer reading challenges. There's homework help. There's ESL classes, GED prep courses, citizenship test prep courses. There's free wifi for folks who need it.

There's public computers for people who need that technology access. There's tech workshops for people who are trying to learn how to use this new technology. Job application and resume support. Perhaps you're trying to enter back into the workforce. There's 3D printers. There's crickets for all of the crafters out there. Podcast booths for all the people like me. There's social workers that are there to support. Legal aid sessions, tax help.

Of course, the most magical beings of all, librarians. There's also toy rentals. There's meeting rooms available to hold your events in. There's teen centers. There's sensory-friendly activities. There's cultural celebrations that the library is hosting. There's bilingual story times to make sure to increase that access. There's space for you if it's too hot outside. There's space for you if it's too cold outside. There's space for you even anytime in between.

a quiet, a safe place to be with free access to learning. There are diverse books and voices represented. There's community, connection there, inclusive programming opportunities. There's curiosity, there's creativity, everything you need. It's there and it's free. You...

wonder the type of people who could attack something so beautiful, something that brings people so much joy, especially when you take the time to look at how much of a pillar and a community building space a library is. You really have to be an evil human to even forge an attack on

libraries, or the right to read, or diverse books, but I digress. If we want to take that attack a step further, it's not just an attack on library spaces, but also an attack on literacy.

This is about systems. Literacy is shaped by access. It's shaped by opportunities. It's shaped by support.

When libraries are defunded or when schools are underfunded or when community spaces funding is slashed. When families are stretched too thin, when folx do not have access to books or to other media items and when our country prioritizes its punishment systems over its education systems, we see and we feel the impact

Across our states, we have also seen that funding for early childhood education is being slashed. For example, Head Start, which we know is a program that operates in all 50 states, is mostly known for helping families seeking access to high quality child care, right? But then also, they're known for being hubs of access to their

communities that they are in.

Parents and families who otherwise would not be able to afford high quality child care can rely on these Head Start programs when they have to go to work or go to school or just for a safe space for their children to be and to learn. In most of the recent news headlines though, Head Start funding is being

attacked

across the country. That's limiting access to children to receive high quality education in stable environments. It's limiting maybe access to food.

For some of these children, it's limiting access to resources for a lot of these children and limiting the ability of families to transition back into the workforce. Yet our nation says that they want to continue to build up the workforce. This math isn't math-ing. We could also talk about the dramatic changes to high quality healthcare. We know that bureaucratic red tape is keeping children and their families from actually getting to the doctor.

and getting access to high quality healthcare and other resources that they need to thrive. This isn't just unfortunate circumstance.

It's not poor management, it is systemic neglect. And you know who's paying the real price of this? Children.

While politicians claim to care about kids, they're asking caregivers, educators, aunties, coaches, neighbors, whoever, to carry everything. And then they're blaming us adults when it falls apart. Parents are being told, okay, you gotta work full time.

While you're working full time and you're at work all day and you gotta cook healthy meals for your kid, you gotta be your kids reading tutors, you gotta navigate those school closures, you gotta also afford $3,000 a month or more for daycare, and then somehow you gotta stay emotionally regulated 24-7. Teachers are managing full classrooms, behavior, academic gaps.

and state mandates and there's often with no support staff, there's no breaks. This country asks us to raise children inside of a machine that burns us out. And then it has the audacity to frame it as a personal problem when we break down and we can't right? Or if we don't have enough resources to survive.

The system, is not actually broken though. It's working exactly as it was built to extract everything that it can from caregivers and educators while offering the bare minimum. And honestly, here's the most challenging part. When the adults around them don't have room to exhale, children are left to suffer.

And yet, we as a society keep asking why children are so anxious these days. Why the numbers of children experiencing mental health crises keep climbing. Or why children just can't show up to school.

or why there are so many changing behaviors in the classroom. Not only do they witness the stress and exhaustion that these cuts create for the adults in their lives and around them, they also feel this in their own bodies, in their routine, in their sense of safety. It's like secondhand smoke. The harm might not be aimed directly at them,

But every day they are breathing it in. children carry that too. I also want to name what doesn't always get said out loud, but that being unsupported makes you vulnerable. And I don't just mean vulnerable like in a material way, though that's also true.

I mean emotionally and socially. It makes you vulnerable to shame, to judgment, to even being misunderstood, to being labeled instead of supported. When you are constantly trying to survive, people start to misread your exhaustion as apathy. They see your limits and they call it lazy. They confuse your silence with lack of care and concern. And if you're black or poor or disabled or

being under supported isn't just hard, it's dangerous because your struggle gets used against you. It becomes a justification for surveillance or punishment or even removal from these spaces. And so today I want to take some time to say that if you feel like you are drowning, if you feel like you need support,

There is strength in realizing and admitting that. Raising and teaching children while raising and reteaching ourselves is hard work. But we are doing it y'all. Because we are putting in the work to be better ourselves, our children will be better for it. So if no one told you today, I love you and you are doing the best you can.

Be gentle with yourself.

While a lot of this can seem dismal, we know that we lean into the power of hope and work over here and so we are looking on ways to make it through. So with that being said, you know I have to give you some action steps, even in the midst of all of the destruction. So here are a few ways you can take action even when it feels like your village is on

I want you to first and foremost be in the room where it happens. And if you are a Hamilton fan, yes, I want to be in the room where it happens, the room where it happens, Whether that room is school board meetings, it's city forums or PTA gatherings, start showing up and shifting the conversation.

School boards seem distant or procedural, but they make decisions that shape your child's everyday life. They are talking about curriculum. They are talking about discipline policies, what books they get to read, who they get to talk about within the curriculum, arts and music funding, even down to whether your school gets maybe a nurse or a counselor or other additional support.

That is not small, that is huge. That is foundational. Show up and ask questions. Ask questions about funding. Ask how they're planning to center families and other community members in decision making, Ask these questions. Use your voice and your presence there matters.

I want you to also think about supporting or starting a mutual aid effort. Community care isn't just this buzzword, even though I know that it's thrown around so much, especially now. It is a lifeline. So maybe you don't have the capacity to lead something big on your own, right? But perhaps you can show up. You can drop off diapers. You can organize a meal train with other community members. You can share extra produce that you've received

You can join or create a neighborhood child care swap, right? as long as you are putting together these endeavors or trying to figure that out, I want you to also start to think about what sustainable practices look like. How can you keep this running, What would it look like to build relationships that don't only exist in crises? Who can you rely on? And then of course, who can rely on you?

And that is mutual aid. That's the village. Even when the systems fail us, right? Those are tangible things that we can do. We can also talk to our children about community care. And when explaining it to children, you could say something along the lines of, we take care of each other because not everyone gets what they need, right? Talk about generosity. Talk about equity and responsibility in a way that they can grasp.

Let them help pack donations or pick them out. Let them see you offering help and asking for it too. Teach children that they are part of that village, And they are contributing members to this community and our society as a whole. Choose one area that you are interested in and get loud,

Maybe you're interested in Medicaid cuts or library closures. I'm gonna keep talking about the library because I just still cannot believe that people are really trying to take millions of dollars away from libraries. But maybe you're passionate about that too. Maybe you're passionate about school funding. Whatever you're passionate about, pick something and get loud. You do not have to be an expert. You just have to be willing to speak.

and do the research and continue to stay up on what is happening around us. Call your reps. But before you can call them, you have to know who they are. So make sure you know who represents you in your local Senate and in your state house. Write a letter, show up to a rally, share a petition with other people. You don't have to do everything. You have to do something. We all do.

And then lastly, I want you to support the staples that hold your community together, There are spaces in our communities and in our neighborhoods that do more than just provide services. They create community, safety, memories, and connections.

These places are community anchors and many of them are at risk. So support them however you can. Maybe you can donate. Maybe you can advocate for them. Whether they're under threat or not, show up for events and spread the word. If you own a business, maybe it's partnering with them. If you're a parent or a teacher or another community member, maybe it's organizing around these community spaces.

They matter, not just because of what they offer, but because of what they represent, which is a community that is still choosing to care intentionally for its own.

We cannot keep pretending that the village is fine. We can't keep blaming ourselves for these cracks that are appearing that we didn't create or for the fires that we didn't start ourselves. And we absolutely cannot raise whole free children in a system that refuses to care for the people who care for these children. The village is burning and yes,

Fire destroys, but it also clears. It reveals what needs to be rebuilt. It makes space for new growth. And I know, I know that we've known fire to be dangerous and some people will reiterate that, that fire is too dangerous, that it's too destructive, it's too risky. But fire is also a tool. It renews, it clears the ground so that something more honest

more just and more rooted can take shape. We don't just mourn what is burning, we ask what we can grow in its place. So you keep resisting, we keep working, and we keep building toward the world our children deserve. Until next time, I'll see you soon.