First of all, we hope you and your loved ones are safe, healthy, and doing ok. We know that there is a lot weighing heavily on our hearts and minds. Parenting in the midst of a pandemic is very challenging in its own right, yet it continues to bring injustice and inequity out into the open.
As a collective, PCM has created and distributed over 25 “Joy & Justice Kits” to spread joy to children impacted by the pandemic while offering them ways to speak out about things that need changing. We hope they’re helping to bring smiles around the city. 
🙂
But right now, in the aftermath of so much recent violence against Black people, we want to lift up the importance of racial justice to you and your children and neighbors.
On Sunday May 31, we are planning a Family Day of Action. This action is a direct response to Black and Brown lives in the moment, with increased risk of COVID 19, profiling and discrimination POC, and the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.
When? Where? Who?
Due to the pandemic, and in order to maintain safety and social distancing, the Day of Action will occur in our neighborhoods, on our own blocks. We are asking PCM families to get the word out and organize actions on their blocks to spark conversations with children and amongst neighbors. You can speak out about the disproportionate number of Black and Brown lives lost to Covid 19, the ways in which People of Color (Black, Brown, Asian) are treated in public spaces, and/or the recent shootings.
Our “Justice and Joy Kits” provided toys, but they also provided kid-friendly tools for speaking out: sidewalk chalk and toy protest signs. So on Saturday May 30th, we are asking PCM families to plan with their children about speaking out about racial injustice.
Four ways to speak up:
1. “Chalking the Walk”- talk with children and neighbors and create some messaging for everyone who walks by. What do you want them to know and do right now?
2. Sign-making- in the spirit of PCM, invite children and neighbors to make signs and post them for the community to see.
3. Toy Protest- use the small signs in the J&J Kits or create your own with tape and small pieces of paper. Have your stuffies, action figures, and dolls speak out about what needs to change.
4. Candlelight Vigil- at 8pm on Sunday May 31, please light a candle (or several) for the lives impacted and lost to the pandemic, racism, and white supremacy. Spend some time in your window, on your front steps, porch, or sidewalk- talking (at least 8 feet apart!) with other neighbors and other families. Please snap some photos & videos to post and share to be compiled by PCM. If you need materials, please reach out.
Use the #hashtags:
#phillychildrensmovment #FamilyDayofAction #BlackLivesMatter #SayTheirNames
Why?
These mini-actions are designed to get you to:
1. Let our community know these harms and losses are real, felt, and mourned.
2. Take time to talk with your children about the racial injustices that continue to happen.
3. Talk with your neighbors and take concrete steps to work for change. Each activity you do should be paired with an action you take in the movement for racial justice.
4. Speak out while keeping children safe.