Honoring Black Lives is Honoring Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and it is important that we recognize that. However, I am struggling to find the words. Not only because it is a difficult thing to talk about, but also because of this critically important moment in our ongoing conversation about police violence.

Daunte Wright should still be alive. George Floyd should still be alive. Philando Castile should still be alive.

The list of those killed by police goes on for far too long, on a list that was too long at one name. White supremacy and its systemic tools took not only the lives of Daunte, George, and Philando; it also took fathers away from their children. Children who now must grow up without their dad and with the trauma, grief, and fear of why that is. This is one of the many shapes of child abuse.

Child abuse is anything that harms children. Included in that is what we hear about most often: physical violence against children. But that is less than 10% of cases in Minnesota. Child abuse is personal and systemic. An adult that denies a child adequate food is being abusive, just as much as the state that maintains conditions of false scarcity that keep children in poverty and hunger. Rarely does child abuse have a single responsible actor.

At Foster Advocates we hold the value that “if it takes a village to raise a child, then it also takes a village to fail one.” It is clear that we have failed. We can never give Daunte, George, and Philando’s children back what they’ve lost.

However, this does not free us from our collective responsibility for their care. We have the power to prevent child abuse across Minnesota--but only if we have the will.

So, what does this look like? Child abuse prevention is poverty prevention, addiction treatment, and family support. It is breaking cultures of indifference and ensuring young people have a community of caring, supportive adults across schools, neighborhoods, cities, and wherever a kid might find themselves. Prevention is a long-term commitment to families and communities. It’s a true investment in the community, not just after death and violence. Prevention is not care after a crisis. It’s preventing the wound from ever happening.

It is our sacred duty to protect children. The urgency of this moment should make this even more clear. Honor this month, by honoring the life Daunte Wright should have been able to live with his son. His future and ours are at stake.

#BlackChildrenMatter #BlackFamiliesMatter #BlackLivesMatter

In grief and infinite hope,

Hoang Murphy