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The NLRB has issued a decision inHome Depot USA, Inc.,holding that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act when it discharged an employee for refusing to remove the hand-drawn letters BLM the acronym for Black Lives Matter from their work apron.

Several other employees at the same Home Depot store also displayed BLM markings on their work aprons at about the same time.

The National Labor Relations Act protects the legal right of employees to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid or protection, regardless of whether they are represented by a union.

The Board applied existing precedent and said that the employees refusal to remove the BLM marking was concerted because it was a logical outgrowth of prior concerted employee protests about racial discrimination in their workplace and an attempt to bring those group complaints to the attention of Home Depot managers.

The employees conduct was also for mutual aid or protection because the issue of racial discrimination involved employees working conditions, the Board found.

Further, the Board said that an employers interference with its employees right to display protected insignia, such as the BLM marking, was presumptively unlawful, and that the employer had the burden of establishing special circumstances making a rule about insignias necessary to maintain production or discipline.

The Board found that Home Depot failed to establish such special circumstances in this case. Therefore, the Board held that the company broke the law when it conditioned the employees continued employment on removal of the BLM marking.

It is well-established that workers have the right to join together to improve their working conditions including by protesting racial discrimination in the workplace, said Chairman Lauren McFerran. It is equally clear that an employee who acts individually to support a group protest regarding a workplace issue remains protected under the law.

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NLRB: 'Black Lives Matter' insignia allowed New England Biz Law Update - New England Biz Law Update

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While many Black and white parents spoke to their children about the Black Lives Matter movement within a year of the 2020 murder of George Floyd, they used different language to explain it, according to new research.

As reported in Developmental Psychology, 84% of Black parents and 76% of white parents talked about Black Lives Matter (BLM) to their 8- to 11-year-old children. While 78% of Black parents affirmed Black lives and acknowledged systemic racism, only 35% of white parents reported similar messaging.

The study was prompted by the widespread calls in 2020 for national conversations on race that included children, as highlighted in a Sesame Street Town Hall. The researchers wanted to learn what parents were saying to their children during this sociopolitical moment of upheaval.

Parents are experiencing the stresses and us versus them divisions in society, but what are they telling their kids about this? says coauthor Andrew Meltzoff, professor of psychology at the University of Washington and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences.

The researchers collected data for the study via online surveys between November 2020 and January 2021 from more than 700 socio-economically diverse parents of children aged 8-11. Study participants were evenly divided between Black and white parents. Respondents were asked whether they had spoken to their children about BLM, and, if so, were then asked what they had told their child. Open-ended question responses were then coded and categorized by the research team.

While it is notable that many parents, including white parents, were talking with their children about Black Lives Matter, it is more important to consider what parents said, says lead author Leoandra Onnie Rogers, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University and principal director of the DICE lab.

Rogers, who did her postdoctoral fellowship with Meltzoff at the University of Washington and later became a research assistant professor before being hired at Northwestern, says the responses showed not all yes responses were substantive, and importantly, the conversational approaches varied by race.

Black parents were more likely to acknowledge inequalityshown through responses like: I talk with my son about the wrongful deaths of men and women of color at the hands of policeand affirm Black lives with messages such as: I try to remind him that he is important and worthy despite what the media tells us.

White parents who gave substantive responses were more likely to communicate very general messages about equality without pointing to existing injustices, such as: All lives matter no matter your skin color.

The research team also noted a pattern of verbatim responses copied from the internet. This type of response was mostly used by white parents14% vs. 1% of Black parentswho had answered the survey with apparent credibility but could not or did not actually report their own thoughts when talking about BLM. In fact, 27% of white parents provided uncodeable responses, which included nonsensical comments or content copied and pasted word-for-word from internet sources.

Encouraging parents to talk about race, to break the silence, is necessary but insufficient, Rogers says. The upside is these data suggest that parents are listening to the societal conversation, and the concerted effort to engage parents and families in race talk did seem to influence the overall frequency of the reported conversations. However, the depth and substance of these conversations warrants further attention.

Parents wonder when its appropriate to talk with their children about race and whats the most helpful thing to say, says Meltzoff. We looked at the strategies taken by hundreds of parents across the country. Parents can teach us a lot about how to have conversations about racenot only with children but among ourselves.

Additional coauthors are from Tulane University, Wake Forest University, and Northwestern University.

Source: Lauren Kirschman for University of Washington

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How parents talked with kids about Black Lives Matter differed by race - Futurity: Research News

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Mia Schultz, president of the Rutland Area NAACP. Photo courtesy of Mia Schultz

The Vermont Conversation with David Goodmanis a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are making a difference. Listen below, and subscribe onApple Podcasts,Google PodcastsorSpotifyto hear more.

When Mia Schultz became president of the Rutland branch of the NAACP in December 2020, she became one of Vermonts most visible and important racial justice advocates. The NAACP was founded in 1909 and is the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the U.S. with more than 2,200 branches.

Schultz hails from Arizona and moved to Bennington in 2016. She is the first Black woman to chair the Bennington Democratic Party and serves as one of three commissioners on Vermonts Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Among the issues that Schultz and the NAACP are tackling is overpolicing.

Vermont is not exempt from this culture, she wrote in an op-ed for the Bennington Banner. Black adults enter Vermont correctional facilities at more than seven times the rate of white adults. Compared to white drivers, Black and Latinx drivers are four times more likely to be pulled over, and nearly three times more likely to be searched. By contrast, they are half as likely to be found with contraband, which means the over-stopping and over-searching is simply because of their skin color.

What is happening to really ensure that black lives matter? Schultz asked. Are you changing laws and policies that will actually affect black lives when it comes to policing? What are you doing to really affect the lives of marginalized people in our laws and systems and legal avenues to ensure that theyre protected?

Schultz told The Vermont Conversation that she is given hope by the people who are now out there starting community conversations and their own initiatives in their towns, gathering people, having those difficult conversations.

Having an interpersonal relationship with people and being able to move them into action, that means other people are moved. That is the most profound thing, she said.

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Vermont Conversation: What is happening to really ensure that Black lives matter? - VTDigger

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Independent presidential candidate RFK Jr. was confronted by Black Lives Matter NY founder Hawk Newsome about his plans to protect the Black community from police brutality at a campaign event on Sunday.

The incident was just one of many tense moments in which Kennedy dodged hard questions about race, the Israel-Hamas war, and uplifting the Black community.

Kennedy appeared in Downtown Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon for a Black History Month-focused campaign event where he took questions from Black community leaders, including Newsome.

Newsome is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Greater NY, which is not affiliated with the larger Black Lives Matter Global Network.

When speaking to Kennedy, Newsome referenced Eric Duprey, a Black man who was killed by a New York City police officer after the officer threw a cooler at his head.

In Kennedys plan for Black America brochures handed out at the event, Kennedys policy points include mental health professionals accompanying police to help de-escalate citizens in nonviolent mental health crises.

Newsome asked Kennedy why social workers with guns were a better alternative to police.

Lets be pragmatic. Policing doesnt work. Social workers are trained to solve problems, Newsome said. We dont need reform. Reforms been talked about for hundreds of years. We dont need retraining. We need to do away with the police and do something different period.

Kennedy responded by affirming that he didnt think getting rid of the police was a solution and said he hoped to get advice from attendees of the event about how to reform police departments if elected president.

The answer is using every tool in my toolbox to make the police protect and serve, Kennedy said. And not be a militarized presence in communities where they become abusers.

Newsome quickly cut in and admonished Kennedy for wanting advice and not having an answer at the ready in response to his comments about police brutality.

You should have thought about this a year ago. No disrespect to you. But this should have been planned for a long time. We cant just be winging it when people are being murdered in the street, Newsome said. We had the whole George Floyd movement, we had everything happening. And youre sitting here telling me to wait?

Kennedy did damage control by saying that he organized Sundays event so he could learn from the Black community and meet people who can help [him] govern.

And he made an obvious effort to meet those people working to combat the issue, including former cops. When asked earlier in the eventabout police brutality by a former NYPD lieutenant, Kennedy invited him to be an official advisor as part of his potential presidential administration.

Im going to give you my cell phone when this is over and then if youll talk to me now and if I get into the White House, Id love you to come and advise me, Kennedy said. Its a priority for me, but I dont have all the answers.

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Tricia Crimmins is the IRL staff writer at the Daily Dot. She is also a New York-based comedian and an adjunct professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Previously, she has written for Mashable, Complex Networks, and Moment magazine. She can be found on Twitter at @TriciaCrimmins.

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RFK Jr Confronted by BLM Leader Over Police Brutality - The Daily Dot

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There are many issues of pressing concern for Black Christians in America, such as ensuring Black lives matter in our churches, reaching Black youth with the gospel, discipling the next generation of Black church leaders, battling white Christian nationalism, and identifying ways the church can address the impact of racial disparities in our country.

But a concern in my own life as a Black Christian woman is examining how the church can help Black women remove the damaging mantle of the strong Black woman. Living by this narrative can result in destructive and deadly mental and physical health outcomes for Black women. Add to these negative outcomes the stigma associated with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, and the result is too many Black women hiding their true concerns for fear of stigmatization.

However, the church is uniquely positioned to help Black women seek both therapeutic and theological support as we face and address our mental health challenges.

Researchers consistently identify three characteristics associated with the strong Black woman framework: emotional restraint, independence, and self-sacrifice. Strength is a badge of honor Black women have worn for generations.

This narrative likely arose from the personal and cultural experiences of Black women (e.g., during the centuries of race-based chattel slavery that saw us maintaining the family structure while enduring abuse and torture) and the societal demands on Black women (e.g., fighting race- and gender-based discrimination during Jim Crow and aiding the civil rights movement). We embraced being strong out of fear of appearing weak.

For too many years, I embraced the ideology of the strong Black woman. She could bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. She did not need to ask for help because she could do it allshe was a successful wife, mother, professional, ministry leader, volunteer, and friend. She possessed Black girl magic and inspired everyone in her sphere of influence. I wanted to be this strong Black woman, so I became her. Like so many of my ancestors, I wore my strength as a badge of honor.

Unfortunately, this strength narrative did not allow for the expression of my vulnerabilities or flaws. Instead, I ignored my legitimate mental health concerns in favor of presenting an image of strength to others. I believed the lie that I could not openly express my struggles with depression and anxiety. I hid my mental health challenges in an effort to maintain the faade of being a woman who had it all together.

Like me, Black women who subscribe to the strong Black woman ideology may experience acute mental health challenges. For example, a recent research study revealed that depression may manifest differently for Black women. According to the study, rather than reporting feelings of sadness and hopelessness, Black women report self-criticism, self-blame, and irritability as the hallmarks of depression.

The findings in this study align with my personal experiences. I did not believe I had the luxury, as a Black woman, of feeling sad or hopelessespecially in my public-facing lifebecause those realities speak to weakness, not strength. Consequently, I resorted to criticizing and blaming myself for the problems in my life, which only exacerbated my depression and anxiety.

Aligning my life to this ideology was killing meliterally. I sought to personify the strong Black woman at the expense of my mental and physical health. Living by the narrative of being a woman who could suppress her emotions while independently handling tasks for the benefit of others, whether at home, work, church, or in the community, was damaging and dangerous for me.

More than one doctor informed me of the importance of managing my mental health, which was having a direct impact on my physical health. Over several years of living the strong Black woman life, I received multiple diagnoses for maladies that could eventually take my life if I did not get my mental health issues under control.

In 2015 and 2016, I faced a bout of severe depression. The self-blame was constant. I just could not seem to shake off the feelings of exhaustion and defeat. I criticized myself because I had difficulty functioning normally. I put on a fake smile while I was in public and continued to serve in my church and actively participate in ministry as I kept my mental health struggles to myself. I knew there was a stigma about mental illness in many churches, and I honestly did not know how my church family would react if they found out I was struggling with depression and suicidal ideation.

One day in 2016, when someone at church asked me how I was doing, I did not want to be strong anymore. I responded, Im struggling with depression. It was not easy to admit I was struggling, but I was tired of faking itI was tired of trying to appear to be something I was not. I was not okay, and I realized that was okay.

To my surprise, my honesty and vulnerability that day opened the door to my healing. Heres why: My church family did not shame or shun meinstead, they embraced and supported me when I needed them most. My pastor and elders rallied around me and encouraged me to seek both spiritual and psychological assistance. I shudder to think what might have happened if I had not received their love and support.

By letting me take off my strong Black woman cape, my church family gave me a chance to live, heal, and see my value beyond an unrealistic and unhealthy pursuit of strength. And they continue to do so when I face setbacks in my mental health journey.

I believe churches, with proper training and resources, can be a source of community and support for Black womenand all womenwho need to remove the mantle of strength and replace it with the blessing of empathy and compassion.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), each year, 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness, and 1 in 20 adults experience serious mental illness. These statistics reveal a startling realityour churches are most likely filled with people who are struggling with mental illness. Even as we profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we still face anxiety, depression, and a myriad of other psychological challenges because we live in a fallen world.

I want to offer a few ways churches can help Black women who are struggling with mental health issues resulting from subscribing to the strong Black woman narrative.

1. Teach and preach about the reality of mental health issuesthat it is okay to not be okay.

The Bible is replete with examples of people facing mental health challenges:

These examples offer an important reminder: Our spirits are sometimes disturbed and devastated by the situations we face because we live in a sin-filled world. The prevalence of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and other challenges in the lives of biblical characters mirrors the reality of these challenges in our modern-day society and churches.

By normalizing mental health concerns, churches will allow Black women to feel less isolated and more comfortable acknowledging their own struggles.

2. Emphasize community as essential to the Christian life.

In Genesis 2:18 and Romans 12:45, we learn about the importance of community. God created us for communityto live life together, not in isolation. If a woman knows she can rely on her church community to stand in the gap for her when shes struggling, then she will be better able to address her mental health concerns.

By letting me honestly express my mental health struggles and showing me it is okay to not be okay, my church family saved my life. I did not feel so alone. Churches can stand in the gap for those who may not be able to pray, seek, or worship God for themselves. Churches have an opportunity to literally save lives.

3. Offer empathy and compassion to Black women who share about their mental health challenges.

The church played a major role in my healing process by allowing me to express my vulnerabilities and by offering me empathy and compassion. I believe the church can serve as an important part of the healing process for so many of my sisters who also need to refuse to play into the strong Black woman narrative.

One way church leaders can show empathy and compassion is by being open about their own mental health issues. Another way is by readily embracing, rather than shunning, a woman who shares her mental health concerns. Churches can provide a safe place for women to remove their superhero capes by offering encouragement and support.

4. Invest time and resources into supporting women who are facing mental health challenges.

Finally, churches can offer local and online psychological resources to its members. I am not suggesting that churches must take on the responsibility of providing mental health services; however, churches can equip themselves to readily offer referrals and lists of resources to members who are facing mental health challenges.

Churches with ministry capacity and financial resources can offer training to their leadersboth ministerial and administrativeon the basics of mental health. Furthermore, those leaders who provide spiritual counseling to church members should receive more extensive training on recognizing mental health concerns. This investment could save lives.

Churches are uniquely positioned to give Black women permission to let go of the strong Black woman narrative and to exchange it for the reality that its okay to not be okay. Through community, empathy, and compassion, the church can help women find true healing and identity in Christ.

T. K. Floyd Foutz is an attorney turned Bible teacher. In addition to mentoring and speaking, she teaches Bible studies online and at her local church in San Antonio.

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How the Church Can Help Black Women Heal - ChristianityToday.com

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