CT-AIMH Stands in Solidarity
The horrific and well-publicized killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Jamar Clark, Philando Castile, and countless others, as well as many more that never made headlines, have left many across this country outraged. We are outraged, as well.
The dehumanization of Black people has been woven into the fabric of America even before its inception. As an Association, we see the suffering caused by this systemic virus of hatred and oppression in our country, our community, and our workforce, and we stand by Black people.
We unequivocally value equity, justice, and the dignity of life. We also know that we do not always recognize or call out injustices and that we sometimes are complicit with an oppressive system. Put simply, we need to do better.
Let us be clear: Black Lives Matter. Black lives should have always mattered. Black lives matter now. And Black lives will matter forever in the infant mental health field, and in how we build relationships with families and communities.
Over the past two and a half years, CT-AIMH has worked intentionally to bring training on equity, implicit bias, and diversity-informed tenets, to the infant and early childhood workforce. As an organization we have made internal changes by focusing on the diversity of our Board of Directors and committees, and after our last conference, launched a CT-AIMH Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. In addition, we are providing ongoing trainings in Spanish, and will soon offer the Spanish version of the Infant Mental Health Endorsement®.
CT-AIMH is continually committed to maintaining a culture in which everyone will feel welcome in our organization, at our events, and when partnering with us to help create the content of our trainings and our conferences, regardless of race, ethnicity, language or dialect, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability status, educational credentials, socioeconomic status, immigration status, and other forms of difference.
CT-AIMH understands that racism and economic inequality are intersecting issues. We understand the importance of addressing both racism and economic inequality, simultaneously, in our work and our outreach. We vow to actively point out and disrupt systems that engage in overt and covert racism and discriminatory policies that negatively impact young children and families in Connecticut. CT-AIMH will continue working for genuine change to eliminate violence, hatred, oppression and injustice in our world.
Working together to build positive relationships based upon openness, curiosity and trust,
The CT-AIMH Board of Directors and the CT-AIMH Executive Director
Click here to download the CT-AIMH Statement of Solidarity
CT-AIMH promotes the DIversity-Informed Tenets for Working with Infants, Children, and Families
Join the CT-AIMH Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
To join the CT-AIMH Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, please contact the co-chair of the Committee: Becky Cuevas, rcuevas@aces.org. Meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month.