#racetoend2020 for Human Rights for Kids

I will soon be joined by 8 good people in the #racetoend2020 -- a socially distanced Half-Marathon to raise strength, hope and inspiration for ourselves and our supporters during this difficult year.  To add more meaning to our physical challenge and build even more hope and inspiration, in addition to getting our butts in gear to run 13.1 miles we are raising funds for two great organizations, including... Human Rights for Kids!!

Human Rights for Kids addresses tragic injustices that affect children in the United States -- including horrifically  harsh treatment of children in our criminal justice system, which disproportionately affects black children and other children of color.  This system was set up to a large extent by racist fearmongering about child "superpredators" back in the 1990s.  

This sorry system belongs to all of us and it is up to us to tear it down.  I am so proud of my good friend and former colleague James Dold for founding Human Rights for Kids, where he brings his deep experience in building *bipartisan coalitions* (apparently still a thing) in state legislatures to eliminate laws that shock the conscience of anyone who has every truly loved a child.  Did you know there are states that sentence children using the same harsh "mandatory minimum" sentences as adults, without giving judges any discretion to consider the child's age and other circumstances?  Imagine if your child made a big mistake and then the system swept away the rest of their childhood and a big chunk of their adulthood, too. 

Human Rights for Kids helped accomplish some of the GOOD NEWs in 2020 that we all need to hear -- he helped Virginia become the first state in the country to take an important first step -- allowing judges to disregard statutory "mandatory minimums" when sentencing children.  This is just one example of the important states laws they have helped enact.

James , himself a survivor of adverse childhood experiences including child labor trafficking, is a person who has made a big difference in the world and has given me so much inspiration during the 10 years that I have known him.  The #racetoend2020 is raising money to benefit Human Rights for Kids.  Any donation will help make an impact and spread hope.

More information about Human Rights for Kids: Human Rights for Kids is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights for children. Human Rights for Kids uses an integrated, multi-faceted approach which consists of research & public education, coalition building & grassroots mobilization, and policy advocacy & strategic litigation to advance critical human rights on behalf of children in the United States and around the world.  See www.humanrightsforkids.org.