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- #5SmartReads - March 4, 2022
#5SmartReads - March 4, 2022
Hitha on the ROI of the care economy, Black Ukrainians, and the story behind the gorgeous colored glassware you've seen everywhere
A historic child care investment saved centers from collapse. What happens when the money runs out? (The 19th*)
I’m back on my “investing in the care economy is the best investment we can make as a nation” soapbox. And this time, I’m bringing receipts.
The America Rescue Plan allocated $39B into child care relief and providers, and it made a tangible impact in the lives of those who worked in those settings and whose children are cared for by those centers.
Wages for these essential workers went up. Costs were stabilized and reduced the stress for families who are enrolled in those centers. And it is a contributing factor in helping our economy bounce back.
‘I Am Lia’: The Trans Swimmer Dividing America Tells Her Story (Sports Illustrated)
“Part of her wanted people to know her journey to this moment, to know what it felt like to be in a body but not be of that body. She wanted people to know what it was like to finally live an authentic life and what it meant for her to finish a race, to look up at a timing board and see the name lia thomas next to the names of other women. What it meant to her to stand on a podium with other women and be counted as an equal.”
The rise of laws that limit the rights of trans people or are endangering their lives is deeply troubling, and it’s apparent that none of these legislators have ever spoken with someone who is trans before drafting or advocating for these laws.
I will let Lia Thomas’ words take it from here.
trigger warning - pregnancy loss, sexual assault
In “lawmakers should actually get to know the people who will be most affected by the laws they write and vote on,” I enter SB8, which limits abortion so significantly in Texas that it’s virtually banned, and the vagueness of the language makes it difficult for physicians to offer termination when the lines of life-and-death are blurred.
And it’s impacting neighboring states as well, and the entire country.
"I've never in my life felt like I didn't matter, that my life was expendable," she says, but "I did in that moment."
Stephanie Summerson Hall, the Founder of Estelle Colored Glass, Says to Set Every Table Like It's a "Sacred Sunday" (Martha Stewart)
You’ve seen Stephanie’s stunning glassware all over Instagram and the Internet, but her story and wisdom on how she built Estelle Colored Glass is so smart.
Stephanie’s journey from lawyer to an entrepreneur whose businesses are focused on gathering people and celebrating family and life is incredibly inspiring. Every quote Stephanie shares in this interview is something I feel so deeply, but this one in particular is what I’m heeding as I reconnect with my family and work travel wraps next week.
“Treat these days like a sacred Sunday. Enjoy life and meals and make people feel special."
It’s high time that we recognize that Black and Brown people are citizens and residents in every single country in the world. And we deserve to be treated with the same dignity, safety, and right to belong that White people take for granted.
In times of peace, certainly. And especially in times of war.
This should not be reserved to those like Zhan Beleniuk (who won an Olympic gold medal for Ukraine and now serves in the country’s parliament). It should be for the second and third-generation Ukrainians who have no ties to other countries, or the international students seeking an education there.
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