Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

KayelaWrites @kwrights.bsky.social · 19h

If you really want to help children, start supporting their families!

Jesus.

When are we going to embrace the reality that separating families in crisis is never the answer.

Never.

And yeah, the Jesus I know would never stand for inflicting suffering.

Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️‍🌈 @ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 1d

🥚 Wealthy US heiress opens an orphanage in Cambodia.

Uncovered years later: rape, abuse, self-injury, fraud.

“Foster parents struggled to connect with their foster children, who felt they were treated differently from biological kids.”

Zero adoptees are surprised. 1/2

apple.news/Ax6kWrBpBQlK...

An American Heiress Just Wanted to Help Children. Things Didn’t Go as Planned. — The Wall Street Journal

Elizabeth Ross Johnson and her collaborator promised Cambodian orphans a ‘golden’ life. After she died, dark allegations came to light.

apple.news

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 1d

Ugly laws: The blueprint for Trump’s anti-homeless crusade

DC’s crackdown is just the latest in a long war on being poor and disabled in public.

www.motherjones.com

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Bony Skeletino 💀 @notalegalrecord.net · 3d

#adoption made my identity into someone else’s vanity project. i was made to understand that the truth is unknowable, that i have no right to it, and that anyway the truth is what we and the lawyers and the clerks say it is. like every other adoptee, i am expected to be thankful for this.

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Paula - Defend Survivors @defendsurvivors.bsky.social · 2d

Adoptive parents always say they love their adopted child like their own but if they truly did then they would care about that child knowing their identity and biological family just like the parents would with their biological children. #adopteevoices

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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 1d

The right to read is extremely circumscribed in America's prisons & even just getting books into them can be difficult. So, in honor of #BannedBooksWeek all orders from our Prison Book Program wish list will trigger a matching donation. Order here: portersquarebooks.com/wishlist/bri...

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Carceral Abolition @carceralabolition.bsky.social · 1d

Formerly incarcerated Atlantans help the city's unhoused residents find a way off the street www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news...

Formerly incarcerated Atlantans help the city's unhoused residents find a way off the street

A group of formerly incarcerated Atlantans are working to support people who are unhoused in any way they can.

www.cbsnews.com

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A.J. Irving 🩷💜💙 @ajirving.bsky.social · 1d

With gorgeous, expressive art by Parvati Pillai and lovely, kid-relatable text by @namrataag.bsky.social, THE MITHAI BOX IS NOT EMPTY is a wonderful picture book about traditions, sharing, kindness, and community! #kidlit #booksky

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Adoptees Crossing Lines Podcast @adopteecrossing.bsky.social · 3d

Pennsylvania’s HB1873 challenges CPS overreach, clarifying that kids playing outside or walking to school isn’t neglect. Families deserve trust, not surveillance.

#adopteesky

Light blue background with faint teal gradient in the bottom left. Large black text reads: “A new bill in Pennsylvania takes aim at CPS overreach.” Small black text at the bottom says “@adopteescrossinglines.” A thin light teal line runs beneath the text.

Light blue background with faint teal gradient. Black text reads:
“The bill (HB1873) would change the legal definitions of abuse and neglect to require proof of willful or reckless disregard for obvious danger.

It clarifies that kids doing things alone, like going to the park or store, is not neglect.

‘These cases disrupt families’ lives and cause lasting harm,’ said Mariel Mussack of Community Legal Services.”
Small text at the bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines” and “Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 2025.”

Light blue background with faint teal gradient. Black text reads:
“Many parents, especially Black, working class, and single mothers, have been investigated for things like leaving a responsible teen home with a younger sibling.

Even when cleared, parents can end up on child abuse registries, losing jobs or facing stigma.

‘Families live in fear of being reported for what used to be normal childhood independence.’”
Small text at the bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines” and “Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 2025.”

Light blue background with faint teal gradient. Black text reads:
“Advocates say this bill is about restoring common sense and dignity to parenting.

Lawmakers argue: ‘Kids need freedom. Parents need trust. The state needs to stop calling poverty or independence a crime.’

Ending CPS overreach is one step toward ending family policing.”
Small text at the bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines” and “Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 2025.”

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Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️‍🌈 @ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 3d

🥚 There is zero evidence for the claim that baby boxes save lives and lots of evidence that infant abandonment produces lifelong trauma for everyone and also lots of evidence that financial support of mothers—in amounts far less than the cost of baby boxes— would prevent relinquishment altogether.

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 3d

We aren't on the verge of an authoritarian takeover. We are in the middle of it.

But I worry people don't see the whole scheme. They just pay attention to each new daily outrage. So I went to the Senate floor to explain Trump's plan.

Here's a 🧵of the speech. It's important.

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 3d

Cause the algorithms are increasingly shady and I don’t see much promotion, let me Gift Link this:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

Civil Rights Lawyer Bryan Stevenson on How America’s Story Should Be Told

www.nytimes.com

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Equal Justice Initiative @eji.org · 3d

Bryan Stevenson spoke to the New York Times about telling the truth in the face of fear and anger, and expanding the Legacy Sites to include Elevation, a convening center and hotel.

Civil Rights Lawyer Bryan Stevenson on How America’s Story Should Be Told

The founder of the Equal Justice Initiative says it would be “dishonorable” to remain silent in the face of President Trump’s efforts.

www.nytimes.com

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KayelaWrites @kwrights.bsky.social · 3d

I say we support Bryan Stevenson for president

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Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️‍🌈 @ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 3d

🥚 Boxes for anyone to dump babies into were legalized by so-called safe-haven laws pushed by anti-abortionists and passed right after traditional welfare was ended in 1996 and women had to work to get benefits.

Now they’re proliferating.

This is an adoption supply chain.

time.com/7299476/baby...

Why Baby Boxes Are Suddenly Everywhere

Devices to help parents anonymously surrender an infant are spreading across the U.S., stirring emotions and debate.

time.com

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Prison Adoptee @prisonadoptee.bsky.social · 3d

🥚Very few adoptees know we were born in prison. I suspect thousands share this history — but it’s hidden behind youth privacy laws worldwide.

Upcoming event with Deborah Jiang-Stein, author of Prison Baby.

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Dr. Sandra Steingraber 🏳️‍🌈 @ssteingraber1.bsky.social · 6d

🥚Fantastic research by one of our finest adoptee rights authors.

Open adoption is the bait used to convince vulnerable mothers to relinquish babies for adoption, but it’s not a legal contract and it serves at the pleasure of the adopters, who can subsequently close an adoption at will —and they do.

Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 9d

If you want to understand open adoption, it makes sense to start with birth parents—yet studies of them are few. 2+ yrs ago, I began talking w/ birth mothers to try to understand what living in an open adoption is like for them, and what rights or options they might have if challenges were to arise.

When Adoption Promises Are Broken

Many birth mothers hope to maintain contact with their child. But their agreements with adoptive parents can be fragile.

www.theatlantic.com

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Adoptees Crossing Lines Podcast @adopteecrossing.bsky.social · 5d

Before foster care, there’s poverty.
Before “neglect,” there’s need.
Before surveillance, there’s struggle.

Families don’t need to be rescued — they need resources, rest, and community care.

#adopteesky

Light blue background. Text reads: “Family policing doesn’t start with ‘rescue.’ It starts with surveillance.” Small text at bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines.” A small blue 3D cube sits in the upper left corner, and a white-and-blue gradient wave icon is in the lower right corner.

Light blue background. Text reads: “Most child kidnappings don’t happen because of abuse, they happen because of poverty. In 2022, more than two thirds of ‘substantiated neglect’ cases were linked to housing instability, food insecurity, or lack of childcare, not physical harm.”
Small text at bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines.” Source listed below: “U.S. Children’s Bureau, 2022 Child Maltreatment Report.” Same cube and gradient icons as Slide 1.

Light blue background. Text reads: “When families lack resources, the state calls it ‘neglect.’ But poverty isn’t neglect, it’s a policy choice. Instead of support, families get monitored, tested, and punished for being poor.”
Small text: “@adopteescrossinglines.” Blue cube in top left and gradient icon bottom right.

Light blue background. Text reads: “Abolition means reimagining ‘protection’ as care, not control, meeting needs with housing, childcare, and love instead of separation. Families deserve support, not surveillance.”
Small text: “@adopteescrossinglines.” Blue cube top left, gradient icon bottom right.

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KayelaWrites @kwrights.bsky.social · 7d

Ah yes. The gratitude card. Dealing out guilt and shame to those who dare speak up about inequity and racism inherent within our humanly created social structures. I'm ready to hear talk of those angry and undeserving folks who need to be put in their place with reminders to be more thankful!
🥚

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 7d

Weaponized gratitude is a key tool in the abuser's toolkit. The goal is to convince the victim that they owe the abuser so much, they should feel guilty for wanting to complain.

Tweet from the VP:
Joy Reid has had such a good life in this country. It's been
overwhelmingly kind and gracious to her. She is far wealthier than most.
Yet she oozes with contempt.
My honest, non-trolling advice to Joy Reid is that you'd be a much
happier person if you showed a little gratitude

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 7d

also, in keeping with Vance’s view of american identity, only white people are fully American with the right to critique or dissent. nonwhites must show proper gratitude (supporting Trump or marrying JD Vance) before they can speak critically of the country (in approved ways, of course)

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 7d

Weaponized gratitude is a key tool in the abuser's toolkit. The goal is to convince the victim that they owe the abuser so much, they should feel guilty for wanting to complain.

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Francesca Albanese fan account @captainslopes.bsky.social · 8d

The internet is filled with people ‘doing their own research’ who are unable to understand what they’re reading

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Eman Abdelhadi @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social · 8d

Why did @govpritzker.illinois.gov send out Illinois police to limit protests at Broadview? Why is a progressive governor shielding illegal ICE activity from peaceful protesters? Why are our state tax dollars devoted to Trump’s agenda?

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Laura @tutusntinyhats.bsky.social · 8d

“'For me, the message is that we’ve done it and we can do it, we can keep doing it,' says Gordon-Nembhard. 'I hope that these examples inspire people to keep doing cooperative economics, to keep advocating for economic justice and equality.'"

nextcity.org/urbanist-new...

Illustrating Economics: This Scholar’s Graphic Novel Explains the Black Cooperative Movement

Sponsored: Jessica Gordon-Nembhard on the journey of adapting her 2014 book into a graphic novel to educate in an accessible format.

nextcity.org

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Bernadette Murphy @bernadetmurphy.bsky.social · 9d

Thank you, @nicolechung.bsky.social, for this. So important. As a birth mother, I'm pained by how blithely people suggest adoption, thinking that the idea of an "open" one solves the pain I live with.

Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 9d

If you want to understand open adoption, it makes sense to start with birth parents—yet studies of them are few. 2+ yrs ago, I began talking w/ birth mothers to try to understand what living in an open adoption is like for them, and what rights or options they might have if challenges were to arise.

When Adoption Promises Are Broken

Many birth mothers hope to maintain contact with their child. But their agreements with adoptive parents can be fragile.

www.theatlantic.com

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Equal Justice Initiative @eji.org · 12d

Navigating presumptions of dangerousness and guilt is exhausting. Bryan Stevenson talks to Katie Couric (@katiecouric.bsky.social) about the commitment to truth-telling in the face of racial bias and bigotry: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kT_...

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The Innocence Project @innocenceproject.bsky.social · 9d

Seven months pregnant while raising a one-year-old, Rosa Jimenez was arrested and spent 17 years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit. Now, she’s reclaiming her life and reconnecting with her kids. #HispanicHeritageMonth innocenceproject.org/news/rosa-ji...

‘I’m where I’m supposed to be’: Rosa Jimenez Reunites With Her Children After 17 Years of Wrongful Imprisonment - Innocence Project

innocenceproject.org

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