September 2025
International Equal Pay Day is on September 18th. On this day, we raise awareness about the gender pay gap and advocate for achieving equal pay for equal work. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research predicts that Black women will not reach pay equity until 2227.
The anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 is on September 9th and the anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama is September 15th according to the Social Justice Resource Center. Let’s take some time to acknowledge that in our current times, Black adolescents and young adults are still at higher risks for the most physically harmful forms of violence compared to whites.
Patriot Day is September 11 (9/11). It is a day to remember the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. According to the Historian Speaks website, “Accurately documenting and highlighting the impact of 9/11 on African Americans has been a challenging task. Complicated by the politics of race and the tendency to either ignore or obscure the African American presence in events of national importance the nation has been slow in recognizing African American victims of 9/11.” Let’s take some time to memorialize the lost lives of African American people by learning more about the “white washing of 9/11.”
International Literacy Day is September 8. Twenty three percent of Black students and 32% of Latinx students showed proficiency in reading, compared to 82% of their white classmates. According to the DC Action website, “These numbers reflect glaring disparities that can be traced to deeply rooted disinvestment and other policies that are the result of systemic racism, and require new and targeted resources and policy changes to close the academic achievement gap.”
***Call to Action***
Words Alive in San Diego is an organization that helps kids from underprivileged backgrounds with reading and literacy skills. If you are interested in volunteering for this organization, please check out this link.
Consider attending one of the events organized by the Women’s Museum of California here in San Diego. Their organization is also seeking volunteers.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
