Exciting news: The National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL) officially supported our Black Play Matters initiative, declaring that joy, imagination, and play are not luxuries, but fundamental human rights.
For generations, Black communities have turned to play — through athletics, art, music, dance, storytelling, and imagination — as radical acts of survival, resilience, and joy in the face of systemic oppression.
Yet Black children are still denied safe spaces for play, over-policed, and disciplined at higher rates due to “adultification bias” where Black children are seen as older than they actually are. Black people are still told our laughter, our gatherings, our joy are “too loud,” “too disruptive,” “too much.”
NOBEL Women’s support affirms what we know to be true:
- Play is essential for Black life.
- Joy is resistance.
- Black Play Matters, period.
Now it’s your turn to join us. Can you sign our thank you card to NOBEL to show your support for Black Play Matters today? Help us build momentum for the policy changes that we need to ensure that Black Play Matters everywhere-your thank yous will help encourage other organizations, elected officials, and the nation to value play, joy, and Black lives.
Together, we’re building momentum. With NOBEL’s resolution, we’re calling for legislators across the country to draft similar policies in their states. We have an opportunity to push for:
- Equitable funding for parks, recreation, arts, and cultural spaces in Black neighborhoods
- Reforms to school discipline and public space policies that criminalize Black children
- Investments in community-led programs that center joy, healing, and intergenerational connection
- Addressing environmental racism so all families can breathe, gather, and play safely
This is just the beginning. The more voices join this movement, the stronger we are.
This is only the first step.
