President’s Statements
Florida education standards about slavery are based on lies: SNN president, Areva Martin responds to Florida’s dangerous education standards on Black history
In the ongoing struggle for racial equality and educational integrity, the recent actions taken by the Florida Board of Education are deeply concerning, as a civil rights advocate, as an attorney, and as a Black mother. Approving a new set of standards that turn back...
Statement from Areva Martin on Today’s SCOTUS Ruling on Affirmative Action
MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE "I am deeply troubled by today's Supreme Court ruling overturning the use of affirmative action in college admissions. This decision, and particularly the distorted view of the 14th Amendment presented by the conservative court,...
The Special Report with Areva Martin Wins Telly Bronze and Silver Award
The Special Needs Network is excited to announce that "The Special Report With Areva Martin" was awarded Bronze and Silver Social Video Series awards for Public Service & Activism and Social Impact in the record breaking 44th Annual Telly Awards. The Telly Awards...
Statement by Areva Martin, Esq. on the Passing of Harry Belafonte
Los Angeles, CA (April 25, 2023) – “While I am saddened by his passing, I’m grateful for a life well lived by the formidable Harry Belafonte – a true advocate for the civil rights movement and a trailblazer in the entertainment industry. What made Harry Belafonte so...
Statement from President Areva Martin on Autism Rates
The distressing new findings by Rutgers University researchers that autism rates have tripled over the past 16 years are made far grimmer by their conclusion that, once again, children in underserved communities are not getting the same access to resources as their...
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee: Areva Martin Testimony
I would like to thank the members of the IACC for allowing me to offer testimony today. I am speaking to you as the Founder and President of Special Needs Network, as a civil rights attorney, and as the mother to a child with an autism diagnosis. You are aware that...
SNN Calls for Resignations of Martinez, Cedillo, de León and Herrera
Leading child advocacy group cites damage of Council President’s racist, violent comments and colleagues’ complicity. Los Angeles, CA –Special Needs Network demanded the immediate resignation of Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, Council Members...
President’s Statement on the overturning of Roe v Wade
The aftershocks of today’s SCOTUS opinion overturning Roe vs. Wade are already rippling across the country, as many states have trigger laws withdrawing the established right to abortion. This devastating decision is happening despite that documented fact that a...
President’s Statement on Texas School Mass Shooting
The numbers are impossible to fathom. Nineteen Texas school children and two teachers dead in yet another devastating act of unspeakable violence, just 10 days after the mass shooting targeting Black people shopping for groceries in Buffalo…
Special Needs Network’s Response to COVID-19, ABA Telehealth and Free Mental Health Resources for Families
Dear Special Needs Network Families and Friends, At the end of December 2019, the government in Wuhan, China, confirmed the detection of a new disease and treatment of a handful of cases. On January 11th, 2020, China reported its first death from the novel respiratory...
Statement on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Last Friday, the world lost one of the most iconic, inspirational, and motivational women we have ever known— Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A feverish defender of civil rights and a true visionary for gender equality, the late justice Ginsburg was a woman who was ahead...
The passing of iconic Civil Rights Leader Vernon Jordan
It is with great sadness that I and Special Needs Network mourn the loss of Vernon Jordan. For over fifty years, Jordan was a social justice pioneer focused on combating racial segregation and advancing civil rights legislation. A graduate of DePaul University and...