Advancing racial healing, racial equity and health care access

We are in solidarity with the communities of Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay as they mourn the loss of life, work to recover a sense of safety and begin the long journey toward healing in the aftermath of two separate acts of mass gun violence in recent days. Learn more how you can help.

The cities of Las Cruces and Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico issued proclamations in support of advancing racial equity and healing for WKKF’s National Day of Racial Healing. In addition,  the Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum of Albuquerque kicked off their own two-day celebration with a town hall viewing party in the museum’s new teen center, and concluded with a teen summit on racial healing and a free community event.

Also in Las Cruces, WKKF grantee Learning Action Buffet hosted youth-led activities for the National Day of Racial Healing with Alma d’Arte Charter High School, including an open mic event and a community celebration. The University of New Mexico Lobos for Change student athlete group hosted a cultural fair, bringing together people to listen and share stories with university students and community groups collaborating to advance racial equity. 

Five years after it was launched with WKKF funding, the Battle Creek Coalition for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (BCTRHT) has successfully catalyzed a growing racial equity movement in the city. The initiative published a book about racial healing, How We Heal; city government hired its first-ever diversity, equity and inclusion officer (Kimberly Holley, co-coordinator of BCTRHT); Willard Library hosted intentional conversations about racial stereotyping; and Latinx women launched a leadership development program. 

How can journalism tell stories that are representative, inclusive and rich with the diversity of the communities that are being covered? On the National Day of Racial Healing, a panel of journalists from Kansas City sat down with the Health Forward Foundation to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in their respective newsrooms. “The picture is not always completely painted…we’re missing essential nuanced stories that people have wanted to tell,” said Vicky Diaz-Camacho of Flatland at Kansas City PBS. The full conversation was captured in the foundation’s Forward Focus podcast.

Charity Dean, president and CEO of the Metro Detroit Black Business Alliance, recently spoke at the Detroit Policy Conference and cited WKKF’s Business Case for Racial Equity in explaining why racial equity is a critical strategy for economic growth in Detroit. When Interstate Highway 375 was constructed in the city, it destroyed the Paradise Valley and Black Bottom neighborhoods and business districts, which were thriving Black communities. Now that the state and city are looking to transition the highway into a boulevard with amenities for pedestrians, Dean challenged local leaders to center racial equity in their historic opportunity to right the wrongs of the past.