The many forms of empowerment

Racial Equity: 

NBC News embarked on a journey of discovery to learn how racism touches all our lives, regardless of skin color or background, and how we can start the process of healing. They traveled across the country listening to candid, raw and real conversations about race. The series hopes to challenge viewers to answer the question: What can you do to end racism? Noticias Telemundo has also released a Spanish-language series called Cambiando La Narrativa, exploring personal stories of members of Latinx communities who are beginning their healing processes while continuing to navigate racism in employment, community life and systems. Watch these episodes on the National Day of Racial Healing website.

For many parents on tight budgets, even small disruptions like unforeseen car repairs or medical visits can hinder their ability to make ends meet. In Jackson, Mississippi, the Magnolia Mother’s Trust is empowering low-income Black mothers with monthly infusions of $1,000 in cash, no strings attached. Aisha Nyandoro, executive director of WKKF grantee Springboard to Opportunities and WKKF Global Fellow, once again graced the TED stage. She explained this first-of-its-kind guaranteed basic income initiative and how these Magnolia mothers are redefining the meaning of wealth for their children and families. 

Jenn Roberts founded the Colored Girls Liberation Lab as a space for Black women to support each other in dreaming big and decompressing from the stressors created by racism and sexism. Roberts says feeling the freedom to reimagine systems, communities and relationships is an essential ingredient of racial healing. Word in Black covers Roberts’ story in the racial healing series supported by WKKF. 

Mexico: 

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, International Day of Climate Action, three WKKF grantees – Cántaro Azul, Redias and CONIDER – organized their second “Meeting for Water: Human Rights for Water and Sanitation for Children and Youth.” As reported in the LatinAmerican Post, more than 100 children and adolescents gathered with environmental advocates in San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico, to shed light on important issues facing local communities, including water scarcity. Children from nearby Indigenous communities shared challenges they experience in accessing safe water, and those gathered called on local and federal authorities to prioritize access to clean water and sanitation for the youth of Chiapas and across Mexico. 

Health: 

WKKF Battle Creek-based grantees Milk Like Mine and Bronson Healthcare Group have collaborated to launch a series of Baby Cafés to offer support to breastfeeding people in the city. The cafés will take place from 5-8 p.m. every other Friday at the headquarters of Milk Like Mine. The organization was founded in 2019 to reduce race-based disparities in breastfeeding in the city by providing Black mothers and breastfeeding people access to lactation support from within their community.   

 Jobs: 

Nonprofit media models are transforming newsrooms and communities. Our partners at the Community Foundation for Mississippi shared learnings from an emerging international media model called constructive journalism, which builds off the more popular solutions journalism model here in the U.S. Constructive journalism looks to find areas of gray where people can agree on issues and solutions, versus emphasizing opposing views that could further polarize an issue and community.