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CityMatCH, a national membership organization located in the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Pediatrics, will receive $249,917 to train urban maternal and child health leaders to engage in racial healing efforts.
The grant, which will explore structural racism and promote racial healing among public health leaders, is one of 119 awarded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support racial equity and healing. “We applaud the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for its courageous leadership in this important area, and we are honored to partner with them to not only promote racial healing in Tennessee, but to eventually share lessons learned to our members nationally,” said Patrick Simpson, CityMatCH executive director.
In an unprecedented effort to address the devastating impact of racial inequities on communities across the country, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation launched a five-year, $75 million initiative – America Healing – that aims to improve life outcomes for vulnerable children and their families by promoting racial healing and eliminating barriers to opportunities.
With its grant, CityMatCH will lead maternal and child health (MCH) leaders in several Tennessee communities through an historical mapping process. This mapping process will examine long standing policies and outline the impacts of race and racism on the structure of neighborhoods and the organization of communities.
The resulting maps, when used in combination with training on open and effective communication about racism, will serve as a starting point for racial healing among participants, their institutions and communities. Promoting racial healing among professionals is a critical step toward improving the quality of services they provide to the vulnerable children and families most heavily impacted by racism.
Children of color are over-represented among the 29 million low-income children and families in this country, particularly among families living in concentrated poverty. According to data from the National
Center for Children in Poverty, about 61 percent of African American, 62 percent of Latino, 57 percent of Native American, 58 percent of children with immigrant parents, 30 percent of Asian American children and 26 percent of white children live in low-income families.
The goal of the America Healing initiative is to help make that vision a reality by engaging communities and supporting them in the hard work of racial healing and addressing the effects of historic and contemporary structural issues, such as residential segregation and concentrated poverty.
During the first phase of America Healing, 119 organizations will receive grants totaling more than $14.6 million specifically to support community-based organizations’ healing efforts among racial and ethnic groups that address historic burdens, disparities and barriers to opportunity. Their efforts will focus within local communities to increase opportunities for children in education, health and economic areas.
Grantees represent 29 states and the District of Columbia and all racial and ethnic population groups. To highlight the desire of communities to work together on racial healing, the foundation created a signature video, capturing the spirit of the initiative. The video can be viewed at www.AmericaHealing.org.
Moreover, the America Healing initiative complements the racial equity approach in all of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant-making directed at supporting vulnerable children, their families and communities. The new initiative will continue to focus on issues at the core of structural racism and will align with the foundation’s program areas: education and learning; food, health and well-being; and family economic security.
To learn more about America Healing, please visit http://www.americahealing.org.
About CityMatCH
For the past 20 years, CityMatCH (www.citymatch.org), a national membership organization of urban health departments’ maternal and child health (MCH) programs, has striven to “improve the health and well-being of urban women, children and families by strengthening the public health organizations and leaders in their communities.” CityMatCH’s passion and vision concerning health equity and social justice is woven throughout their products and services. Working to undo racism through innovative strategies is a cornerstone of their health equity work.
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Established in 1930, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (www.wkkf.org) supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich.