LatinaLista — Equality among all Americans is still an elusive concept. When it comes to Latino, black, Asian and Native American children, the inequities of education, income levels and opportunities in life mean the difference between having a successful future or perpetuating a cycle of poverty.
It’s these inequities in life and the rise in racial intolerance across the nation that spurred the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to create the largest single initiative in its 80-year history.
Christened the America Healing initiative, it entails the Foundation investing $75 million in programs over a five-year period that promote racial healing and address racial inequities.
The first phase of the initiative is awarding grants to 119 organizations from 29 states and the District of Columbia.
America Healing will focus on bringing healing to divided communities and bridging racial gaps in the areas of education, health, juvenile justice, economic success, the media, and other areas. The new initiative will focus on issues at the core of structural racism–those policies and practices that continue to create barriers for children of color–while remaining aligned with the foundation’s primary program areas of Education and Learning; Food, Health and Well-being; and Family Economic Security.
The need for such a program was underscored to the Foundation when news of the initiative triggered over 1,000 proposals. Officials saw this as a good sign — not because it illustrated the need for America Healing but because it illustrated the will of so many people who wanted to start and be part of the process of helping the next generation succeed.
