#ChangingTheNarrative with the National Day of Racial Healing

NBCUniversal recently debuted Changing the Narrative, a digital video series sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The series explores advancing racial equity through localized experiences of racial healing. Racial healing incorporates personal storytelling as a path to recognizing past and present-day racism, acknowledging and working to eliminate everyday biases, and repairing the damage caused by racism in our society through authentic relationships and transformed systems.

In the coming weeks, through partnership with NBCUniversal, WKKF will be expanding energy and education around racial healing and racial equity. Changing the Narrative will feature episodes centered on four critical cities in the foundation’s TRHT work: Buffalo, New York; Battle Creek, Michigan; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Selma, Alabama. Each episode will feature a particular organization within the city and how past and present racial healing work there is creating a world where children, families and communities all thrive.

In the introductory episode of this 14-part series, WKKF president and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron spoke about the ongoing work required to practice racial healing and progress towards racial equity:

While the partnership with NBCU is in its first year, WKKF is no stranger to racial healing. As a natural consequence of its belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, the foundation began funding racial equity work over eighty years ago. Through decades of grantmaking, partnerships, and intentional transformative work, WKKF has continuously reinforced its commitment to racial healing and equity.

In 2016, the foundation launched Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT), a comprehensive and community-based approach to racial equity work where healing and systemic transformation are directly connected. That same summer, at a gathering of more than 500 of WKKF’s partners, a vision began to emerge for a National Day of Racial Healing, with local events hosted by TRHT communities, grantee partners and other racial equity and healing leaders.

The National Day of Racial Healing has now been held for six years on the Tuesday following Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For the seventh annual event, NBCU will broadcast an MSNBC town hall from New Orleans at 10 p.m. ET. Telemundo will also stream a Spanish language town hall from New Orleans at 7 p.m. ET on Noticias Telemundo.com and Noticias Telemundo’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels.

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