Impact
To address the critical need for racial healing in our community, the Community Foundation created the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Fund. And we need your help to continue building toward an equitable Genesee County where everyone can thrive.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is matching gifts 1:1, up to $300,000. This endowment will fund the racial healing initiatives of local nonprofits. We are grateful to donors who have supported the work.
What is TRHT?
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) is a community-based process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change, and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism.
TRHT seeks to unearth and jettison the deeply held, and often, unconscious beliefs created by racism – the main one being the belief in a “hierarchy of human value.” The TRHT framework has five areas. The first two, Narrative Change and Racial Healing and Relationship Building are the focus areas for the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. The remaining three areas are Separation, the Law, and Economy.
- Bring about an awareness of the Flint community’s full story
- Challenge myths
- Address and provide new language and tools on how to communicate with one another
- Amplify authentic community voices
- Capture and share the untold/disappeared community stories
- Organize principles to act/share stories
Racial Healing/Relationship Building
- Unearth deeply rooted beliefs and attitudes
- Heighten awareness of our common humanity
- Increase the number of people in authentic conversations
- Engage the community in healing activities
Flint is one of 14 communities nationwide using the TRHT framework. The Community Foundation was awarded an $825,000 multi-year grant to actively promote racial healing in Flint, one of the country’s most segregated cities. Grant funding has supported training for local healing practitioners, a racial healing day, community-wide visioning sessions, the RACE Exhibit at the Sloan Museum, and healing conversations among the city’s Choice Neighborhoods residents. At the core of those conversations, we find the racial dynamics of our city.
Communities must heal so they can grow. Our TRHT work is focused on healing and building sustainable progress neighbor by neighbor to transform Flint so all children can have a brighter future.
The beauty of a healing circle is that so many times people realize that despite their differences, we are all connected by a shared humanity."
- Lynn Williams, Director of Equity and Community Engagement
Equity
Healing Conversations
Imagine a community where instead of asking, “How are you?” we ask, “How are the children?” a place where every human values their differences. Where everyone feels connected by a shared humanity.