Healing-Centered Liberation Policy

The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, Elijah McClain, and countless others at the hands of state-sanctioned violence have once again elevated to the national forefront the daily violence Black people face. Simultaneously, Black people are disproportionately dying of COVID-19 due to a confluence of structural factors. As a nation, we have underinvested in the health and wellbeing of Black communities, while we’ve overinvested in systems that enact violence on these communities.

In response, we are committed to building a new vision of community investment that overturns centuries of white supremacy. Much like Black activists ask us to reimagine a world without police, we have to reimagine how public policy can respond to inequity beyond our existing systems. Our current mental health, education, and workforce development systems, among others, are steeped in historical and structural racism.

This movement demands a new approach we’re calling “healing-centered liberation policy.” 

In the past couple weeks, we have defined what healing-centered liberation means and the policies it demands. We remain committed to advocating for transformative and radical solutions that dismantle white supremacy and respond to 400 years of oppression. These blogs represent the beginning of the conversation: 

• We are pressed on every side, but we are not crushed by Kisha Bird 
• Divest to save Black lives. Invest to heal communities by Duy Pham and Kayla Tawa
• Defund police in schools and expand school-based mental health by Whitney Bunts

In the coming weeks we will continue the conversation, beginning with a panel on July 23 at 3:00 pm ET. 

Protest, Movement Building, and Mental Health: A Conversation with Young Leaders
July 23
3-4 pm ET 

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers set off a wave of protests across the nation. Movements for racial, social, and economic justice are often led by young people who put their energy, creativity, and bodies on the line for change. How does witnessing injustice impact young people’s mental health? How do protest and movement building support healing? What more is needed to care for young people’s wellbeing in a time of uprisings for racial justice? This panel will explore these questions and more with young movement leaders who are advancing justice and healing in their communities.

Register Here