Kellogg Foundation Launches $75M Racial Healing Initiative Tomorrow

Initiative Seeks to Address Racial Barriers Faced by Vulnerable Children

WHAT:                 Tomorrow, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will launch America Healing: A Racial Equity Initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  America Healing is a five-year, $75 million commitment to promote racial equity by addressing the effects of structural racism on communities, particularly children.  Through this initiative, 119 organizations from 29 states and the District of Columbia are receiving grants, many of which will expand opportunities for vulnerable children, youth and their communities affected by racism.  

BACKGROUND: The election of President Barack Obama marked a major milestone for racial progress.   But every day vulnerable families and their children continue to face invisible barriers as they go to work, attend school, visit their doctors and participate in other aspects of American society.  Data and recent news events underscore the impact that structural racism continues to have in communities throughout the United States and underscore the clear need for healing.

·         Children of color comprise nearly two-thirds of the 30 million children in the United States living in poverty.

·         Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions among Native Americans, with 12.2 percent of all Native Americans over 19 suffering from the disease.

·         Infant mortality rates are twice as high for African-Americans as for whites.

·         Hispanic youth are incarcerated at rates seven to 17 times greater than those of whites in Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

WHO:                   Representative John Lewis (D-GA); W.K. Kellogg Foundation President and CEO, Sterling Speirn; W.K. Kellogg Foundation Vice President of Programs Dr. Gail Christopher; Harvard University Professor of Public Health, Dr. David Williams, and 10 grantee organizations.

 WHEN:               Tomorrow, 9:30 a.m. EDT
                                    

 WHERE:              JW Marriott Hotel, Salon l - Lower Level
                                1331 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C.                  

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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.