The Rockford Housing Authority Proclamation: the National Day of Racial Healing Initiative

“It is a proven assertion that we are all descendants of one human ancestry endowed by our creator with the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation-led Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation

Today We Acknowledge That…

Our greatest asset is the talent and diversity that we have in our community. Together we have made important progress in advancing toward and harnessing the extraordinary range of backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, skills, talents and experiences of the Greater Rockford Community.

While we acknowledge the wounds created by racial, ethnic and religious bias, we are our committed to collaboratively working to an equitable and just society in our community where all people can thrive. We will take a leadership role in this process.

Healing comes through building authentic relationships and increasing the capacity for trust, honesty and collective community action. Today, all over the country people are fighting intolerance, standing up to promote caring and inclusion. When intolerance flares up, good people rise up against it with greater numbers and with stronger voices. Intolerance is an open attack on acceptance and decency. It must be countered with acts of goodness.

Racial healing is above all else an experience. It is an experience that can happen at individual, community and organizational levels. It requires creating a safe and sacred space for sharing and listening to relevant stories – stories that relate to the experiences of resilience or harms associated with the belief in a hierarchy of human value.

Rockford Housing Authority is grounded in an intention to honor, respect and extend love and compassion to all who are engaged, without judgement.

What Can You Do Today as part of the National Day of Racial Healing?

Share this Proclamation with the circle around you, including family, neighbors, co-workers, and folks in your church, synagogue or civic club. Talk to your children, your neighbors and others about the Proclamation, sharing what you know and believe about tolerance and decency. Use this as an opportunity to reinforce your own values about caring for others, open-mindedness and acceptance. And most of all, quietly to yourself, state, “that every act of wounds created by racial, ethnic and religious bias will be met with an act of love and unity.”

Today let us together, heal the wounds created by racial, ethnic and religious bias and build an equitable and just society where all people can thrive.

Rockford Housing Authority

As all communities becomes more diverse and the challenges we face more complex, Rockford Housing Authority will continue to invest in policies to recruit, retain, and develop the best and brightest from our region. Research has shown that diverse groups are more effective at problem solving than homogeneous groups, and policies that promote diversity and inclusion will enhance our ability to draw from the broadest possible pool of talent and solve our toughest challenges in our community.

We are joining some of our national partners in a “twitter town hall” at 3:00 pm eastern time Tuesday Jan 17 (follow the twitter handle @wkkf_anchors and use hashtags: #TRHT, #thedaytoheal, and #dayofracialhealing), #IamRockford, #RHA

*The data and comprehensive analysis outlined in the pages ahead demonstrate how race, class, residential segregation and income levels all work together to hamper access to opportunity.

Altarum Institute and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) released a report detailing the economic impact of racism, and the benefits of advancing racial equity as the demography of our nation continues to evolve.

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