Gift will advance healing practices rooted in culture in response to racial trauma
HUNTSVILLE, AL — March 23, 2022 — Forward Promise, an initiative of The Moriah Group that advocates for the healing, growing, and thriving of young people of color and their communities, announced a one-time award of general operating support from philanthropist and author, MacKenzie Scott.
Heightened racial injustices and a global pandemic have deeply impacted communities of color. Forward Promise and its village of grantees counter these effects with healing practices rooted in—and reflective of—the culture of the individuals served.
“This investment enables Forward Promise to accelerate the implementation of culturally responsive healing practices (CRHP) that are shown to effectively support the healthy development of youth of color, “said Dr. Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt, CEO of The Moriah Group and Director of Forward Promise. “We are thrilled and humbled by this generous donation which will also expand our research on the protective factors of these healing practices and contribute new knowledge about healing outcomes to the field.”
We are grateful for this new funding, to our previous donors, and to our grantee partners that work tirelessly to reclaim and affirm the humanity of young people of color. We fight to protect our young people from the narratives and dehumanizing actions that make the world dangerous and limit the opportunities and resources they deserve. Forward Promise provides young people and the communities that nurture them, the tools they need that help them to stand in their power and reject the ways in which society devalues them. Our highest hope is that all young people of color will thrive in their communities. Our work focuses on individual and structural solutions that emphasize their needs, dreams, and stories.
For the last decade, Forward Promise has supported grantee partners who demonstrate a track record of quality programming, leadership, advocacy, and partnership to employ culturally responsive approaches to racial trauma in their youth programming. These organizations lead with authentic, asset-framed narratives of the lived experiences of the communities they serve and mobilize youth and others to be change agents and advocates.
Forward Promise affirms the full humanity of people of color and rallies against the narratives, policies, and practices that dehumanize them. Our work asserts that young people heal, grow, and thrive in healthy villages; therefore, we advance individual and structural solutions rooted in culture that strengthen whole communities.