Dear Friends: In these tough times, it helps to remember who and whose we are. We are the First annual celebration of Community Healing Days children of the amazing people who "made a way out of no way" in their time, and we can--and will--make a way in our time. To meet the challenges of this increasingly difficult period, however, we must be at our best as a people. For us to be at our best, our community must heal. Community Healing Network, Inc. (CHN), is building the movement for the emotional emancipation of black people. CHN is the sponsor of the annual celebration of Community Healing Days, held during the third weekend of every October, and created to put "time for healing" on the black agenda and to serve as a catalyst for year-round healing initiatives. Community Healing Days are designed to mobilize black people to overcome the lie of black inferiority--the toxic idea that black people are not as beautiful, lovable, intelligent, capable, or worthy as other people. The lie of black inferiority is keeping us from being at our best. It is undermining our sense of self-worth and limiting our children's sense of possibilities. It is a root cause of the epidemic of violence plaguing our Dr. Maya Angelou neighborhoods, the challenges our children face in school, the mass incarceration of our young men, and many of the other problems we face as a community. To be at our best, we must attend to the long-overdue work of freeing ourselves and our children from the lie of black inferiority. Join the Movement! The 2011 celebration of Community Healing Days is only two months away. In this time of crisis, we invite you to join with us on October 14, 15, and 16, to help lift the spirits of our people and heal the wounds of our community. No matter where you are during Community Healing Days, we ask that you respond to the call to Wear Sky Blue issued by Dr. Maya Angelou, chair of CHN's Board of Advisors--as a mark of your determination to Defy the Lie and move beyond the pain of the blues to the sky blue of unlimited possibilities! Plans for celebrating Community Healing Days are underway in many cities. A few examples: Tuskegee, Alabama: Mayor Omar Neal, vice chair of CHN's Board of Advisors, is mobilizing his city for a full weekend of activities. Portland, Oregon: People in the black community will meet to focus on strategies for overturning the lie of black inferiority as people in the white community focus their energies on how to overturn the lie of white superiority. New Haven, Connecticut: The celebration will include a movie night on Friday, a community healing walk on Saturday, and healing services on Sunday. For suggestions on how you can celebrate Community Healing Days in your area, please click here. Say "Yes"! We'll have more exciting news to share with you--about our plans for creating a nationwide network of self-help groups focused on emotional emancipation and healing--as we count down to the fourth annual celebration of Community Healing Days, October 14, 15, and 16.  For now, we ask you to visit www.CommunityHealingNet.org to say "yes" to Dr. Angelou's call to Wear Sky Blue--and to invite your family and friends to join the movement for the emotional emancipation of black people, and say "yes" too!  Thank you, Enola Aird, Jill Snyder, Dottie Green, Natalie Roche, Tarice Gray, Wizdom Powell Hammond, Sheila Warren, Ric Jennings, Gretchen Vaughn, and all your friends at Community Healing Network, Inc.   P.S. We need your help to make this the decade for the emotional emancipation of black people. CHN is a low-overhead, volunteer-run, 501(c) (3) grassroots organization. Your gift of any amount will help. Please donate today using the secure link below, or send a check to Community Healing Network, Inc., 111 Whalley Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, Attention: Jill Snyder, Treasurer. Thanks again. .