Dear Friends: Thank you for joining in the fifth annual celebration of Community Healing Days and getting the Defy the Lie and Embrace the Truth Pledge Campaign off to a fantastic start. Our yearly celebration is over, but the Pledge campaign continues. It will be the centerpiece of Community Healing Network's efforts for the next seven years as we work to encourage a critical mass of Black people to sign the Pledge by 2019, the 400th anniversary of the forced arrival of Africans in Jamestown colony. Why? Because according to the American Psychiatric Association, "racism and racial discrimination adversely affect mental health by diminishing the victim's self-image, confidence, and optimal mental functioning." And a recent study by the American Psychological Association found that "perceived racism may cause mental health symptoms similar to trauma and could lead to some physical health disparities between blacks and other populations in the United States." The Black community is in emotional distress as a result of past, present, and continuing emotional trauma. In order to empower ourselves to deal effectively with the wide range of external challenges facing our community, we must intensify our focus on the goal of emotional wellness. The Defy the Lie and Embrace the Truth Pledge campaign is designed to mobilize Black people to commit to emotional wellness--to doing the hard work necessary to overcome the lie of Black inferiority and the emotional legacies of enslavement and racism. As Dr. King said,"Nobody else can do this for us...". We must each sign our own emancipation proclamation. Please read the Pledge and Affirmations, take the Pledge, start taking aggressive steps to fulfill your Pledge, and reach out to your family, friends, and neighbors across the country and around the world to encourage them to take the Pledge as well! Thank you. Sincerely, Enola Aird, Jill Snyder, Dottie Green, Natalie Roche, Wizdom Powell, Sheila Warren, Tarice Gray, Ric Jennings, Gretchen Vaughn, Carl Miller, A.D. Carson, and all your friends at Community Healing Network, Inc. www.communityhealingnet.org
P.S. Please help us make this the decade for the emotional emancipation of Black people. CHN is a low-overhead, volunteer-run, 501(c) (3) grassroots organization. We are supported entirely by charitable donations. 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.
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