"Where do we go from here? First, we must massively assert our dignity and worth."--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dear Friends:

Freedom Summer 1964 was about Black and White people working together to shatter the foundations of White supremacy in Mississippi. It was about establishing Freedom Schools for citizenship education and social activism. It was focused on breaking down legal barriers to racial equality.

Today, fifty years later, there are still powerful emotional and psychological barriers to racial equality. This year, let's, by all means, celebrate Freedom Summer 1964, but let's also acknowledge the present-day need to shatter the psychological foundations of White supremacy.

Let's make this an "Emotional Freedom" Summer. Let's take ourselves to "Emotional Freedom" Schools--right where we are.

How? By inviting our family and friends to come together and read and discuss one or more of the following books from the Community Healing Network's Summer Reading List.

Tom Burrell, Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority

Peggy McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Alvin Poussaint, M.D., and Amy Alexander, Lay My Burden Down: Unraveling Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African Americans

Terrie Williams, Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting

Tim Wise, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son

These books will deepen our collective understanding of the impact of the lies of White superiority and Black inferiority on our lives today, and point the way to complete freedom for Black people--freedom not only in body, but also in mind and in spirit.

We look forward to hearing your feedback at the end of "Emotional Freedom" Summer 2014.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Enola Aird, Jill Snyder, Gretchen Vaughn, Tarice Gray, Dottie Green, Wizdom Powell, Natalie Roche, Sheila Warren, Ric Jennings, Carl Miller, A.D. Carson, and all your friends at Community Healing Network, Inc.

We welcome your support. Community Healing Network, Inc., is an all-volunteer, 501 (c)(3) charitable organization and all donations are tax deductible. You may click the link below to make a secure donation through Network for Good or mail your contribution to Community Healing Network, Inc., c/o Jill Snyder, Treasurer, 111 Whalley Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511. www.communityhealingnet.org