PHILADELPHIA— The Council on Black Health (CBH) has been awarded a $785,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support an inter-organizational partnership to advance a national Black health agenda. The following prominent national organizations are key partners.
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), founded in 1909, has a mission to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons. The NAACP has more than 2 million members, donors and supporters, and the NAACP Empowerment Programs address health, education, economic opportunity, environmental and climate justice, and criminal justice.
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., founded in 1913, is an organization of college-educated women committed to the constructive development of its members and to public service with a primary focus on the Black community. The organization has more than 900 chapters in the United States and abroad.
- 100 Black Men of America, Inc. (The 100), founded in 1963, has a mission to improve the quality of life within Black communities and enhance educational and economic opportunities. The organization has more than 100 chapters and over 10,000 members. “What They See Is What They’ll Be,” very succinctly expresses how The 100’s programmatic services impact disadvantaged, disenfranchised and low-income youth and families, positively changing their life trajectory through mentorship across a lifetime.
- National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), founded in 1970, has a mission to improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and families through education and advocacy. In partnership with their National Affiliate Network, NBCDI advocates for and informs education policies at the federal, state, and local levels while developing and delivering strengths-based, culturally relevant, evidence-based, and trauma-informed curricula and programs focused on health and wellness, family engagement, and literacy.
- Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI), founded in 1983, has been the only national organization focused on the health and wellness of the nation’s 21 million Black women and girls. BWHI has invested more than $60 million in Black women’s emotional, physical and financial well-being in 26 states.
These organizations, working together with the CBH, have unique potential and power to mobilize action within Black communities and a national voice on Black health issues. “This partnership will provide infrastructure and ensure coordinated actions to achieve health equity for the United States’ Black population,” says Shiriki Kumanyika, Ph.D., CBH founder and chair, and research professor at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University, where the Council is hosted. Together, the CBH and the five partner organizations will set a course to change Black health for the better, for the long term.
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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas here.
