- Events and Workshops
Day of Racial Healing – Healing Forward: From Truth to Collective Action (RECAP)
Date
Jan 20, 2026
Time
5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, 70 Audubon St., New Haven
Topic
Presenter(s)
Presented by The Vineyard Project in New Haven in partnership with the Arts Council for Greater New Haven and the Progreso Latino Fund
Event Recap and Recording
Presented by The Community Foundation's Vineyard Project in New Haven in partnership with the Arts Council for Greater New Haven and the Progreso Latino Fund.
On January 20, The Community Foundation joined communities across the country in observing the National Day of Racial Healing, hosting an evening of storytelling, poetry, conversation and relationship-building. Together, attendees explored how truth-telling and shared reflection can move us toward collective action.
Observed annually on the Tuesday following Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the National Day of Racial Healing was launched by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to affirm that racial healing is essential to advancing racial equity.
What We Heard
Guests were asked to reflect on the question: What does racial healing require of me tonight? Their answers are represented in the word cloud below.
New Haven Poet Laureate Yexandra Diaz opened the evening's events with a powerful reading of her poem, The Protocol.
The Foundation President & CEO Karen DuBois-Walton welcomed guests by affirming that there is healing in gathering and that The Foundation is creating spaces of radical hospitality that are free from anti-Blackness.
Poet Michelle Phương Hồ read poems based on her experience as a Vietnamese American, and talked about writing to discover the "hidden connections between unlike things."
Denise Manning Keyes Page, founder of Ubuntu Storytellers, told a story about taking her biracial granddaughter to see Page's childhood home in a Connecticut suburb, sparking Page's memories of experiencing racism as a young girl.
Members of Congregation Mishkan Israel held a conversation with The Foundation SVP of Human Resources and Organizational Culture Leon Bailey about their experience with bringing anti-racism programs, including The Groundwater Institute, to their synagogue.
At the evening's close, everyone gathered for a healing exercise led by Tamar Draughn, LPC, MindfulTay.
Event Photos
View the photos by Gio Roper Photography
Links and Resources
Presented in partnership:
About the National Day of Racial Healing
Observed annually on the Tuesday following Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the National Day of Racial Healing invites us to reflect on our shared values and to co-create a blueprint for healing from the effects of racism. Launched in 2017, it brings people together across difference to inspire collective action toward a more just and equitable world.
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