Equity-centered policy requires community inclusion, leadership, and framing. With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Center partnered with the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans, Louisiana and Making it Count Community Development Corporation in Detroit, Michigan from 2021 to 2023 to assess policies that can disrupt systemic racism driving health disparities in their communities, using storytelling of life experience as a tool for policy identification and change.
This "Truth Be Told" Storytelling Guide for Equity-Centered Policy Change provides a training and engagement framework that can lead to powerful community narratives for equity-centered policy change. Using The Center’s work with our 2021-2023 community organizations (New Orleans and Detroit), this guide provides an overview on the importance of storytelling for policy change and outlines a process to help communities showcase the voices that illustrate their history, geography, assets, and challenges.
This Storytelling Guide is a part of a broader “Truth Be Told” Toolbox (free to the public) and is a reflection of The Center’s funded 5-part training series, policy assessment, and engagement in which we support, train, and produce community-specific resources like the storytelling tools highlighted in this guide for community grantees. If you are interested in our training for your community or the communities that you work with, please contact us at info@centerforblackhealth.org. (author description)
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