NBCDI Joins the Council on Black Health and Four Other Prominent National Black Organizations to Launch Major Health Initiative

The Council on Black Health (CBH) just announced it has been awarded a $785,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support an interorganizational partnership to advance a national Black health agenda. NBCDI is proud to partner with the Council on Black Health and four other venerable organizations to advance and promote the health and wellness of Black children and families.

"For nearly 50 years the National Black Child Development Institute has championed the issue of equity in education and all systems that are inextricably linked," says Tobeka G. Green, NBCDI President and CEO. "We're excited to join forces with other leading organizations to amplify the importance of health equity and resolve major disparities that exist within Black communities."

Other health initiative partners include:

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Working together with the CBH, we have the 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, PhD, 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. 

Support for this initiative was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

About the Council on Black Health

CBH aims for a lasting and sustainable impact on Black community health by conducting, identifying and disseminating research relevant to solving Black health issues. Council members are primarily Black Americans and include researchers, health professionals and other community partners. Launched in 2018 as an outgrowth of the former African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network, CBH seeks to utilize collaboration, discovery and innovation to make research actionable.

About the National Black Child Development Institute 

Established in 1970, the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) is a national nonprofit organization with a mission "to improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and families through education and advocacy." With our National Affiliate Network, we develop and deliver strengths-based, culturally relevant, evidence-based, and trauma-informed curricula and programs focused on health and wellness, family engagement and early literacy. We also support increased access to effective education by providing professional development scholarships to early childhood educators. NBCDI, our National Affiliate Network and our members advocate for and inform education policies at the federal, state and local levels to ensure standards, regulations and resource allocations support equitable systems for Black children and families across the country.