Questions about how families are recognized in policy and how policies can address the lasting effects of historical and systemic inequities have significant implications for Black families’ well-being. Developing thoughtful approaches to these foundational issues requires insights from people working across research, policy, advocacy, and practice.
Launched earlier this year, the Black Families Flourishing Working Group brings together a select group of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) grantees to collaborate, learn from one another, and advance strategies that support Black families’ well-being and ability to flourish. The group was formed following an RWJF grantee webinar, bringing together partners with a shared commitment to improving the lives and well-being of families, with a particular focus on supporting Black families and helping them thrive.
Through regular convenings, working group members build relationships, share insights from their respective work, and engage in collective learning around policies, programs, and practices affecting Black families across the country. The group also creates space for members to identify opportunities to strengthen and mobilize shared priorities.
Currently, the working group is exploring two areas with important implications for Black families: reparations and repair and how families are defined in policy. Members are examining how approaches to reparations and repair can support Black families and communities, as well as how limited definitions of family embedded in policies and programs can shape which families are recognized, included, and able to access services and supports.
Through this collaborative work, Black Families Flourishing and its partners are working to deepen understanding, strengthen connections across efforts, and identify opportunities to advance policies and programs that reflect the diverse experiences, relationships, and needs of Black families.
