The Center on Community Philanthropy (The Center) at the Clinton School of Public Service welcomed Cohort II of the Racial Healing Certification Program to Little Rock for the start of its Racial Healing Tour. The tour was held from March 25-29 and featured stops from Arkansas to Alabama.
Upon arriving, Cohort II received a warm welcome from the Dean of the Clinton School, Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, faculty and staff at a special reception held at the Capital Hotel. Several cohort members arrived early to take part in a panel discussion with Clinton School students in the “Philanthropy Leadership and the Nonprofit Sector” course, taught by Dr. Charlotte Williams, Professor and Director of the Center on Community Philanthropy.
Cohort II is comprised of a diverse group of leaders from a broad spectrum of organizations including, Asian American Federation, Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), CHANGE Philanthropy, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Exponent Philanthropy, Foundation for Louisiana, Grant Makers for Effective Organizations, Michigan Transformation Collective, Nottaweaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, The Wilderness Society and Turning Points for the Soul.
Their journey began with a visit to Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. The cohort then had a virtual experience with the Emmett Till Interpretive Center located in Sumner, Mississippi. The tour concluded with a visit to the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum, National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the newly unveiled Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery, Alabama. Each site visit was accompanied by a racial healing dialogue facilitated by the Center’s Inaugural Distinguished Scholar in Racial Healing Practice, Monica Haslip.
The tour is a core component of Phase I – Experiential Learning of the Racial Healing Certification Program. Next, Cohort II will transition into Phase II – Applied Learning, where they will explore scholarship and practice through the development of organization-specific racial healing projects. The final Phase III – Peer Learning is set to begin in Fall 2024.
About the Center on Community Philanthropy
The Center on Community Philanthropy at the Clinton School of Public Service was created to focus its teaching, research, and service exclusively on the emerging field of community philanthropy, the idea of giving and sharing time, talent, and treasure from within one’s own community. For further information, visit the Center’s website.
Is there a plan to offer Racial Healing Tours in Little Rock for residents and the general public? It seems this could be a great offering done in collaboration with the Mosaic Templars Museum (they recently did a 9th Street tour), Central High, the Capital, Audobon Arkansas (and it’s proximity to Granite Mountain). I’d love to see ongoing programming for this — say a monthly tour with opportunity for guest memory-keepers and tour guides. So many people in our city have lived experiences that would be incredibly powerful for them to share and build a deeper understanding of Little Rock’s history.