NCHE spotlights 5 years of community-led racial healing policy wins

The National Collaborative for Health Equity released a policy paper on Juneteenth in Washington that catalogs five years of local and state actions advancing racial healing and health equity. The report lands as federal DEIA rollbacks and data cuts make equity work harder for governments, nonprofits and communities. Why it matters: - The National Collaborative for Health Equity’s new paper frames racial healing and health equity as a local and state policy fight at a time when federal support is weakening. - The report argues that community-led solutions are still advancing, even as DEIA restrictions and reduced access to public data make equity work harder. - The paper highlights policy changes that affect housing, health, schools, justice, data access and economic repair. What happened: - NCHE released Community Solidarity & Healing Through Action and Policies on Juneteenth in Washington. - The paper expands on NCHE’s 2021 Healing Through Policy briefs and organizes findings around the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation framework. - Ina Robinson, Ph.D., and Aliah Mahadeo, MPH, wrote the report in partnership with the American Public Health Association. - NCHE said the paper arrives after federal policy shifts and reduced access to public datasets created new challenges for equity-focused groups. The details: - The report centers five TRHT pillars: Narrative Change; Racial Healing & Relationship Building; Separation; Law; and Economy. - NCHE executive director Dr. Gail C. Christopher said the updated paper was meant to reflect major changes in politics, government, public health and health equity. - Christopher said narrative change remains the overriding TRHT pillar and that communities must identify false narratives while expanding equity and fairness. - The paper says policies and laws have long enforced a false hierarchy of human value based on race, with lasting health effects. - The report says federal actions limiting DEIA work since January 2025 have driven over-compliance by some state agencies, nonprofits and private organizations. - The paper says more than 268 state and local leaders had declared racism a public health crisis or emergency by 2025, up from 200 in 2020 and 250 in 2022. - A 2025 survey of APHA members and others found those declarations helped organizations build internal capacity to keep equity work going without relying on external funding. - The report says racial equity impact assessments and health equity policy frameworks often continued without outside funding. - The paper says 13 states passed laws in 2025 requiring racial and ethnic data disaggregation. - California, Illinois and New York adopted more detailed standards, including new categories for Middle Eastern and North African residents. - The report includes guidance on protecting federal datasets, which face funding cuts and staffing reductions. - Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson apologized in 2024 for historical injustices against Black residents, and the city created a Black Reparations Task Force. - California lawmakers passed legislation to atone for racism, and the state returned ancestral lands to the Yurok Tribe in 2025. - Illinois renewed $4.5 million for its Healing Illinois grant program. - At Fremont High School in Oakland, years of restorative justice practice were linked to a 20% enrollment increase, a tripling in students qualifying for college admission and a stronger school community. - NCHE said it is working with 15 TRHT Places, and the American Association of Colleges & Universities is partnering with 72 institutions through TRHT College Campus Centers. - Under the Separation pillar, the report cites Boston’s updated inclusionary zoning plan, which requires more income-restricted housing and sets aside units for housing choice voucher holders. - Chicago and New York City enacted just-cause eviction protections. - Transit agencies in Boston and New York committed to building equity into planning. - Under the Law pillar, the report says all 50 states enacted some form of police reform between 2020 and 2024. - Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS civilian crisis response program handles 20% of 911 calls and saves an estimated $2.2 million in officer wages each year. - Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response program produced a 34% decrease in crime in participating neighborhoods. - Oklahoma, New Mexico and Virginia moved to eliminate criminal justice fees and create affordable payment plans. - Twenty-eight U.S. cities are Certified Welcoming, the report says, signaling immigrant inclusion efforts during a difficult political climate. - Under the Economy pillar, more than 20 states raised minimum wages in 2025. - Maine proposed replacing its minimum wage with a livable wage scale. - Saint Paul, Minnesota, Austin, Texas and Illinois launched universal basic income pilot programs. - Saint Paul reported increased employment, improved mental health and safer housing. - Portland, Oregon, agreed to pay $8.5 million in settlements to Black families displaced by urban renewal projects. - Tulsa officials announced a commission to recommend reparations for people affected by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. - Maryland lawmakers approved a measure to study reparations for slavery. - Participatory budgeting in Boston and Albuquerque gives residents direct input on public spending. - NCHE’s 2025 Heart of America poll found 78% of respondents said promoting diversity is crucial to addressing the historical impact of racism, and 83% said teaching children the history of race and racism is important for racial healing. - The report closes by urging leaders to rewrite local ordinances, protect data infrastructure, build healing spaces, invest in economic redress and use other policy tools. Between the lines: - The report is as much a defense of equity infrastructure as it is a roundup of policy wins. - By emphasizing data, narrative and local governance, NCHE is signaling that progress can continue even when federal policy turns hostile. - The paper also suggests many gains are durable because they are embedded in city and state action, not dependent on one funding stream. What’s next: - NCHE wants communities to keep advancing racial healing through local ordinances, protected datasets, healing spaces and economic repair. - The report says community surveys can help reveal shared values and sustain public support for equity work. - NCHE is encouraging leaders to build on the last five years rather than wait for better federal conditions. The bottom line: - NCHE is using Juneteenth to argue that racial healing policy is still moving forward, and that local action may be the strongest defense against a national retreat on diversity and inclusion.