A Reflection on the 2026 Day of Racial Healing

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

In recognition of the National Day of Racial Healing, CHCM CEO Riisa Rawlins offers a reflection on what it meant for our organization to formally observe this day for the first time. Her letter traces our movement from intention to action—grounded in place-based healing, relationship, and collective responsibility—and shares how communities across Missouri shaped this inaugural year of practice.

Continue reading to participate in her reflection, or download a copy using the button below.

This year marked the Community Health Commission of Missouri’s first formal observance of the Day of Racial Healing—an important moment in the life of an organization that is both newly formed and deeply rooted.

The public launch of CHCM’s inaugural strategic plan at the end of 2025 marked an important pivot—one that allowed us to more clearly introduce ourselves as a statewide organization with a renewed commitment to equity-centered, trauma-informed practice. It also created the conditions for us to move from reflection to practice in new ways.

In 2025 I offered a written reflection and call to acknowledge the importance of racial healing as foundational to health equity in Missouri. That reflection articulated a vision rooted in relationship, truth-telling, and collective responsibility. In 2026, we took our first steps toward bringing that vision into the world—together.

The Day of Racial Healing invites us to pause—to reflect on the ways racialized harm has shaped our communities and to recommit ourselves to healing, equity, and justice. At CHCM, we understand this work not as a single day or moment, but as a practice that unfolds over time and across place.

In this inaugural year, we were intentional about meeting communities where they are and honoring the truth that healing does not look the same in every region—or for every person. Our engagements reflected a place-based, tiered approach, rooted in relationship, trust, and care.

In the Kansas City region, we convened a broad and diverse community for a film screening and panel discussion that invited reflection, dialogue, and shared responsibility. This gathering offered an accessible entry point—grounding healing as everybody’s work and opening the door for deeper conversations to continue beyond the day itself.

In Southeast Missouri, our work was grounded first and foremost in relationship. Each healing circle came together by invitation—shaped by connection and by participation in CHCM’s ongoing work in community. We gathered distinct groups, including community partners healing alongside their teams, older adults who are regularly in relationship with one another, and a mixed group of partners connected through our broader ecosystem. While each circle reflected the unique dynamics of the group present, all were rooted in trust, familiarity, and a shared commitment to collective care.

In St. Louis, we held an intimate convening focused on healing for the healers. This gathering centered those who carry the emotional, relational, and spiritual weight of equity and community work every day. Framed as a listening space, it offered time for grounding, reflection, and visioning—acknowledging that sustaining this work requires tending to those who do it.

Taken together, these engagements represent both continuity and beginning. They reflect how we understand healing: layered, relational, and deeply local. There is no single format that fits every community, but there is a shared commitment—to hold space with care, to listen with humility, and to move at the pace of trust.

Importantly, this inaugural observance does not end here. Conversations sparked in each region will continue throughout the year, supported by quarterly touchpoints and ongoing dialogue shaped by community voices. We are listening closely, learning together, and gathering feedback to inform future engagement—including the conceptualization of a larger, statewide healing convening in the years ahead.

As an organization shaped by both legacy and possibility, we are clear that this work is iterative. What began as a written call to acknowledge has now taken form through shared space and collective practice. Our commitment moving forward is simple and enduring: to honor the relationships that brought us here, to be clear about who we are becoming, and to co-create spaces where healing is possible—both individually and collectively.

We are grateful to everyone who joined us in this first year, shared space, and contributed their presence to this work. The journey continues, and we are honored to walk it together.

Riisa Rawlins, MSW

CEO of the Community Health Commission of Missouri