Healing Systems: Advancing Community Health Equity
November 19, 2025
Fifteen years after the original We Dream a World report, new findings show progress — and persistent barriers — across education, health, employment, fatherhood and families, and justice.
We envision a nation where Black men and boys are empowered to thrive — free from systemic barriers, affirmed in their humanity, and supported in their full potential. In an age where progress is threatened and justice delayed, we are reclaiming our collective future with urgency, determination, and hope. Our vision is rooted in equity, guided by truth, and driven by the unwavering belief that the dreams of Black men and boys will not be deferred—they will be realized.
Meaningful progress requires more than marginal reform — it calls for a systemic overhaul. Policies and practices that dehumanize Black boys must be replaced with those that affirm their dignity, cultural identity, and right to succeed. Until then, the promise of education will remain unfulfilled for too many.
Employment and wealth are core to Black men’s well-being and sense of belonging. Structural racism has profoundly shaped disparities in both areas, denying Black men equitable access to economic mobility and security. From slavery, Black Codes, and convict leasing to Jim Crow labor restrictions, Black men have been exploited for their labor while their wealth-building opportunities were systematically stripped away.
Black fathers play a powerful and enduring role in the lives of their children and communities. Their care, protection, and guidance serve as anchors of strength and healing, grounding their children in cultural knowledge, pride, and identity in a society that too often places their very presence under scrutiny. To truly support Black boys and young men meaningfully, institutions must move beyond narrow definitions of fatherhood.
Black boys and young men in the United States face significant health challenges stemming from systemic inequities, environmental conditions, and limited access to quality healthcare. Over the past 15 years, the health sector has increasingly embraced concepts such as social determinants of health and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as frameworks for understanding health outcomes.
What is referred to as the “justice” system has, for Black communities, operated as a mechanism of exclusion and punishment, undermining hard-won rights and perpetuating injustices against them, particularly for Black boys and men.
We Dream a World is just one example of how The Moriah Group supports the nonprofit ecosystem — by producing data-informed, community-rooted resources that uplift the strengths and needs of Black men and boys.
But research alone is not enough.
Your support enables us to move from insight to action — fueling initiatives like Forward Promise and strengthening our ability to influence systems, inform policy, and sustain community-led solutions.
The Moriah Group accepts tax-deductible donations through Nafasi Fund, our nonprofit fundraising arm. Every contribution goes directly toward advancing racial equity and building thriving communities of color.
November 19, 2025
December 17, 2025
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