Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation /TRHT Greater Chicago

Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation /TRHT Greater Chicago The mission of TRHT Greater Chicago is to promote healing and equity within individuals, neighborhoods, and communities.

To change the race narrative, galvanize transformation, erase the belief in racial hierarchy, and fight for racial equity.

05/12/2026

YES...our community-based organizations and institutions need increased funding to propel healing work forward. But beyond funding, we deserve support systems that help us steward resources well, build sustainable infrastructure, and continue serving our people with dignity.

Too many leaders in healing and racial equity spaces are carrying entire communities while also carrying their own exhaustion, grief, and lived experience.

This is why accountability partners matter. Not auditors or overseers, but compassionate hand-holders...people willing to walk beside grassroots organizations with patience, strategy, clarity, and care.

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can offer one another is a hand to hold while navigating the responsibility of serving our communities and caring for ourselves at the same time.

Organizations like TRHT are helping build ecosystems where healing-centered leaders are not only funded, but guided, nurtured, and treated with love and kindness. Because when accountability is rooted in love, leaders have room to breathe, plan, and heal too. And when that happens, our communities have a greater chance to truly heal from the inside out.

Let's normalize healing...đź’™

03/31/2026

đź’šOn behalf of Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Greater Chicago and the Solidarity Heals Movement, I am extremely grateful for the many relationships we've built and the challenges we have persevered through over the years. Heart work is hard work...but TRUTH is sharper than a double-edged sword and can cut through the most dense hatred, false narratives and misinformation. Yes, living truth obliterates the LIE. And guess what? There's nothing like a good 'ol Solidarity Circle to unearth what must be brought to light.

đź’šAnd while some folks run around wasting time questioning the power of the ancient healing circle, the rest of us are busy honoring the timeless, sacred circle and benefitting from its infinite potential. Not only am I blessed to do this heart work, but I am beyond blessed every time I get to witness the fruit of the sacred circle...and every circle yields its own fruit.

đź’šWe are still deep in our hearts following our poignant racial healing convening in Freeport Illinois near Rockford. Grateful for the invitation from the local branch of the NAACP to guide residents from different races and backgrounds through difficult but necessary conversations that lead to peace and understanding. The road to racial reconciliation says that we don't need to like a person's energy in order to respect their humanness. The work comes with learning to respect another human's space and their right to BE. Most people get stuck there. "I don't like this" or "I can't stand that"...and I always say, "Good luck with that stress."

đź’šMy mantra in the face of adversity is "Circle Up!!!" And that's what we did. Before we can change systems and policies, we must first change hearts and minds, and circles help humans explore issues on a deeper level by making a safe space for participants to share their frustrations, fears and hopes. In safe, sacred circle, we learn and gain deeper understanding of one another's circumstances, experiences and challenges.

đź’šThank you to Healing Illinois/ The Field Foundation of Illinois, IDHS and Rob Smooth (Englewood Arts Collective) for supporting this heart work that is truly building bridges across cultures and communities. I have the receipts!đź’š

01/08/2026

Thank you to the Suntimes for this poignant and timely Op-Ed.
Chicago is beautiful in its cultural preservation, home to the DOPEST artists and educators, yet complicated by deep inequities. Black families in our city face poverty rates nearly three times the overall average, and Latino families also carry disproportionate burdens in access to jobs, services, and opportunity.

The net worth gap between Black/Latino and White households here remains a stark reminder of structural exclusion...and yet, in that terrain of inequality WE STILL STAND... we keep striving. We are stronger together.

Thank you to everyone who has held this work with care and courage. We owe gratitude to the ancestors, to community voices unmuted, and to the everyday acts of bridge-building that happen quietly, faithfully, in our streets and homes.

Join us for the National Day of Racial Healing at Malcolm X College and let's listen to one another's powerful stories. Learn about TRHT's new home and strategy too! Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/national-day-of-racial-healing-2026-tickets-1979497977738?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Read full Op-Ed: https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2026/01/07/black-latino-communities-unite-national-day-racial-healing-pilar-audain

To our beloved commUNITY, Happy Día de los Mu***os!!!! Let’s continue to honor those whose shoulders we stand on. Set a ...
11/02/2025

To our beloved commUNITY, Happy Día de los Mu***os!!!! Let’s continue to honor those whose shoulders we stand on. Set a plate, pour a sip, sing a song. However you honor, make space for those who carried you here.

Our beloved predecessors deserve your light this season and beyond. Let the altars be alive with love and color, from the 31st to forever!!! Our Ancestors are the roots that keep us strong and united.

And as we enter our new week, let’s fill our homes with their laughter, our prayers with their names, our hearts with their lessons. Asé!! Ometeotl! Aho!!!

On Monday, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting my shero, La June Montgomery Tabron, President & CEO of the Kellogg Fo...
09/15/2025

On Monday, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting my shero, La June Montgomery Tabron, President & CEO of the Kellogg Foundation. She came to Chicago to present before a packed room of philanthropy leaders at the City Club.

Kellogg was the very first funder of Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) and continues to invest in place-based efforts in Michigan, New York, and beyond. To hear Ms. Tabron lift up TRHT’s work in this moment, when our nation and our city are in such need of repair, filled me with hope and renewed fire. This work is PEOPLE work. It's the heart work that our ability to THRIVE depends on.

I was deeply moved as she spoke of the power of circles and safe spaces now more than ever; how they build trust in places where love and connection have long been absent.

She reminded us that now, more than ever, TRHT must be supported, nurtured, and expanded.

Her message is a call to action: this is not a time to shrink back, but a time to lean into solidarity work, coalition building, and leadership development. Because it is in our collective power that transformation takes root. It is in our shared commitment that we begin to see a future shaped by justice, trust, and love.

Grateful to witness this moment, and even more committed to carrying the work forward. We are busier than ever as we prepare to share our refined strategy and grateful for it!!

We are honored that our Director and Healing Practitioner, Pilar Audain, will share her purpose and practice at the upco...
09/15/2025

We are honored that our Director and Healing Practitioner, Pilar Audain, will share her purpose and practice at the upcoming (CWIP) Leadership Summit, in partnership with (BECOME).

Pilar will highlight the power of RELEASE as a vital practice for all leaders, with particular focus on Women of Color who carry the weight of care on the frontlines. Her work across sectors embodies the TRHT Greater Chicago mantra: “Before we change systems and policies, we must first change hearts and minds.”

In her 45-minute session, Pilar will guide participants through one of her most cherished transcendental release modalities; an accessible practice that can be carried into daily life. Now more than ever, it is essential that we center and heal before making the vital decisions in boardrooms and at office tables that directly impact the lives of those we are called to protect.

She reminds us that the practice of healing is just as essential as the prose of healing. Speak it. Believe it. Become it. Join us.

Grateful!! It was an honor to open the annual Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy (CAAIP) fundraiser with a ground...
08/15/2025

Grateful!! It was an honor to open the annual Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy (CAAIP) fundraiser with a grounding rooted in good ol’ fashioned storytelling because our stories connect us, help us see ourselves in one another, and preserve our history through the spoken word.

The evening was lovely, with a “fireside chat” led by Field Foundation President Daniel Ash and featuring the incomparable Roland Martin. I was also thrilled to meet Morgan Elise Johnson, cofounder of The TRiiBE, in person after being recently featured for my appointment to the Chicago Reparations Task Force, and previously in 2024 for TRHT's work to heal relations between Migrants and residents.

These gatherings are like mini reunions for those of us on the grind! I got to reconnect with some superhero colleagues, see faces I hadn’t in years, and celebrate leaders making an impact. Congratulations to Social Impact Award honorees Scheherazade Tillet and Peggy Davis. Peggy holds a special place in my heart as the first funder of my S.E.L.F.F. Care Project for women of color.

It was also a joy to see my sister in the community, Keinika of Carlton, Inc. Events, whose top-notch planning always sets the tone for a beautiful evening.

Here’s to Black Philanthropy Month!! may we continue telling our stories, honoring our history, and building solidarity for the road ahead. 🖤

Peace. Love. Joy.Earth. Water. Wind.Healing. Release. Affirmation.Guided. Ancestral. Ancient.Ritual. Rhythm. Restoration...
06/04/2025

Peace. Love. Joy.
Earth. Water. Wind.
Healing. Release. Affirmation.
Guided. Ancestral. Ancient.
Ritual. Rhythm. Restoration.

If you are able, join community healers Aya Inti () and Iya Pilar (TRHT Director) on June 20th in their wellness offerings as they hold safe, sacred Spirit-U-Well space in honor of Juneteenth.

Please visit for details. One LOVE!

I am so grateful to be in community with such kind, compassionate souls such as our friends over at . I had a beautiful ...
06/03/2025

I am so grateful to be in community with such kind, compassionate souls such as our friends over at . I had a beautiful time celebrating the incredible support that the folks over at JGF provide to community-vested organizations across Illinois. And the cherry on top? Running into my long time brother in the wonderful world of youth dance, advocacy and mentorship, Pierre of Chicago!! An artistic evening of impeccable food, entertainment and connection.

Two nights ago beautiful souls gathered at the to view the premier debut of INVISIBLE GIANTS, a documentary created by ...
05/23/2025

Two nights ago beautiful souls gathered at the to view the premier debut of INVISIBLE GIANTS, a documentary created by Lifting As They Climbed Author/Sister Essence McDowell that illuminates the untold stories of Black women in Chicago and underscores the importance of preserving and honoring their sacred legacies!!! đź–¤

My Sister Essence did a beautiful thing!!! OMG!!!
I am still so very full. I am totally inspired. I am FULL of love and hope. I am READY. I am reminded of the POWERFUL legacies of Black women who shaped Chicago and the nation. I will continue to reclaim space in their honor; sacred spaces where we celebrate their leadership, creativity, and commitment to Black Excellence. Essence's commitment gave birth to an incredible visual journey that we won't soon forget. đź–¤

TRHT is so happy to be a co-sponsor of this historical project, alongside the Chicago Teachers Union; The Blackivists, UIC Women's Leadership and Resource Center and Learning Dimensions. May this work be like a heavenly SANKOFA that galvanizes our young to remember that they have the power to HEAL our communities! To BE Great!! To LIVE and THRIVE and LEARN!!! We are all the LOVE and INSPIRATION we need.
Grateful. The Ancestors are smiling. 💚🙏🏾

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The Chicago Community Trust
Chicago, IL
60601

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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