Archived Case Studies

Anti-lynching laws were not enforced and deep racial dividing lines were uncrossed in schools, in restaurants, and in public accommodations throughout the nation. Even the graveyard was a sanctioned division, reflected by a Georgia decree: “The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons…

When Dr. King spoke of his dream, he expressed hope that “we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.” Yet his vision of workers’ rights as the next phase of the civil rights struggle, a fundamental message frame of Dr. King’s legacy, has yet to be fully articulated or realized.

As strategic communications counselor to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), we trained a bright spotlight on health disparities while advancing RWJF’s mission to build a culture of health for all Americans. HEAL engaged audiences outside RWJF’s reach in new ways and maximized the Foundation’s brand influence. Its…

When California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 47 in November 2014, they cast an affirmative ballot for smart justice. By reclassifying low-level, nonviolent offenses as misdemeanors rather than felonies, Prop 47 takes aim at the soaring rates of incarceration. At the same time, the law reduces barriers to jobs,…

When Susan Burton’s 5-year-old son died in an accident, the fragile life she had pieced together amid poverty and hardship disintegrated. Reeling from the loss, she tumbled into a downward spiral of drug addiction.

No child should be locked in a room and interrogated by police because of his skin color. Yet that’s exactly what happened to a Utah teen who was caught up in a gang sweep at his high school because he “looked Mexican.” And it happens every day to thousands of Black, Latino and American Indian kids in schools across…

Amid the maelstrom of the Civil Rights Movement, everyday heroes took a stand for the right of Black Americans to vote. Jimmie Lee Jackson. Reverend George Lee. Viola Gregg Liuzzo. Herbert Lee. James Reeb. Brave souls who fought for what they knew was right. They paid for it with their lives. The right to vote is the…

Federal health data shows that obesity among Black women and girls is at epidemic levels, and linked to a host of chronic and deadly conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Gwen, embracing the data as a personal challenge, dropped 54 pounds and channeled that commitment into motivating and coaching…