(BLACK PR WIRE) – Community Healing Network (CHN) and the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) today announced the launch of an initiative called I Value Black Lives, in connection with this year’s celebration of Community Healing Days, on October 17, 18, and 19. I Value Black Lives is a call to action to bring an end to the dehumanization and devaluing of Black people in Ferguson, Missouri, and in communities across the country and around the world.

According to Enola Aird, president of CHN, “Race and skin color should not matter, but they do. Black lives should not be devalued, but they are-- which is why we need to be intentional about building a movement to value the lives of Black people.”

I Value Black Lives is a part of CHN’s continuing efforts, in collaboration with ABPsi, to build a global grassroots movement to overcome and overturn the lie of Black inferiority: the root cause of the devaluing of the lives of Black people.

I Value Black Lives builds on the late Dr. Maya Angelou’s Call to Wear Sky Blue urging people to take a stand against the myths of White superiority and Black inferiority. In honor of Dr. Angelou, founding chair of CHN’s Board of Advisors, CHN and ABPsi call on Black people to Wear Sky Blue during Community Healing Days to show that we value our lives and that we are determined to move, as Dr. Angelou said, "beyond the pain of the blues to the sky blue of unlimited possibilities."

CHN and ABPsi also call on Black people to reach out to family and friends to encourage them to come together in small groups (during and after Community Healing Days) to envision that future of “unlimited possibilities.”

“We must focus on the restoration of our full humanity and, as a first step, we need to boldly envision a future in which Black people’s lives are truly valued,” said Daryl Rowe, president of ABPsi.

CHN and ABPsi invite Black people to share their visions of a future of unlimited possibilities at www.communityhealingdays.com/reach-out -- to keep the healing conversation going.

CHN–is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization working to build a global grassroots movement to help Black people overcome and overturn the lie of Black inferiority and heal from the emotional legacies of enslavement and racism. www.communityhealingdays.com

ABPsi–is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization that promotes the profession of African psychology and develops programs to alleviate problems of Black communities and other ethnic groups. www.abpsi.org