Healthy Black Families offers programs empowering individuals, families, and organizations to advance social equity and justice in the Black community through social programs and support groups, lifestyle educational programs, and educational and performance programs in the arts.

Our upcoming free After-School Arts Program will offer free classes in vocals and visual art, prioritizing Black youth ages 10-16. Our Sisters Together Empowering Peers program began in 2002 and is a peer-led support and empowerment group that addresses health and social inequities for African American parenting women in our community, providing education in areas such as access to essential goods and services, housing, education, job training, school readiness, and health information. Our Thirsty 4 Change program works with community partners to engage African-Americans in South and West Berkeley to support improved health including community gardening, shopping at farmer’s markets, education in nutrition and cooking, and a youth water ambassador program to increase community knowledge about the health impacts of sugar sweetened beverages. Through the Telling Our Stories program, we offer participants a safe space to address stressors associated with motherhood through self-expression in a communal writing space. This program has completed nine rounds of healing writing circles, culminating in eight self-published books. Our Kindergarten Readiness program provides African-American parents with educational information through community empowerment groups, educational forums, expert presentations, and workshops. Our free Soul Line Dancing program with dance instructor Valid Holmes and our free Gentle African Caribbean Movement program with dance instructor Karma Smart are each held weekly, providing instruction and a forum for community expression in African Diaspora dance styles for participants of all ages and levels. Our Celebrating the Bay Area’s Black Musical Heritage program premiered in 2019, presenting free programs honoring our Black musical legacy through live performances with living legends and tributes to departed heroes.