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New York, NY (Wednesday, January 18, 2023) – On Monday, Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman of the Conference of National Black Churches (CNBC) and National Action Network (NAN) Board Chair, opened the NAN Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast, introducing Rev. Al Sharpton and joining President Joe Biden and national leaders in commemorating the legacy of Dr. King. Among those honored at this year’s breakfast were Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Arndrea Waters King and others who have demonstrated their commitment to upholding Dr. King’s mission.
In a statement, Dr. Richardson emphasized the significance of this year’s King Day and the work of CNBC in continuing the work of Dr. King.
“In the words of Dr. King, ‘of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.’ Sixty years after his revolutionary speech at the March on Washington and 55 years since Dr. King’s assassination, we find ourselves in a renewed fight as it relates to the public health of Black Americans,” said Dr. Richardson. “It is the vision and mission of Grace and CNBC to make 2023 a year of fighting for the protection of all rights that empower our physical, mental and spiritual well-being.”
With the question of health inequity still as poignant as ever, from lack of vaccine access to recent rollbacks of public health legislation, Dr. Richardson and CNBC have stepped in to fill the gap of access to healthcare and wellness within Black communities across the U.S.
At the peak of the pandemic, in recognition of the crucial influence of the Black church within the Black community, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with CNBC to launch the “Trusted Voices, Trusted Content, Trusted Spaces” Action Plan to address the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Black communities and awarded CNBC a multi-million-dollar grant award to this end. CNBC remains committed to the goal of public health access through various programmatic initiatives across the country, offering vaccinations, prostate cancer screenings, and inviting conversations around mental health in the Black community.
