How We Heal: A Journey Toward Truth, Racial Healing, and Community Transformation from the Inside Out

by La June Montgomery Tabron

Overview

In How We Heal, La June Montgomery Tabron, President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, makes a powerful case for hope through racial healing.

From a vivid portrait of her childhood in 1960s Detroit to her leadership of one of the world's largest philanthropic institutions, La June shares her full-circle, American story—a coming-of-age journey where she gains a firsthand understanding of how systemic racism prevents our children and communities from thriving and learns about the transformative role healing can play in helping all of us transcend the legacy of racial inequity.

As she rises to her position as the first female and first African American leader of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, La June experiences the healing power of sharing and listening with empathy. And with the help of mentors and colleagues, she refines the message that will guide the foundation's mission for years to come: Healing can begin only with truth-telling.

Empowered by the mission set forth by its founder to support children and families "without regard to sex, race, creed, or nationality," the foundation explores a racial healing framework that transforms communities and individuals around the world—from small rural towns and big cities across the United States, including La June's own beloved Detroit, to Mexico, Haiti, and beyond.

This book serves as a testament to the power of transformation and a blueprint for how each of us, no matter who we are or how we lead, can use racial healing to bridge the empathy deficits in our communities.

How We Heal illuminates a path that all of us can follow—from trust to empathy, from understanding to repair—one conversation and one connection at a time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633311022
Publisher:	Disruption Books
Publication date:	01/14/2025
Sold by:	INDEPENDENT PUB GROUP - EPUB - EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	300
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

La June Montgomery Tabron is both the first woman and the first African American to serve as President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the world. In 2025, Montgomery Tabron was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in philanthropy. In 2023, Inside Philanthropy named her one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in US Philanthropy, and the New York Times named her a Groundbreaker at its annual DealBook Summit. She has spoken at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Clinton Global Initiative, the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, and the University of Oxford. She lives in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction: TOWARD HEALING AND HOPE

It was a Sunday in late June 1963 when a young minister from Atlanta, Georgia, visited my hometown of Detroit, Michigan. I was eight months old, the ninth of Herbert and Mary Louise Montgomery’s ten children, so I can only imagine the scene. Yet I can see it clearly in my mind’s eye.

I can picture Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marching down Wood- ward Avenue with as many as 250,000 of my neighbors. Together they comprised the Walk to Freedom, which was, at the time, the largest civil rights protest in United States history. It commemorated, in part, one of Detroit’s most notorious race riots, fomented two decades earlier—a riot that had claimed twenty-five Black lives, including seventeen at the hands of police.

I can feel the righteous, hopeful demand in the summer air: that our nation make good on its promise of democracy, of democratic values. The demand came less than two weeks after the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. Less than two weeks after Alabama Governor George Wallace stood for segregation in a schoolhouse door. One month after a group of brave students staged a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Jackson, Mississippi. Two months after the start of Dr. King’s Birmingham Campaign.

And I can hear, even now—amid the swirling of moral clarity and moral contradiction—Dr. King giving voice to his vision, his dream, which would define the American civil rights movement for the ages. This was an early version of the civic prayer that, through a mix of divine inspiration and improvisation, would two months later become one of the most important refrains in all American history—second only perhaps to the Declaration of Independence, to which Dr. King explicitly appealed.

“I have a dream,” he said in Detroit, “that one day, little White children and little [Black] children will be able to join hands as brothers and sisters."

He was talking about me.

I reflect on this moment for several reasons. First, because this dream—that every child, family, and community can thrive—came to inform and inspire my life’s purpose, too. Second, because of where Dr. King finally shared this dream in full, and where our spirits may have met: the Motor City, Motown, the Arsenal of Democracy—but also a workshop for democracy.

Detroit was and is my home. It’s the site of a grand but flawed exper- iment with multiracial pluralism, a city where hundreds of thousands of Black migrants, refugees from Jim Crow, moved for opportunity during the first half of the twentieth century. It’s a city where Americans of every color and creed have always dared to dream, to build, and to push the bounds of industry, enterprise, and equality. I like to think there was a reason that Dr. King first articulated his dream at Cobo Hall in Detroit, two months before he shared it from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

My story starts here—in this time, in this place. This is a Detroit story: one of faith and hope and love, of family and grace and gen- erosity. A story about the ways we, as a community, fall short—but also the ways we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin anew, time and again.

This, too, is an American story. As the poet Langston Hughes wrote, with wisdom that transcends generations:
 

America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!

 

It is a story about segregation, injustice, violence, and grief. It is a story about the power of truth—and through truth and connection, the possibility of healing.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: Toward Healing and Hope
CHAPTER 1: A Vicious Cycle
CHAPTER 2: Understanding the Empathy Deficit
CHAPTER 3: Speaking the Truth
CHAPTER 4: Clarifying Our Commitment
CHAPTER 5: How We Heal
CHAPTER 6: Facing Two Pandemics
CHAPTER 7: The Pursuit of Equity
CONCLUSION: Our Shared Fate

Editorial Reviews

"What makes How We Heal so vital in this moment is its unwavering commitment to justice—not as an abstract ideal but as a tangible goal that can be achieved through healing and reconciliation. Montgomery Tabron provides a thoughtful and practical roadmap for bridging divides, transforming communities, and ultimately reshaping systems that have perpetuated inequities for far too long. This book is more than a guide; it is a powerful call to action for all who seek to create meaningful, lasting change. For those willing to engage with the hard truths of our history, How We Heal is an indispensable resource and an inspiring beacon of hope."
—Stacey Abrams, New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, and political leader

"How We Heal by La June Montgomery Tabron resonated deeply with me. What sets this book apart is La June's emphasis on the power of truth-telling and empathetic listening as fundamental components of the healing process. Her narrative underscores the importance of sharing our stories and listening with empathy to bridge the divides that have long plagued our society.

La June's story is not just about her personal and professional triumphs; it is a clarion call to action for all of us. She challenges us to embrace racial healing as a means to build trust, foster empathy, and ultimately repair the fabric of our communities in a time when it often feels like we're holding on by a thread. This book is a blueprint for anyone seeking to make a difference, offering practical insights and strategies for using racial healing to address the empathy deficits that hinder our collective progress. It reaffirms the belief that healing is not only possible but essential for creating a more just and equitable society.

This book is a must-read for leaders, activists, and anyone committed to the cause of racial equity. It is a powerful reminder that healing begins with each of us. We are better, together."
—Mitch Landrieu, former White House Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator, and Founder of E Pluribus Unum

“How We Heal is a mission statement from one of the finest leaders in American philanthropy. As the first Black and woman President and CEO of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, La June Montgomery Tabron has helped usher in our current era of more equitable, inclusive, and socially responsible giving. In the process, she and her team have changed the lives of countless young people. I’m grateful for her leadership—and for all the guideposts she’s left for us to follow in this book.”
—Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League

"It’s easy to talk about transformation. It’s much harder to achieve sustained and meaningful impact. La June Montgomery Tabron has initiated seismic shifts at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation—all of them for the betterment of the organization and the people it serves. How We Heal charts this journey in vivid detail and makes a persuasive case that other leaders should follow in Montgomery Tabron’s sure footsteps."
—Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners

“In How We Heal, La June Montgomery Tabron provides what I believe is the oxygen of democracy: hope. By sharing her inspiring American story and her prescription for racial healing—the methodology for change she illuminates in this book—she extends the promise of a better, more just future for all in these pages.”
—Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation

"Tabron’s memoir offers a powerful account of success, and its social commentary challenges readers to persist in the fight for equality."
—Kirkus Reviews

"The prose is engaging and clear, breaking down complex social issues and philanthropic work into smaller pieces and then relating those to personal experiences. This not only results in a moving story but a well-argued case for racial healing methods."
—Foreword Reviews

From the Publisher

2024-09-16
In this nonfiction work, a nonprofit executive blends memoir and a vision for societal healing regarding race-related issues.

When she was 8 months old, Tabron’s parents, a Black couple, took her to a 1963 march headed by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Months later, when King famously spoke at the March on Washington of his vision of Black children “join[ing] hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers,” Tabron reflects that the minister and activist “was talking about me.” Throughout this book, the author connects her story to important events of the 20th century. As part of the Great Migration, her parents—Herbert and Mary Louise Montgomery—fled Jim Crow Mississippi in search of better opportunities in Detroit. However, their dreams of a northern Promised Land were short lived; Tabron recalls her experiences during the 1967 Detroit Rebellion, an event fueled by decades of discrimination and police brutality. She also writes of losing some of her best friends as white families left the city. Tabron’s story also is one of personal triumph: She joined the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in 1987 and would serve in various leadership roles there before becoming its first female and first Black president and chief executive officer. In this role, she helped to launch the National Day of Racial Healing in 2017, as the foundation committed itself to continuing the King’s work of “truth-telling and solidarity building.” Tabron’s memoir offers a powerful account of success, and its social commentary challenges readers to persist in the fight for equality. Pragmatic in its approach, this useful guidebook provides practical tips on how to effect change on interpersonal and local levels in the pursuit of racial healing. It’s helpfully backed by solid research that’s cited in more than 200 endnotes, and it convincingly demonstrates what the author calls the “fallacy of ‘colorblindness.’” It also effectively argues that King’s vision will never be attained until Americans collectively confront “uncomfortable realities about our history, our society, and our own unconscious beliefs.”

An inspiring story of personal success with valuable commentary on the quest to achieve a more just world.

Kirkus Reviews