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Formerly Incarcerated Population Gets an Economic Boost

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 20:13:21 GMT

Successful Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) programs bring economic opportunity, security, and stimulation to an impacted population. Our partners, Equity and Transformation, have championed this success with their local GBI pilot program. The Chicago Future Fund is a GBI pilot program that offers $500 a month for 18 months without restrictions on how the money gets spent. While qualifications for GBI programs vary, the Chicago Future Fund requires applicants to be formerly incarcerated people aged 18-35 making less than $12,000 annually. The program's core objective is to alleviate the burdens associated with life after incarceration and enhance outcomes for formerly incarcerated individuals.

In their first round, the Chicago Future Fund had 30 participants from West Garfield Park. In their Evaluation Report, EAT finds that the monetary compensation provided a vital stabilizing force in participants' lives. EAT found that participants were eager to use the funds for housing and living expenses, and it reduced overall engagement with the informal economy as 44% of participants reported a decline in participation in activities related to the informal economy. The report suggests that securing employment could be improved if GBI programs were linked to workforce development programs that could bolster participants’ job searches.

As BlackRoots Alliance continues to support the safety and liberation of Black people, initiatives like GBI programs are important to build economic, social, and racial justice. The Chicago Future Fund Evaluation Report also outlines the impact on participants' interaction with police, mental health, and well-being. Conclusively, EAT finds that GBI programs should be an economic priority to address the hardships of directly impacted communities. To read more insights about the Chicago Future Fund and recommendations for future GBI programming, check out their round 1 evaluation report:

Add Hashtags: #EquityandTransformation #guaranteedbasicincome

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Community Driven Reparations

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 20:07:09 GMT

Reparations are defined as the making of amends for a wrong that one has done by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged and are given the horrifically oppressed groups of people by their oppressive nations, states, institutions, and or complicit corporations. In layman's terms, reparations are when the government tries to make up for the wrongs of the past to make it better in the present. In this case, we seek holistic reparations for Black people here in Chicago because of the impact of slavery, Jim Crow, anti-Blackness, and mass incarceration.

BlackRoots Alliance is working to hold lawmakers in Illinois accountable to Black folks. How we win this is through strength in numbers. We’re having community conversations all over the city to make sure Chicago becomes the next place to offer reparations to all Black people. We’re also going block by block to speak with Black Chicagoans at their doorstep about reparations and what that looks like for them.

Our goal is to take all of this feedback from our community canvassing and conversations and then turn that into policy language. We want to create a petition that folks can sign, we can get placed on the local ballot, and Black folks can vote for! Our reparations policy will reflect what community members want because they provide the foundation for it.

Black folks are winning reparations right in our backyard. Cities like Evanston are making sure that some Black people get reparations for legacies of slavery and anti-Blackness. Even in Chicago, survivors of police torture were also awarded reparations. In California, a reparations task force spent two years conducting research to release a report of recommendations to Black residents for the harm caused by slavery. Those findings were handed over to elected officials and a ballot initiative was born. The strategy used in California to get reparations on the ballot can work in Chicago if all Black folks work together and force the issue because we deserve reparations too.

Engaging with other dedicated Black folks is crucial, if we plan to ever make reparations a reality in our generation. BlackRoots Alliance wants to make sure all Black Chicagoans are a part of the conversation about what reparations can look like for us. Ask yourself these two questions and let us know what you have to say.

Do you think Black folks deserve reparations?
Who do you think is responsible for the payment of reparations to Black folks?

We look forward to hearing from you at our next community conversation on December 6th or by contacting our Network Organizer, Matthew Swalek .

Four Years and Counting.

Fri, 26 May 2023 20:07:09 GMT

In May of 2019, BlackRoots Alliance formally incorporated with a unique mission: a commitment to the safety and liberation of all Black people, promoting Black leadership and Black-centered community transformation as we work collectively to build socioeconomic power, heal our communities, and fundamentally transform our society.

Over the years we have helped support and amplify the work of our founding partners, EAT, SOUL, and GGE, and expanded our network to support the leadership development and capacity of Black Live Matter Chicago, Umedics, and most recently ChiCityFoods , Earthseed Black Family Archive Project and the Black Cornerstones Project . These organizations share our vision for reimagining what is possible for Black folks as we tackle pressing issues facing our communities. Their work is the bridge between the way the world is and the way the world should be, and we are thrilled to champion and promote their Black leadership.

Our Seeding the Future (STF) program has supported 23 grassroots leaders from partnering organizations in their projects within their communities. We offered leadership development, networking opportunities, and over $100,000 in financial support so leaders could organize within their neighborhoods. The STF program brings people together to explore new opportunities for their neighborhoods and sow seeds that result in increased community, civic engagement, and an expansive ability to dialogue about social issues and politics. We are about to launch our next cohort, so be on the lookout for more information soon.

We are realizing Black-centered community transformation and collective work towards transforming society by facilitating door-to-door community conversations and expanding public discourse. For years we have been talking to community members about issues like racial equity in cannabis legalization, public health and safety, and reparations for chattel slavery.

Our conversations have focused on uncovering and healing internalized anti-Blackness while finding the similar threads between our individual stories and weaving those threads into a civic engagement that provides concrete, on-the-ground assessments of what is needed for Black people to thrive. We are excited to continue the conversation with you.

Join us from 1-3 pm CST on Saturday, June 3 to participate in our next community conversation on reparations hosted at the Chatham-Avalon Church at 8601 S State Street. We’ll continue to unpack these two main questions: what would reparations look like for you and how reparations could impact your family? You can register NOW for this free event here ! For any questions or more information please contact our Director of Organizing, Lorne Runnels, at lorne@blackrootsalliance.org.

Our health should be a top priority.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 20:07:09 GMT

In order for us to build a better future, we have to be willing to let go of the practices and traditions that are not in alignment with the values of the future we’re trying to build. While we’re still unlearning traditional “work” culture, we’re implementing methods that proactively address burnout. Burning out has no value in the future that we want to build. Time is the most valuable currency, and we’re building a work culture where we spend our time currency on soul expansion, creative exploration, and never on capitalist exploitation. This is paramount for minority health, especially in organizing spaces.

For us, liberation that’s equitable and transformative requires an intentional reimagining of how the self-determination of Black health impacts our community’s needs. Umedics is a great example of creating pathways to transformative relationships to help, through their asthma and seizure support training, their new partnership with the South Side Birth Center to support the health of people who are giving birth, as well as their gunshot wound training that can respond to community health during a crisis. EAT also takes time to center Black health through its yoga series. Grow Greater Englewood is changing the way Black communities relate to health by reigniting our connection to the land that grows our food, and creating thriving marketplaces where local people can get access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Everything that works requires rest; it’s part of the process of “working”. Even your phone needs to be turned off and restarted. For this reason, BlackRoots Alliance fosters a culture where folks can be dedicated to the mission without the need to glorify the culture of overworking. For those of us in Chicago, we hope you take the changing weather as a time to enjoy your rest outdoors, and for everyone to take the change in seasons as a signal to listen to the wisdom of the planet, and honor your own cycles of rest, renewal, and rebirth.

How are you protecting or improving your health? How do you know when you need to rest? Let us know in the comments below.

Black History is American History

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 20:07:09 GMT

We’ve approached the end of another Black History Month where America attempted to recognize all things Black for 28 days. Here at BlackRoots Alliance, we know that Black history is made 365 days a year. Black history is American History, our ancestors built the foundation of this country and we, as their descendants, are committed to improving it!

Our partners are changing the course of history. Equity and Transformation (EAT) launched the Chicago Futures Fund , a guaranteed income program that is interrupting cycles of poverty in the lives of formerly incarcerated people. Grow Greater Englewood’s Nature Trail is reclaiming the physical land for the self-determination of Black community spaces. Earthseed Black Family Archive Project’s Ancestral Reparations Cohort is healing family histories by looking to a future where harm is repaired. Black people are leading innovative work concerning reparations, health, and economic security.

Black History Month is a month to celebrate Black accomplishments and imagine bright, Black futures. We are eager to move forward in this new year with absolute conviction that our people will continue to press on toward new heights of transformative justice. One way we are transforming the criminal legal system is through our Survivor’s Healing Project, where we’re reimagining community safety and exploring prison abolition with a committee of sexual assault, violence, and harassment survivors. For more information about this work contact Tomicka Glenn at tomicka@blackrootsalliance.org .

BlackRoots Alliance is conducting a city-wide project in collaboration with the Black Public Defenders Association (BPDA) and a Northwestern University research team. We want to hear from the Black community about their experiences with safety and the criminal legal system to then host more meaningful community forums and craft policy demands for supporting safe and thriving communities. If you’re interested in being interviewed please contact Gabby Green at gabby@blackrootsalliance.org or Lorne Runnels at lorne@blackrootsalliance.org .

BlackRoots Alliance is expanding the conversation around what it means to build toward Black liberation. We learn from our history so that we can intentionally shape the future. For this reason, we’re supporting community-led visions of thriving by incorporating everyone’s dreams into creating a new world that centers our freedom. For more information on how you can get involved please contact us !

Reparations

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 20:07:09 GMT

At BlackRoots Alliance our mission is to support the safety and liberation of all Black people, promote Black leadership, and cultivate Black-centered community transformation as we work collectively to build social, economic, and racial justice, heal our communities, and fundamentally transform our society. We fight for our liberation from a place rooted in love for all Black people.

Today, states and cities across America are calling for councils or task forces, to study the connection between the State, chattel slavery, discrimination, and racial disparities in the Black community. Last year, California became the first state to adopt a law to study and develop proposals for potential reparations to descendants of enslaved people and those impacted by slavery. More recently, St. Paul, Minnesota , created a committee dedicated to reparations for descendants of enslaved Africans.

Inside our capitol at Springfield, state lawmakers are introducing reparation bills that start conversations on statewide involvement with multiple aspects of anti-Blackness. This month, the House heard the first reading of HB0997 introduced by Representative LaShawn Ford. This bill creates hiring preference for American descendants of chattel slavery which provides reparations through the framework of employment.

Chicago has taken some action against the historical racist structures they’ve built and enforced. In 2015, Chicago paid $5.2 million to several dozens of people tortured by the Chicago Police “Midnight Crew,” from the 1960s and 1970s. The midnight crew was a group within the Chicago Police Department given specific instructions to harass people of color. Reparations looked like direct pay compensation, a change in the city's public school curriculum to teach about police torture, waived tuition at city colleges for victims and families, a memorial monument, and a formal apology from the former mayor, Rahm Emanuel.

BlackRoots Alliance has partnered with Earthseed Black Family Archive Project on their facilitation of the second Ancestral Reparations Cohort. The Earthseed Black Family Archive Project is a collective archival history project with the intention of healing through exploration, creation, and storytelling. It also explores reparations as part of a journey to heal their family stories. Nine cohort members will be creating something at the end of their time in the project that can serve as a visual representation of their research and experience in the program.

We’ve also canvassed Chicago communities asking people for their biggest imagination of what reparations could be and how it would impact their families. As we move forward, we want to bring more diverse Black perspectives into the conversation because Black people are not a monolith, so we want to ensure that all Black voices have an opportunity to speak up and speak out about reparations.

So let's keep the conversation going. Join us and Earthseed Black Family Archive Project Saturday, February 25th, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm CST for our free event, Reparations: Past, Present, and Future Models of Healing and Liberation .

We’ll be bringing together thought leaders, cultural workers, and activists to discuss what reparations could mean for Black folks living in America specifically in the Chicagoland area.

Education Justice

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 13:58:43 GMT

The state of public education in Chicago has struggled with overcrowding, financial crises, racism, divestment, and wage theft of educators. Stemming back to the early days of Chicago’s incorporation into a city, these issues have been planted into the foundation of this district. There’s been numerous superintendents and board members who have failed the children of Chicago. With the different administrations and approaches to managing public education affairs for such a large district, there have been countless missed opportunities to correct past mistakes. The Chicago Teachers Union was formed out of a response to an emergent need within the community: ensuring our children receive the best education possible.

There was a time in Chicago’s history that teachers were being paid with IOUs or not at all, literally. The school-agers of our city deserve to be taught by folks who feel appreciated and are paid properly for their contributions to the community. Parents and students recognize the huge importance of our educators and stand with them to ensure they thrive. This solidarity was the catalyst for the birth of the Chicago Teachers Union. September is the 10-year anniversary of this historic teacher's union strike.

The Chicago Teachers Union's mission is comprised of seven pillars of education justice including but not limited to childhood development, protection of teacher’s rights, and equitable education. Its affiliations include the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL), the Illinois State Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (ISFL-CIO), the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

The Chicago Teacher’s Union has been working feverishly to protect the health of all students and their teachers by decreasing the spread of the coronavirus. They’ve confronted opposition from some parents and the current mayoral administration. Their response to this persecution has always been a deep commitment to ensuring the city of Chicago keeps the infection rate down and never ends another school year with 22,000 positive cases. A big component of equitable education is to create an environment that feels safe so children can flourish. It’s hard to accomplish that when they’re confronted with sickness and uncertainty.

BlackRoots Alliance is dedicated to education justice because it’s a huge milestone towards experiencing Black liberation. We know that every Black child should have a robust and rigorous public education. We also know that supporting the Chicago Teachers Union is a necessary step towards realizing a better future for our children and the generations to come.

Rest is Work Too

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 20:07:09 GMT

I recently realized I have been in community organizing, in one way or another, for 18 years. I hardly feel old enough to have nearly two decades in a career, but since 2004 I have been working to build a better future for Black people and a system that works for everyone.

I have had some amazing career highlights, like winning the minimum wage campaign, being a delegate to the 2016 DNC, and founding BlackRoots Alliance. Here I am, in the future, and I am so incredibly tired. I’ve burned out at least twice that I can recognize. My extreme tiredness is a sign that the slow burn of dedicated work could turn into full-on burnout if I do not do something.

Everything that works requires rest; it’s part of the process of “working”. Even your phone needs to be turned off and restarted. Reflecting on my experiences with burnout, I wanted BlackRoots Alliance to have a culture where folks were dedicated to the mission without the need to glorify the culture of overworking. We have had generous leave policies from nearly the beginning, currently experimenting with 4-day work weeks, and this year, inspired in part by one of our partners ( Ujimma Medics ) and part by my own experience of burnout, we took the first ever week-long summer sabbatical right after Juneteenth.

I am encouraged by the topics of this article, The Great Awakening: Redefining Work, Values, and Purpose , because I think in order for us to build a better future, we have to be willing to let go of the practices and traditions that are not in alignment with the values of the future we’re trying to build. While I am still unlearning traditional “work” culture, I don’t want people to leave BA because they’re burned out. Burning out has no value in the future that I want to build.

Time is the most valuable currency, and I am dreaming of a work culture where we spend our time currency on soul expansion, creative exploration, and never on capitalist exploitation.

April Policy Corner

Sat, 16 Apr 2022 00:39:03 GMT

Starting in June 2024, BlackRoots Alliance launched Reinvest to Repair (R2R) . R2R was a research project to create meaningful dialogue among Black Chicagoans about reparations, centering community voices in the pursuit of reparative justice. Over six months, we conducted over 200 interviews, hosted workshops on the South and West sides, and conducted statewide polling of Black Illinois residents.

This work provided powerful insight into the concerns, frustrations, and hopes of Black Chicagoans, shaping the recommendations we ultimately developed. The overwhelming majority of participants envisioned a future rooted in communalism. Many participants also wrestled with bootstrap narratives—the idea that "we are our own worst enemy." However, deeper discussions revealed an understanding that systemic oppression, not personal failings, was the root of economic disparities, and these conversations actively challenged and worked to dismantle those outdated beliefs. There was also an apparent demand for material change. Symbolic gestures and performative politics were widely rejected.

After analyzing the interviews, our team, with collaborators, Black Researchers Collective and Liberation in a Generation , developed policy recommendations for Chicago focused on structural change.

Comprehensive Reparations : Reparations must extend beyond one-time financial compensation and include investments in community infrastructure, education, homeownership, and business development.
Systemic Change & Policy Reform : Reparations should not only address financial inequalities, but also demand the implementation of anti-racist policies in policing, education, housing, and employment.
Investment in People and Neighborhoods : Mental health and community wellness programs should be prioritized to help Black Chicagoans heal from the trauma caused by systemic racism and violence.
Collaboration & Accountability : Establish strong partnerships between local government, community organizations, and Black leadership to implement reparations initiatives effectively.

Reinvest to Repair was not just about gathering information—it was about building momentum for real change. The insights from these interviews will inform our ongoing work and shape policy proposals that reflect the actual needs and desires of Black Chicagoans!

Click Here to Read the Whole Reinvest2Repair Report:

Intergenerational Organizing

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 20:07:09 GMT

Grassroots organizing and capacity-building are core to BlackRoots Alliance’s values. Our mission is to support the safety and liberation of all Black people, promote Black leadership and cultivate Black-centered community transformation as we work collectively to build social, economic, and racial justice, heal our communities and fundamentally transform our society. We have to ensure this work is rooted in an intergenerational approach.

A generation is defined as a “birth cohort,” a group of people born around the same time and raised around the same place who possess similar preferences, characteristics, and values over a lifetime. Each generation is influenced by how they were parented and the way in which technology and events – such as the Kennedy assassination, 9/11, or the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic – shape their belief systems on how the world operates. Since aging is universal, bridging generational differences is an important yet often overshadowed part of the organizing conversation.

Ageism must be addressed alongside the work we do to address other ‘isms. Ageism , also spelled agism , is stereotyping and/or discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. While this term was initially coined to describe the experience of seniors, stereotyping and discrimination know no age. You can hear hints of ageism when elders talk about “kids these days” while dismissing the experience of youth. Like all ‘isms, practicing ageism is a learned behavior, and it is important to be aware of how our thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors can stereotype and dismiss people because of their age.

Everyone approaches life from their unique lens, and when we can value the worldview of all in our community, we’ll be able to see the kaleidoscope of justice more clearly. Real transformative change requires us to stop strategizing within generational silos. Each generation has particular needs and visions for their future, based on the cultural conditions under which they were raised. And if those of us who may be seen as “elders” are honest with ourselves, we can remember how much we resented being dismissed because we were young.

From another perspective, those of us who see ourselves as "youth" can learn from the successes and challenges of generations before us, taking care to honor their experience and apply the lessons they've learned to our own lives. We all have something to teach and something to learn. Wisdom shows up at every stage of life, and if we are to pass on this planet to future generations, we must recognize the wisdom in one another.

Regardless of your age group or “generation”, we can all practice bridging different age groups by being open-minded and curious about new ideas, outlooks, approaches, and values. Ask clarifying questions instead of making assumptions. Be willing to teach and be taught, you can share your experience without defaulting to ‘when I was your age’ or dismissing others' perspectives as “antiquated”.

What other ideas do you have about bridging generational gaps? Let us know in the comments below.

BlackRoots Alliance Podcast Series: The Grove

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 20:07:09 GMT

The Grove Podcast will introduce you to grassroots movers and shakers in Chicago. We’ll go over how all these organizations got started, introduce you to the work they are doing, and get their expert insight into the issues they’re working to remedy.

In this episode, Douglas Williams, a former BA intern, interviewed Kelly Yu, Ariana Steele, and Matthew Manning about their work helping people of different identities express themselves. They explored the power of narratives, how to create an open space, and self-care during a terrifying year (2020).

POC Narrative Building

Intergenerational Organizing is Necessary

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 20:07:09 GMT

Ageism must be addressed alongside the work we do to address other ‘isms. Ageism, also spelled agism, is stereotyping and/or discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. While this term was initially coined to describe the experience of seniors, stereotyping and discrimination know no age. You can hear hints of ageism when elders talk about “kids these days” while dismissing the experience of youth. Like all ‘isms, practicing ageism is a learned behavior, and it is important to be aware of how our thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors can stereotype and dismiss people because of their age.

What other ideas do you have about bridging generational gaps? Let us know in the comments below.

National Day of Mourning

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 20:07:09 GMT

For some people, Thanksgiving Day is a celebration of gratitude topped off with a delicious spread of food. From turkey prepared multiple ways, to appetizing sides such as dressing, baked macaroni and cheese, and green beans, to dessert options like sweet potato pie or banana pudding. This national holiday is celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well. However, many Native people do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims & other European settlers, because it marked the beginnings of their cultural genocide.

For them, the fourth Thursday of November is their day of protest known as the National Day of Mourning . The National Day of Mourning isn't just an American protest, it's a global one. This day is a reminder of all the injustices indigenous people have had to endure at the hands of colonizers and White supremacy. It is a remembrance of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the erasure of Native cultures. Participants in the National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. The goal is to educate Americans about history.

BlackRoots Alliance fights for the liberation of all Black people. We understand oppression, genocide, erasure, racism, and injustice. Some of our issues and fights mirror those being fought by our Native American comrades. We’re committed to recognizing, dismantling, and eradicating White Supremacy and all the systems born from it. We strive to reimagine a world where equity exists for the most marginalized of groups. Knowing this history and struggle, we have decided to support and honor the National Day of Mourning.

BlackRoots Alliance will only recognize the fourth Thursday of November by this name. We encourage all of our partners, allies, and supporters to take this act of defiance and view it as an opportunity of solidarity. If you feel compelled to take your action a step further, reflect on how you can support organizations dedicated to Native American rights such as Chi-Nations Youth Council . This local group was created in 2012 and comprises a diverse group of youth and adults, with a mission to create a supportive, open environment for Native Youth, raise awareness of cultural identity, and promote a healthy lifestyle through arts, activism, and education.

Homelessness and Reimagining Safety

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 20:07:09 GMT

Chicago is America’s fourth-largest metropolis that houses people of different cultures, ethnicities, races, and socioeconomic classes, including an estimated 80,000 people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Although in Chicago the unhoused population was in decline, in the wake of Covid-19, we have seen homelessness increase . Now displacement is a longstanding matter that has bothered institutions and corporations for years. It is for many an inevitable part of a capitalistic society, and the “winners'' in our society see it as a nuisance to the neighborhood, to property value, and to “peace”.

We have consistently denied the homeless population their deserved respect in our policy and in over-policing. BlackRoots Alliance believes that has to change. Our communities will be safer when individuals experiencing homelessness receive the love and humanity they deserve. We support the Chicago Homeless Union and their political pushes which include improved access to affordable housing.

Homelessness in and of itself is criminalized especially in Chicago: 25% of homeless people nationwide report being arrested for a crime related to their displacement status. Chicago’s anti-peddling laws in particular, and zoning laws restrict individuals experiencing homelessness and remove them from urban areas they consider their homes. It also limits their ability to make money. Overrepresented in Cook County jail, people experiencing homelessness are often a part of the vicious homelessness-prison pipeline that makes it even harder for individuals to transition to independent living.

While the most recent criminal justice reform bill has named this injustice, in order to understand Chicago homelessness you must understand Chicago’s failed plan for transformation and the harm that has already been caused. The plan for transformation tore down most housing projects and evicted nearly 20,000 public housing residents from 1997- 2004. Nearly half of evicted residents have not been provided replacement housing.

Some communities continue to thrive or become revitalized. Others are left to make do with what they have on hand. Those neighborhoods are no stranger to their residents experiencing layoffs, deportations, incarcerations, tragedies, or misfortunes. Since assistance is built on a first-come-first-serve basis, folks in transition have few options when finding affordable, stable housing.

People experiencing homelessness often couch hop between friends and family, live in shelters, sleep in cars, or survive on the streets. For those populations living in tent communities, safety is often a luxury rather than a reality. And due to the ways in which employment requires you to have a permanent address, even when assistance is received, securing a job presents challenges when experiencing homelessness.

BlackRoots Alliance offers ideas and not exact solutions. We aren’t experts or thought-leaders on how to end homelessness. As an organization striving for Black liberation, we stand in solidarity with homeless communities, and with the Chicago Homeless Union. We believe that community safety should be dictated by those living there, including people experiencing housing insecurity.

We need to be offering support for those in transition. We understand that present conditions need to be rectified so future experiences are changed for the better. It's time for all community members to be the initial point of contact when decision-making tables are being created. For far too long, those who are impacted most are left out of conversations regarding their futures.

Juneteenth Recap

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 20:07:09 GMT

For two powerful days, BlackRoots Alliance honored Juneteenth by leading a discussion on the fight for Black liberation. For the first day, we had a panel of speakers to discuss reparations, how reparations can lead to liberation, and the current structures prohibiting Black imagination. On the second day, we reflected on our personal role in the fight for Black freedom, took time to heal from generational trauma with an instructor, and then ended with a commitment to champion the decolonization of Black folks.

Our panelists represented some very dope organizations including Sistas in the Village , Ujimaa Medics , and Media 2070 . All of these individuals were able to speak to concepts of community safety, urban gardening, police brutality, storytelling, self-care, and a better future for all Black people. Some of the most dynamic quotes from our speakers were:

"We need to have agency over the land that we own and generational wealth is tied to that." Bweza Itaagi for Sistas in the Village
"We hear about people getting a bag well we're trying to get the land." Mecca Bey for Sistas in the Village
"Reparations and liberation aren't the same thing." Martine Caverl for Ujimaa Medics
"Black folks from the diaspora are owed reparations for the harm caused especially by media." Diamond Hardiman for Media 2070

Our mission is to support the safety and liberation of all Black people, promote Black leadership and cultivate Black-centered community transformation as we work collectively to build social, economic, and racial justice, heal our communities and fundamentally transform our society. This Juneteenth event was developed from the core of who we are and why we do this work; our fundamental love for all Black people. Please sign our "fight for reparations" pledge card right here !

In celebration of Juneteenth!

Mon, 24 May 2021 20:07:09 GMT

Here at Blackroots Alliance, we’re fighting for the liberation of all Black people. A part of that work is remembering the struggles and triumphs of our ancestors. Our afro-futuristic vision holds at the center acknowledging past efforts, celebrating present wins, and radically imagining future gains. One of the methods we utilize to share our work and ideas, in a pandemic, is to host virtual events.

Juneteenth has a long history, dating back to 1865. On June 19th of that year, Union soldiers landed in Galveston, TX with the news that the Civil War had ended, and shared the details of the Emancipation Proclamation with slaves who had no idea that they had been freed for over two years. A year later, the inaugural Juneteenth celebration kicked off, and we are now part of that legacy of celebration and reflection.

Juneteenth is an opportunity to recognize that freedom and equality for Black people in America has been deferred, but it also presents an opportunity for us to fully participate in our own path to liberation and claim freedom for ourselves in the future. Moreover, 2020 saw colossal shifts in society, and Black communities felt the full force of the 2020 impact as a moment to organize a new Civil Rights Movement

We’re excited about our upcoming event called “Just Work: A celebration of Juneteenth and Afrofuturism .” The occasion will premiere on Friday, June 18th from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm. BlackRoots Alliance will celebrate all of our wins on this Juneteenth, towards realizing liberation for all marginalized communities, especially our own. We know once all Black people are free, then everyone will experience equity where it didn’t exist before.

We’re formally inviting you to this FREE affair, as a supporter of our work. We plan to engage, inform, celebrate, and brainstorm around our next steps and how to achieve them, together. If you’re interested in attending, please follow this link to RSVP . Our guest panelist and artists include: Seft Hunter, Aislinn Pulley, Danielle Slaughter, Anton Seals, Les James, Mike Strode, Rae Stanton, Helen G., and Kayla Brown. A reminder email will be delivered closer to that day. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon.

BlackRoots Alliance Anniversary

Mon, 03 May 2021 20:07:09 GMT

“All Men are created equal”, except in the eyes of the U.S. government who has steeped themselves in inequality since those words were ascribed to our “founding fathers.” People like to claim that we’ve learned since then, that we’ve “evolved” as a society and now “everyone is as equal as they want to be.” The same “color blind” folks tend to have a distaste for conversations about reparations, citing that they aren’t needed now because “no one alive today owned slaves, and no one alive today was a slave.”

The missing nuance in these types of discussions is that while many policies have changed (i.e. chattel slavery and voting rights), the impact of those historical policies have lingering effects that must be addressed. For example, the fact that the 13th amendment and the current trend of voter suppression seek to use loopholes in those policy changes to continue to keep people enslaved and unable to inform our democracy. The fact that there are loopholes at all show that the system never intended to make good on it’s promise of freedom for Black people.

Slavery is a scar on our history and the depth of this social scar tissue pains everything that has come after it. H istory speaks to a particular trajectory, and if we don’t uncover this difference between reparations and “redistributing wealth”, we will miss another opportunity to place a demand on a system that owes Black people and we will neglect to own the reality that white privilege is based on a system that was built by slaves.

Reparations isn’t about taking from people and giving to other people, it’s about righting a system that was designed to fail a particular group of people, and applying equity to that system in order to repair the promise of the American dream.

It does not matter if you, white people who may be reading this, didn’t have ancestors who owned slaves. The fact remains that you have been reconciled into a system that defaults to whiteness and white-like things as the standard, and biases against those with the furthest proximity to whiteness -- those who are black and whose ancestors were once slaves.

To quote Jimmy Kimmel , ‘White privilege doesn’t mean your life hasn’t been hard. It just means the color of your skin isn’t one of the things that makes it harder.’ So actually white folks, this isn’t about you. It’s about a debt the corporate system of America owes Black people, and if reparations is done right, you might still be able to benefit from it because you’re white and you somehow find a way to benefit from everything.

Reparations doesn’t have to be direct cash, although that is one way to do it. Reparations could be any systemic change that substantially changes the living conditions of Black descendants of slaves and those impacted by anti-Black racism. It could be forgiving student loan debt for Black borrowers, or free college education, because race makes it harder to get to college, stay in college, and find jobs after college in the first place. It could be grants (not loans) for housing, given the history of racial redlining in the industry. It could be almost anything that can be imagined, but that imagining must be done by Black people, because we are the most directly impacted by the post-slavery condition. Many efforts are underway to focus this radical imagination, like HR 40, but before legislation is passed, Black people need to weigh in.

Conversations about reparations aren’t new to the American lexicon. In fact, reparations were paid out to slave owners for “loss of property” after our ancestors were freed in 1865. It is also not “new” to consider reparations for Black descendants of African Slaves— the idea of “40 acres and a mule”, while not exactly reparations, was partially offered by General Sherman in Special Field Orders, No. 15 to address the swelling needs of freed slaves, but it was rescinded shortly after by President Andrew Jackson. There are plenty of historical efforts that dangled carrots of reparations in front of freedom-hungry Black people, only to snatch those dreams away because this system never intended for us to be equal.

Equity and equality are not the same thing. Freedom and liberation aren’t quite synonymous either, at least not practically related to public policies and social practices. Equity is when you give people what they need in order for them to be equal to the people who already got theirs. But the wild part about reparations is that when Black people get free, everyone gets free. A rising tide lifts all boats. The concept behind reparations is that a debt is owed to a group.

Revolution or reparations ? Or maybe both? Whatever is required of us now, we have to decide which world we want to live in. The choices are not Black and White, but they are for all of us or for none. Which path will we choose?

What is clear to me is that any path that leads to things remaining the same, will lead to complete systems failure and societal collapse, because as our griots and prophets have warned, the dream deferred may explode. Reparations would address historic harm and invest in future growth in a way that is uniquely America— by providing for the needs of all tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free. And no one is struggling to breathe like Black American descendants of slaves.

We're tired of our people having to take the bitter with the sweet.

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 20:07:09 GMT

Last week the Chauvin guilty verdict was announced. And we at BlackRoots Alliance have been taking the time to process what this moment means to us. George Floyd was a father, brother, family man, and beloved community member. His brother, Philonise, described his sibling during his testimony as “a leader to us in the household, he would always make sure we had our clothes for school, make sure we would get to school on time...he just was like a person that everybody loved around the community. He just knew how to make people feel better."

This was the human being that former Minneapolis Police Department officer, Derek Chauvin, brutally murdered in front of a terrified and pleading crowd. He kneeled on George’s neck and back for eight minutes and 46 seconds. His last words consisted of begging for his life and calling to his deceased mother, Larcenia, who passed two years prior. According to Dr. Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist based here in Chicago, George died from cardiopulmonary arrest caused by low oxygen levels brought on by prone restraint and positional asphyxia. The torture he must have experienced is indescribable, and no guilty verdict will ever bring him back.

So what can we do about it now? We can practice justice by loving one another, and continue to work to build a world where justice manifests as systems that do not cause harm in the first place. BlackRoots Alliance shares the bittersweet verdict of guilt for former Officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd -- recognizing that is not a perfect outcome. The reality is that most officers have not been held accountable for their murderous actions and even fewer have faced the full provisions of the law -- for every Derek Chauvin that actually does jail time, there are hundreds of Brett Hankison's .

We are also compelled to note that in this disparity lies another painful truth of the criminal legal system -- jails don’t solve our problems and while we can agree that Chauvin was guilty, the system of mass incarceration also locks away innocent people and rips away humanity. There are hundreds of predominantly Black people who have been incarcerated for crimes they didn’t commit, like Anthony Ray Hinton or The Exonerated 5.

The legacy of modern-day policing is rooted in the slave patrols that hunted our ancestors. That legacy extends into the present, as they enslave our siblings through the system of mass incarceration. One time “getting it right” does not heal the wounds from all the times the system gets it wrong. The very next day after Chavin was found guilty, another officer murdered a teenager, Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio and police rapidly positioned themselves to explain away this murder because apparently a bullet and a butter knife are the same thing. The whole idea of justice in the criminal legal system can sometimes feel like a grotesque charade.

At BlackRoots Alliance, part of our mission is to support the safety and liberation of all Black people. Liberation can only happen when we feel safe. Over the last year, we talked with hundreds of people about their worldview related to public safety. Many brought up the need to feel safe from crime, and many others brought up the need to feel safe from the police. The bottom line is time and time again, we have had to mourn for our fallen siblings from both crime and from police brutality.

So many of us are tired of living constant cycles of grief and trauma, where no outcome soothes our broken hearts. While many feel that police do not keep us safe, what is also true is that the disparate impact of economic, housing, and educational policies also threatens our safety and keeps us from being able to thrive. As a complex, and nuanced community, we can feel the sting from both of these pains and recognize that at the root of both is a calling to create a system that keeps everyone safe and provides for all of their basic human needs.

This country’s law enforcement exists on a foundation of racism and oppression . We’re calling for a complete reimagining of all systems and relationships to safety. Black communities deserve indemnity from economic and psychological terrorism that connects the issue of police and crime. We are requiring that our communities are the decision-makers when it comes to identifying safety for themselves.

BlackRoots Alliance is committed to wrestling with all of the mixed feelings and ideas related to policing and crime, and we welcome you to join our conversation and get involved to shape a new world built on true justice, which as Dr. Cornel West said, is what love looks like in public.

Women's Herstory Month

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 19:26:35 GMT

Here at BlackRoots Alliance we continue to be proud of the mighty ecosystem of Black women we belong to. We’re working tirelessly on numerous campaigns but the most noteworthy is reparations. We want to use Women’s History Month to uplift the work of the Black women who are the mothers of this movement. The likes of Audley “Queen Mother” Moore , Callie House , Belinda Sutton , and countless other community champions, should be given all their accolades. We have to recognize the importance of sharing the untold stories of women whose legacies have inspired change.

Queen Mother nursed modern Black liberation. She embraced a vision of radical Black independence. She was able to link her struggle with that of other radicals around the world. Her pamphlet, Why Reparations? , is a call-to-action for the economic security and political freedom of more than 25 million descendants (at that time) of Black American slaves. At the time, its publishing coincided with the 25th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, making it an relevant reflection on the impact of chattel slavery. Queen Mother also organized the Reparations Committee for United States Slaves’ Descendants, Inc., their main goal was to seek monetary compensation dispersed to descendants of Black American slaves.

Callie House was a leader of the National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association , one of the first organizations to campaign for reparations for slavery in the United States. She organized hundreds of thousands of people calling for US reparations, building a powerful movement for which she was unjustly imprisoned in 1916 for mail fraud.

Belinda Sutton was a Black woman who was enslaved by the Royalls . She’s known for her remarkable and unapologetic 1783 petition to the Massachusetts General Court, in which she recounted her life story and claimed a pension from the estate of Isaac Royall Jr. Her public assertion and the unheard of audacity to claim her rights gave her a place in history and cemented her as a heroine of reparations for American enslavement.

Black women have come up with the central principles, ideas, and organizational infrastructures of reparation-based solutions since the beginning. One of the most popular reparation proposals is designed to respond to the economic gap between white and Black Americans. But this is just one approach to reparations and the exact application should be representative of the emergent needs for each individual community. Remember, Black folks aren’t a monolith and therefore reparations can’t be developed as a one-size fits all technique.

You can make history too! Come join BlackRoots Alliance in continuing in the legacy of reparations by attending our virtual event on Saturday, April 13. In partnership with Equity and Transformation and a dynamic panel of predominantly Black women, we'll be diving into reparations plans for cities like ours and Evanston, Kansas City, Detroit, and South Bend!

Black History Month

Sat, 15 Feb 2020 20:07:09 GMT

February is “Black History Month'' in the U.S. While the recognition of this month of celebrating all things Black is only 45 years old, we know that Black history is made 365 days a year and we know that Black people have been excellent throughout the history of this planet.

Looking back on 2020, Black people changed the course of history in many profound ways: Stacey Abrams was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as a leader in voter equity and the Movement for Black Lives changed the national narrative for what it meant to fight for Black lives. Despite the seemingly torrential attacks by white supremacy and a global pandemic, Black people keep being great.

Black History Month is not just a month to celebrate the accomplishments of Black people, it should also be a time to imagine the greatness that awaits us in the future. We are eager to move forward in this new year with that ancestral wisdom and absolute conviction that our people will continue to press on towards new heights of impact and liberation.

We’re excited to announce the release of the Black Liberation Blueprint, as a resource for current and future generations to take a glimpse at innovative and inspirational work being done all over the country in an effort to expand the conversation around Black liberation. We are also supporting partner organizations like…..

And we want you to be a part of our future! Please fill out our survey to let us know what Black liberation means to you and share more about what social change you want to see in the future.

What does Black Liberation mean to you?

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 20:07:09 GMT

Ask 10 Black people “what is Black liberation?” and you’re likely to get 10 different answers. We think that’s a good thing, and Blackroots Alliance exists to help pull the threads within the diverse experiences of the fight for Black Liberation and weave new, forward-thinking narratives and practices that raise the tides of liberation for all Black people. It is our mission to be an organization committed to the safety and liberation of all Black people, promoting Black leadership and Black-centered community transformation as we work collectively to build socioeconomic power, heal our communities, and fundamentally transform our society.

Our collective long-term experience, derived from different organizing methodologies and lived leadership experience as people directly-impacted by the issues we are fighting, makes us uniquely qualified to do this work. With decades of experience organizing Black communities, our Alliance has a thorough and nuanced understanding of what it takes to build power in Black communities.

Through collective analysis and other tools available to each member, our Alliance has fleshed out its understanding of the socioeconomic forces at play in various areas of the City, County, and State, and is therefore well equipped to design effective, locality-specific strategies for pursuing the policy changes we seek. But we have also learned a lot of lessons along the way, and our founders created Blackroots Alliance to be a network where Black leaders are able to be held, healed, and helped towards new heights of impact.

We are writing the guidebook to Black Liberation while we are living it out. For us, Black Liberation is a balance of individual and collective wholeness. We envision a world where Black communities are connected around a Black policy; where we are working together to elevate our social, racial, and economic consciousness, and where we can wield power that ensures our self-determination so that all Black people can live their best lives.

We recognize that we are all working out our personal journeys towards liberation, so we have agreed that we will be rooted in a shared set of values and analyses around race, gender, and class and we will work to shift the consciousness of our communities around those values. We are intentional about operating from an abundance mindset and not scarcity, and we support institutions by supporting the capacity of the people who run them.

If you see yourself reflected in our mission, please consider joining our network .