Black Leaders to Follow
Black History Month 2023 was full of commemoration and celebration of Black-led innovation and creativity – and Invested Faith wants to highlight the brilliant innovation of some of our Black Invested Faith Fellows who are working each day to change systems of injustice in their communities. Much like Black history, their work and social impact doesn’t begin and end in February, but continues 365 days a year.
The most innovation comes from those on the margins - people who have faced barriers in society that wealthy white Americans don’t. It comes as no surprise then that many of our Invested Faith Fellows come from Black and Brown communities. These social innovators are creating outside-the-box solutions to address long entrenched social injustice. Black voices offer a bright light for the rest of us to follow, These are the dreamers, doers, writers, and thinkers who will lead us all forward through their voices, work, and action.
Take the time to follow these leaders. You’ll be inspired and encouraged by their work and their words.
Andre G. Brown, A Soul Cleansing Documentary
Filmmaker and actor Andre G. Brown, who just wrapped up his role of Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Harlem” with Pittsburgh Public Theater in Pittsburgh, PA, is working to complete his full-length feature, “A Soul Cleansing Documentary,” which tells the stories of those growing up gay in the Black church. You can read more about Andre here and follow his Twitter @whatdresay or Instagram feed andregbrown.
Managerrie Winston, The KIT Project
“How can we create space in a desert where we can flourish?” Teacher Managerrie Winston, founder of the KIT Project, noticed a lack of diversity and cultural relevance in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum offered to students. The KIT (Keep It Together) Project offers SEL curriculum centered on Black and Brown experiences along with training and professional development for educators. Menagerie was also the recipient of the first matching grant offered to an Invested Faith Fellow. Read more about the BOLT grant here and take a look at the KIT project.
Dorian Hollingsworth, Jr., Teen Care Network
Dorian Hollingsworth, founder and Executive Director of Teen Care Network has led the way in breaking the stigma around mental health care for teens in Black and Brown communities. Now, Dorian has been recognized nationally as one of McDonald’s 2023 Black and Positively Golden Change Leaders, a collective of 10 young, Black movers-and-shakers who inspire and enact remarkable change in their communities and beyond.
Find out more about Dorian as an Invested Faith Fellow, on his Insta @ teencarenet, and on his website https://www.teencarenetwork.org/
Rev. Alisha L. Gordon is a faith leader, preacher, and educator whose work intersects faith, culture, and politics. Gordon is the founder of The Current Project in Harlem, New York, an advocacy-centered organization committed to the social, economic, and emotional wellbeing of Black single mothers. Their programmatic mission is to bridge the gap between “surviving to thriving” and make the case for longterm change through policy work and narrative change. You can hear more about their mission on podcasts, various publications, and across social media.
Alisha Gordon, The Current Project
Olantunji Oboi Reed, Equiticity
Olantunji Oboi Reed states “We are working to eradicate the relentlessly extractive nature of racialized capitalism,” as he works to build Equiticity, a racial equity movement. The Freedom & Culture Bicycle Cooperative is Equiticity's vision for manufacturing bicycles in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the Westside of Chicago. Follow Oboi on Twitter at @theycallmeOboi, on Instagram @theycallmeoboi, on LInked In, or on the Equiticity website to keep up with his rapidly expanding work.
Kit Evans Ford, Argrow’s House
Dr. Kit Evans-Ford is the founder of Argrow’s House of Healing and Hope in Davenport, Iowa. Argrow’s House is a safe space where free services are offered daily for women healing from violence in the greater Quad Cities area. Named after Dr. Evans-Ford's mother who was a survivor of domestic violence, this successful social enterprise provides women the opportunity to earn a living wage by creating bath and body products in a safe space that celebrates who they are. Follow Kit on Twitter and her website.
Safronia Perry, Black Economic Growth Alliance
Safronia Perry established the Black Economic Growth Alliance (BEGA) to meet the needs of Black business owners in Carlisle and central Pennsylvania. Her plans are to offer networking and support to Black-owned businesses including avenues to business information, accounting, legal assistance, operational and meeting space, etc. In November of 2021, Perry was elected as the first Black woman to serve on the Carlisle Borough Council. Follow Safronia Perry on Twitter.
Johnette Roberts, Blak Koffee
Johnetta Roberts and her business partner Ronyale Smith are working to create space for new Black-owned business in the West End of Louisville. Located in a newly renovated building in the West End of Louisville, a red-lined, low-income area, Blak Koffee was born when Roberts recognized the neighborhood needed food service and community gathering space. Check out Blak Koffee here.
Tiffany Terrell, A Better Way Grocers
Using a retro-fitted school bus as a one-aisle grocery store, Tiffany Terrell drives nutritious food in communities struggling with food access. Terrell and her team at A Better Way Grocers offer reasonably priced, healthy and nutritious food to local communities, along with health education to address chronic food-related illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Learn more about Tiffany here.
