If you’re looking for organizations to support and work with, here are seven Austin advocacy groups founded and led by Black women.
Be the Bridge
Latasha Morrison founded Be the Bridge in Austin in 2016 to provide practical tools for racial reconciliation and justice. She has since moved to Atlanta, but the Austin chapter still offers resources for people of color and white people to pursue reconciliation together through Be the Bridge groups. The nonprofit’s board also includes local Austin women.
Black Bodies Project
Charlotte Moore launched Black Bodies Project to share the Black experience in Austin. The project’s book, Benevolence in Black, and film, Black Bodies, feature Black Austinites sharing their experience living in this city. Moore offers these resources “to help us all develop a shared understanding of the very real effects of racism.”
Community Advocacy and Healing Project
After a career in advocacy, Fatíma Mann created the Community Advocacy and Healing Project to help people understand and create policy and to offer access to “necessary culturally proficient, trauma-focused and human-centered supplies and resources.”
Excellence and Advancement Foundation
Courtney Robinson’s research background in “schooling, race and incarceration” led her to create the Excellence and Advancement Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating Austin’s school-to-prison pipeline.
Kardia Advisory Group
Denisha Jenkins, the founder of Kardia Advisory Group, leads workshops to “disarm, affirm and equip leaders with the tools they need to disrupt harmful biases that hinder them from leading with integrity.” She offers companies a variety of services, including virtual diversity training, management consulting and leadership development.
Measure
Founded by Meme Styles, Measure “empowers communities with data and education to eliminate social disparities.” One of its current initiatives, the Innocence Initiative, combats the adultification of Black girls. Register for its “Living Room Chat: Disrupting Adultification Bias” on June 16 at measureaustin.org.
Rosa Rebellion
“A platform for creative activism by and for women of color,” Rosa Rebellion offers resources for women to advocate for marginalized communities and underrepresented voices. Founders Virginia Cumberbatch and Meagan Harding individually work in advocacy spaces as well and partner with a variety of local social-justice organizations. They partnered with Austin justice Coalition and Minds Over Melanin to launch “Mind Check: Black Mental Wellness During ‘Rona” in May. RSVP for tonight’s event The Reality of Productivity at austinjustice.org.