Imagine Black Futures

Focus: black radical imagination campaign (visioning and leadership development)imagine black futures made significant progress with our black radical imagination campaign, emphasizing community visioning and leadership development. Within our black leadership academy, we piloted the black seeds school curriculum and successfully graduated ten participants in cohort 7, including one who was recently elected to the portland city council. In collaboration with the rosewood initiative, black community of portland, and the national black worker center, we began laying the groundwork for oregon's first black worker centera transformative initiative designed to empower black oregonians by improving working conditions, building civic power, and advocating for workers' rights. To further this mission, we launched a comprehensive survey to better understand the challenges faced by black workers in oregon, gathering essential insights to shape future programming. We also hosted 16 virtual workshops focused on racial equity, fostering spaces for education, dialogue, and community building. Lastly, we initiated plans for our upcoming community book clubs to deepen collective learning and engagement.

Focus: civic engagement imagine black futures proudly advanced its mission through our civic power campaign, childcare campaign, public safety campaign, and just transitions campaignall focused on deepening civic engagement. This year, we successfully recruited a staff member to serve on the metro regional government committee on racial equity and deployed our civic engagement 101 curriculum. We hosted the parent & provider activist summit at our center for black radical imagination in old town, portland, and recruited two members to the metro transportation alternatives committee. Our staff played pivotal roles on key advisory boards, including the historic albina advisory board (haab), kaiser permanente's black health community advisory council, and the oregon health authority's state health assessment steering committee. We facilitated 3 virtual workshops focused on civic engagement and community organizing and maintained participant involvement in the multnomah county health department budget advisory committee. Additionally, our policy staff engaged extensively in the metro regional transportation plan and identified future opportunities for involvement in projects such as regional flexible funds, tv highway, and the 82nd avenue corridor. These activities underscore our unwavering commitment to building civic power and advancing equitable policies for black oregonians.

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