In the United States, the month of February is recognized as Black History Month. Celebrating Black History Month is an opportunity to highlight the work of important Black leaders and milestones in racial justice movements.
At Voice of Witness (VOW), we want to acknowledge and emphasize that Black history plays an integral role in all American history and should be taught, learned, and presented as such in schools, media, and institutions all year-round.
In addition to learning about Black history, it’s important to reflect on how the past impacts the present, and to highlight the people and organizations creating and working toward justice, joy, and equity for Black communities today.
To that end, Voice of Witness put together a list of 14 organizations doing vital work every day to address and advance racial justice. In addition to deepening your understanding of Black history through readings and resources (including VOW oral history books), we recommend following, supporting, amplifying, and taking action with the organizations below. We look forward to learning, unlearning, and doing the collective work of organizing for justice alongside you.
Black Lives Matter At School
Black Lives Matter at School is a national coalition of educators and community members organizing for racial justice in education. The organization hosts an annual week of action during the first week of February, where educators across the country teach lessons on structural racism, Black history, and more.
Color of Change
Color Of Change is an online organization that supports people to respond effectively to injustice and lead campaigns that build power for Black communities. Last year, they launched #JusticeForBre, a campaign calling for the firing and charging of the police officers that murdered Breonna Taylor in March 2020.
Equal Justice Initiative
Equal Justice Initiative is a non-profit organization focused on criminal justice reform and ending mass incarceration. EJI provides legal representation to people unfairly treated by the criminal justice system and produces various educational resources for policymakers, community groups, and students to learn about the vital work of criminal justice reform.
UndocuBlack Network
The UndocuBlack Network works to create space for the undocumented Black immigrant narrative in the US and facilitate access to resources for the Black undocumented community. It’s a multi-generational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community and advocates to transform the realities of people’s lives.
Abolitionist Teaching Network
Abolitionist Teaching Network’s mission is to change education infrastructure into a system that uplifts Black and Brown educators, staff, and students. They provide resources and events to promote abolitionist teachings and address social injustice.
Black Artists & Designers Guild
The Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG) represents a collective of Black artists, makers, and designers and fosters visibility for its members through media exposure and collaborations. BADG also focuses on reclaiming the narratives of misrepresented Black ancestral legacies in design and promotes equitable practices in the industry.
SisterSong
SisterSong is a Southern-based, national organization aimed at improving institutional policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities. Through community organizing, trainings and leadership seminars, and education, SisterSong works towards reproductive justice.
Rafiki Coalition
Rafiki Coalition is a San Francisco-based organization focused on reducing health inequities in the area’s Black and marginalized communities. Through education, advocacy, and health and wellness services in a culturally affirming environment, Rafiki Coalition strives for a San Francisco that is free of health disparities.
Black Earth Farms
Black Earth Farms is a farming collective by Pan-African and Pan-Indigenous farmers that works to advance food justice and food sovereignty for low-income, Black, and Indigenous communities in the Bay Area.
TGI Justice Project
TGI Justice Project works with Black trans leaders inside and outside of prisons through leadership development, legal support, and re-entry programs.
People’s Program
People’s Program is a grassroots Black political organization that provides the houseless community with essential resources. People’s Program is well-known for their Oakland-based “Hella Black” podcast. Each episode of the podcast focuses on political education and “all things related to Blackness.” The podcast can be heard here.
Anti Police-Terror Project
The Anti Police-Terror Project works to end state-sanctioned violence against Black, Brown, and poor people. It supports families surviving police terror, documents police abuses, and connects people to resources and legal referrals.
Black Youth Project
Black Youth Project is a research project focused on examining the attitudes, resources, and culture of young, urban, Black millennials, exploring how these factors and others influence their decision-making, norms, and behavior in areas including health and politics.
BYP100
BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100) is the activist arm of the Black Youth Project. It is a member-based organization of Black youth activists creating justice and freedom for all Black people. BYP100 mobilizes through transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy, and education.
