By Nichole M. Christian
When the Center for Cultural Innovation launched Ambitio US four years ago, the bullseye became neon clear: Identify the alternative economic trailblazers in BIPOC communities and find new ways to lift and strategically support their culture changing ideas. And let’s do it fast, in 10 years.
The initiative was forged with the anticipation of major demographic and social disruptions, it did not anticipate a seemingly unending global pandemic. After a long pause in travel the Ambitio US team hit the road on a nine-day, five-state, concert-like, road tour of the U.S. south to see and hear from these visionary leaders first hand. Needless to say — we were blown away.
Ambitio US grantees are planting, some literally, new seeds of economic ownership and change in cultural communities battling against systemic disinvestments and racial disregard.
The more than 1,000 miles drive started in Atlanta, Georgia (GA)and included stops in: Jackson, Mississippi (MS); Memphis, Tennessee (TN); rural Alabama (AL) and Bentonville, Arkansas (AR).
“We took this trip because we are in this work to fund people, the ideas they have, the organizations they create, and the cultures they are working to preserve and celebrate,’’ explained Fox. The visits included: Ekvn-Yefolecv (AL), , Cooperative New West Jackson (MS), and Historic Clayborn Temple and Orange Mound (TN).
“Being with these thought-leaders in their communities is the best way to get to know the work and the change that is happening.’’
CCI President and CEO Angie Kim, who is also the founding director of Ambitio US , says the tour painted an important portrait which philanthropy has yet to embrace. “A new movement is happening,’’ she said. “These organizations represent a whole new generation of Black and BIPOC leaders who understand the history and the very real threat of cultural dispossession, even today, in their communities. They’re explicitly creating ownership opportunities and alternative economic approaches that are beginning to inspire others like them. It’s important to see their work and to see what needs to be done to grow the movement.’’
Want to learn more about the trip, the movement or the Ambitio US approach to change, feel free to be in touch here.
Who knows where the road will lead AmbitioUS next!
Nichole M. Christian is the Narrative Shifter at the Center for Cultural Innovation , a nonprofit intermediary that supports individuals in the arts to realize greater financial self-determination.
This article was originally published on Medium. Read it on Medium →