Black Humboldt

How did this begin?

Black Humboldt began in April 2018 by visionary Dionna Ndlovu (née Fletcher) and co-founded by Mo Harper-Desir as a response to Humboldt County's social climate and injustices, the overwhelming whiteness (or buzzphrase "lack of diversity"), and safe black spaces. Dionna wanted to provide a platform for all black and brown bodies who shared similar needs and interests while existing in Humboldt. Black Humboldt seeks to promote existing black businesses, professionals, and organizations, support Black navigation, and to help unify people of color (POC). It all started as a social media platform to gauge what the 1.5% Black population could look like and a future vision for creating events, workshops, and forums. Black Humboldt hopes to provide a space where people can see a positive and beautiful reflection of themselves. In the summer of 2019 Black Humboldt was chosen to be A DreamMaker Project of the Ink People in Eureka CA.

Black Humboldt does not self identity as a social justice organization but recognizes that Black and Brown communities experience the negative implications of on going social justice issues. Black liberation is tied to the liberation of all peoples and this is the reason we cannot provide any level of DEI, racial or social justice education, as it would require emotional labor for our already vulnerable community.

Mission:

To enlighten, empower, and entertain our Black & Brown communities on Californias’s North Coast through events made FOR US and BY US.

Vision:

Focus on positive stories from Black & Brown communities, invest in Black & Brown businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals and support Black & Brown arts & culture. Build community awareness of issues affecting Black & Brown communities. Create visible spaces within the community for the acceptance of Black & Brown culture and fostering relations with BIPOC and non-BIPOC communities.

Priorities:

Black & Brown joy, freedom, empowerment, autonomy, safety, culture and community.

Goals:

Cultivate necessary, supportive, and inclusive spaces for all Black and Brown communities on California’s Northern Coast.
Create, maintain, and sustain economic empowerment for the Black and Brown communities on California’s Northern Coast.
Educate, empower and liberate the Black community in Black and Brown communities on California’s Northern Coast.
Fill gaps Black & Brown identities face in education, representation, positions of power, and accessibility to resources.
Dismantle systemic issues that negatively affect BIPOC communities on a societal level.

Objectives:

Increase Black & Brown identifies’ civic participation and access to positions of power.

Connect nonBIPOC communities with resources for racial equity, inclusion, and allyship.
Center, uplift and involve historically under-served communities in decision making.
Center and uplift the lived experience of the communities we serve in our on going building.

“Our decision to use “Black” instead of “African American” is to ensure the geographical and cultural inclusivity of everyone within the African diaspora. We hope to highlight that African Americans are one of many variations within a larger global community of individuals who have a shared ancestry yet diverse cultures, customs, and languages.”

Find out more on this ideology at https://www.teachforamerica.org/life-in-the-corps/your-tfa-network/black-community-alliances

Through the use of Black & Brown, we are working to create a sense of cultural understanding that exists within the Black community; that “Black” is both a socially constructed racial identity but also a culture. Black people come in many different races, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. There is no one way to be Black and there are many variations of the Black experience. Those existing in the Black community have endless variations of physical appearance.

What is a Necessary, exclusive space?

Necessary space speaks to the need to create the needed space to create safety, authenticity and healing. These spaces were once referred to as a “safe space” which refers to places created for marginalized individuals to come together to communicate regarding their experiences. A safe space may exist in the abstract, such as during a conversation about a sensitive subject, or in physical form. Black Humboldt has chosen to host exclusively Black spaces/events in hopes to provide healing and connection to our Black and Brown community.

Unofficial safe spaces have existed for all denominations for centuries, and self-organizing has long been a key part of anti-racist movements. In some ways I appreciate it might be difficult to grasp why such spaces feel so necessary. The simplest way to understand why the majority of our spaces/events aren’t open to white people is to acknowledge the racism we suffer in western society, especially existing in a predominantly white community where only 2% of the population looks, acts and thinks like us. Sharing lived experiences as they pertain to oppression and abuse is a key aspect to healing our shared racial traumas as well as create a theme of healing and self care within The Black & Brown community.

“If one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected – those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most! – and listens to their testimony.”

– No Name on the Street - James Baldwin