“I am often struck by the dangerous narcissism fostered by spiritual rhetoric that pays so much attention to individual self-improvement and so little to the practice of love within the context of community.”
2023 Impact Report
-Bell Hooks - 1952 – 2021
Black Humboldt, BH, is a community-based, grassroots organization offering cultural, arts and educational programming to the Black and Brown communities of The Northern Coast of CA. BH is interested in networking, building relationships and community with residents who identify as Black, Indigenous or as a person of color that also finds themselves intersected with other marginalized identities like 2S/LGBTQAI+, experiencing poverty, being disabled, experiencing incarceration or not having access to higher education. Black Humboldt is a fiscally sponsored project of The Ink People Center of The Arts and was established in 2018 by visionary Dionna Ndlovu and co-founder Mo Harper-Desir. The inception of BH was inspired by the lack of inclusiveness and the under-representation of Black & Brown communities, both Dionna and Mo were experiencing first hand in Humboldt County.
Black Humboldt operates on the present and ancestral Homeland and unceded territory of the Wiyot Tribe. Please donate to the Wiyot Tribe honor tax. We encourage direct giving to Tribes and Native-led efforts. Tribes and Nations in Humboldt County include Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, Wiyot, Yurok.
Black Humboldt recognizes and acknowledges the labor upon which our country, state, and institutions are built. Remember that our country is built on the labor of enslaved people who were kidnapped and brought to the US from the African Continent and recognize the continued contribution of their survivors. We acknowledge all immigrant labor, including voluntary, involuntary, and trafficked peoples who continue to serve within our labor force
2023 Fellows & Taharba James (DJ Sovern T) at Juneteenth 23’
Internal Structure
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. We focus on Black & Brown joy, freedom, empowerment, autonomy, safety, culture and community.
Mission: To enlighten, empower, and entertain our Black & Brown communities living on California's North Coast through events made FOR US and BY US.
Goals:
Cultivate necessary, supportive, and inclusive spaces for all Black and Brown communities on California’s Northern Coast.
Create, maintain, and sustain economic empowerment
Educate, empower and liberate our Black & Brown community.
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.
Special thank you to our 2023 support!!
Our decision to use “Black & Brown” 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.” We are also working to create a sense of cultural understanding that exists within the Black community that 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 our community have endless variations of physical appearance.
People who identify as Black, African American, African, Afro, Afro Latiné, Afro Caribbean or from anywhere within the African Diaspora. This might also be people who find themselves identifying as indigenous or POC. We are also making necessary space for those who also finds themselves intersected with other marginalized identities like 2S/LGBTQAI+, experiencing poverty, being disabled, experiencing incarceration or not having access to higher education.
Black & Brown Joy
Advocate for community Growth
Black & Brown healing and self awareness
Black & Brown empowerment & knowledge
Flow of influence & opportunities for projects and programming.
Priorities
Who do we serve?
CA Arts Council
Humboldt Area Foundation
Wild Rivers Foundation
CA Wellness Foundation
Queer Humboldt
The Humboldt Community
Core Programming
* Figures based on financial statements Jan – November 2023
Financial Summary *
Total Revenue = $97,394
Total Expenses = $122,909
Juneteenth Black Business Fund
Twelve $1000 unrestricted awards
Black Artist Awards
Ten $500 unrestricted awards
Back to School Kits for Success
100 kits distributed
Home Away Project
40 gifts distributed & 35 hot plates served
$$ Giving
Black Liberation Month is a retitling of Black History Month and will take place for the entire month of February every year. Black Humboldt is intentional in this series of programming as we see it as a way to empower the Black community. The program consists of 5-10 workshops led by local Black and Brown community members, art exhibits and showcases. We hope to instill tradition around celebrating Blackness, our history and our continued contributions to The North Coast and the ever growing Black and BIPOC culture of this area.
Arts for Black and Brown Bodies is a month-long series that explores Black and Brown bodies within art forms society doesn’t normally attribute to Black or Afro culture or communities. The series works to create art and culture in non-traditional spaces in hopes to grow our presence in the art world. The series occurs for an entire month, both in March and October every year, and includes 6-15 art workshops led by local BIPOC artists that take place in exclusive spaces for BIPOC community members. The month may also host art exhibits, gallery shows, movie screenings and artist showcases at local venues.
Exclusive Black Networking Mixers- Necessary space dedicated to the gathering of community members who identify as Black, African American, African, Afro, Afro Latiné, Afro Caribbean or from anywhere within the African Diaspora. Black Humboldt has chosen to host exclusively Black spaces/events in hopes to provide healing and connection to our Black and Brown community.
Black Family Gatherings- Necessary space dedicated to the gathering of community members who identify as Black, African American, African, Afro, Afro Latiné, Afro Caribbean or from anywhere within the African Diaspora AND THEIR LOVED ONES, regardless of race, even if their loved ones are not blood related. In these necessary spaces we are trusting our community to keep our spaces safe and trusted.
Black Humboldt's events and programming have always and will always house arts as a tool to transform and express culture. The arts have a long history within Black and afro culture for being a vehicle for social change, expression and healing and is something shared across all the many races, ethnicities and languages of Blackness.
Black Leaders Fellowship
Donate
Send check or Money order to “Ink People” with Black Humboldt in the memo line.
Donate space to be used for events!
Donate items for raffles and giveaways!
Juneteenth
Contact us
Black Humboldt is a volunteer run organization centering the work of Black & Brown community members and the various intersections of their lived experiences.
We operate with an open door policy to invite anyone from our community to platform their voices, needs and ideas and encourage folx to get involved in whatever ways they can.
The Black Leaders Fellowship Program was created to connect with the communities we serve, create leaders, create job opportunities, provide professional training/development and further the mission of Black Humboldt. This program will provide the opportunity for five local BIPOC community members of various identities and backgrounds, to enrich their experiences, harness their leadership skills and work hand in hand with the community for 10 months. Through this program BH is creating BIPOC leaders, dismantling systems of oppression, decolonizing communal spaces and decreasing BIPOC vulnerability through opportunities for success.
Black Humboldt, The Eureka Chapter of the NAACP and the Black community of North Coast communities host a Juneteenth Cultural Festival every year, 2023 was the 4th annual gathering. The event hosts culturally significant educational, entertainment and arts events/programs hosted by Black & Brown community. Juneteenth is an event celebrating freedom, diversity and community as the country recognizes June 19th as the day slavery was ended in 1865 and African Americans were freed. The event features a large selection of local BIPOC vendors, restaurants, artists, community leaders and performances. The event will host BIPOC led workshops, music, performances and informational Knowledge for Power sessions. History: “Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
This event creates necessary, inclusive space for the Black and BIPOC community, platforms Black culture, arts and lifestyle, celebrates and educates on the history of Juneteenth, creates safe spaces to hold conversations around race, equity and systematic oppression, celebrates diversity, community and Black liberation, highlights Black and Brown community members, artists and educators and supports Black & BIPOC owned businesses, professionals and artists while raising funds for Black Humboldt's Black Business Fund and Black Humboldt operations.
2023 – 2024 Fellows
Levia Love – Business Liaison
Rosemary Grady – Resource Liaison
Sheria Jackson – Admin Fellow
Mo Harper-Desir – Development Fellow Lexxi Reid – Communications Fellow