Throughout the years that we have been providing racial justice workshops and building towards Black-Asian solidarity, we have been exploring what young BIPOC need to show up fully as leaders in our communities. Is it education on our histories that go untold in school? Is it space to share our stories around our lived experiences? Is it healing from the systemic trauma inflicted upon us as BIPOC? Is it community building to connect our issues?

We are finding that the answer is all of the above. Young BIPOC need an intentional nurturing space to learn, heal, and connect. The power of counter-narratives, or stories told from the margins, is that they serve to connect systems of oppression to our experiences and bring to light what is silenced by harmful dominant narratives. When we as Young BIPOC take hold of our counter-narratives and our role as storytellers, we have the power to heal and tell new narratives that build, brick-by-brick, the equitable future we dream of.

For nine months, we have been living through a pandemic that is disproportionately impacting the lives of communities of color, those who are already systematically oppressed. Simultaneously, we have been witnessing a national, and even global call to defund police and reallocate government funding to provide the resources our communities need to thrive. Systems of oppression have been laid bare for many who are coming of age during this tumultuous time.

We want to aid in that radical work by educating Young BIPOC in racial justice history and helping develop their personal stories around race. We want to connect like-minded people to each other so they may build intentional community that may nourish them in their journey of self-discovery.

Young BIPOC are this generation’s visionaries and need education and connection to lead us to a future where our communities are happy and free.

When: July 2021
Who: 12 young BIPOC ages 14-29 in Chicago who are not already involved as activists in their communities
How: Primarily virtual fellowship based on CDC safety guidelines

• Teach-ins from InterAction and local social justice organizations
• Opportunities to write and share their counter-narratives, which will be published by 826CHI.
• Connections to each other and to organizations to stay organized
• Fellows will receive a $600 stipend upon program completion