December 11, 2024

Grantee Partner Spotlight: African American Roundtable

by Ryeshia Farmer

The Ms. Foundation is proud to support our grantee partners, who are at the forefront of organizing and creating solutions that improve people’s lives and bring us closer to achieving a true democracy. The insight and perspective they provide is invaluable. The Q&A below was generated by the African American Roundtable’s Community Program Manager Ryeshia Farmer.

The African American Roundtable (AART) organizes, nurtures, and transforms Black leaders to build power in service of Black liberation. AART is a joyful, political home for Black people to thrive in liberated, interconnected communities. The African American Roundtable is a Ms. Midwest grantee partner. 

What brought you to this work?

As early as five years old, as a Black girl in Milwaukee, WI, I could see disparities caused by segregation in my city. I could feel the difference in my school day compared to the after school and summer programs at more well supported schools. I heard it outside my kitchen and bedroom windows in zip code 53206 where young people seemed emotionally heightened, and noticed the temperaments were different in smiling faces and ease of body language of folks in Shorewood, Bayshore, Fox Point, and the East Side, where there are significantly smaller Black populations. As I got older, I learned that public policies bred these differences, but didn’t see enough of my community engaging with them. So I got into the work of minimizing differences across racial lines to empower other Black folks to jump in alongside me and get after the lives they wanted.

How do you connect/collaborate in your community? Who are your key partners?

Having been in this work for 12 years, I am more clear than ever that people have the ability to change their experiences when we share power. AART shares power with Black leaders in both individual and group settings in a myriad of ways, from regranting to local groups aligning with our priorities, to holding 1:1s and small group meetings or trainings, to hosting public gatherings and political education sessions. Some partners on our Northwest Side specific projects are business owners, faith leaders, and residents who hold power on neighborhood blocks as well as groups like Brentwood Church of Christ, the Hmong American Women’s Association, Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership, Dior’s Gallery, the Milwaukee Public Library Good Hope Branch, Nourish MKE (formerly Friedens Food Pantry), UBUNTU Research and Evaluation, Thoreau Elementary School, and Prime Social Lounge.

What are you learning or what are you teaching?

AART’s work on Milwaukee’s far Northwest Side began with learning about the experiences and priorities of area residents as well as who the other players working to serve the area were. We quickly learned that due to the transience and various priorities of both residents and service groups, there weren’t any anchoring organizations in Aldermanic Districts 5 & 9, where our work focuses. This means residents have some distrust for service groups, and it takes a slow, steady, cooperative pace to build relationships needed to support residents’ analysis of community safety and how they can play a role in achieving it. Over the past three years in the area, we’ve learned and continued to deepen our understanding around Northwest Siders’ visions. We build organizing and base-building strategies around this vision taught to us by residents: A thriving Northwest Side will be a bustling environment where youth, elders, and their families feel safe enough to live and be. Area residents and frequenters will have a variety of travel means throughout creative, green, social, and local business spaces with plenty of access to healthy and real food. Its economy will be people-centered and life-affirming, and the area will feel nostalgic or reminiscent of the thriving Northwest Side that elder residents once experienced.

Tell us about a recent victory or something you’re proud of.

To support residents in activating their leadership and making these dreams a reality, we know that residents are ready to join AART’s membership (a political home from Black Milwaukeeans) and participate in our volunteer opportunities. Through these programs, residents support working in schools, outdoors, and even in community awareness programs to build solidarity and expose others to both information and new habits. Through these opportunities, residents are able to learn more about abolition, conflict transformation, city budget processes, and how to participate in community projects and events. 

One opportunity like this is the Northwest Side Asset Map that AART launched in April 2024, which highlights over 150 assets that residents identified as community gems that promoted their safety. Assets included but were not limited to 34% service providers, 18% educational institutions/youth learning programs, and 16% transportation services. At the launch celebration, residents defined the map as an informative, resourceful, and necessary inventory for driving community economics and connections. Since the launch, AART has continued to promote the map with a major marketing campaign, engaged resident leaders in both updating the map and fostering deeper relationships with assets on the map, and we even added 30 new assets! 

What can philanthropy do better and/or how can individuals be helpful allies?

My work has shown me that the work of a few is no match for as many people as possible playing different roles to sustain movements. To an individual wondering where to jump in, I implore them to reflect on their values and spend time learning about how they can live them, whether through the self-work of coaching, therapy, and personal tools for growth, or by being in conversations and spaces with organizers that they can learn from and, after a while, find enough alignment to get down with!

As an added layer of sustenance, philanthropy can invest in creative, innovative and long-term strategies to support more grassroots funding priorities, including leadership development, stipends for leaders, cultural organizing events and manpower, etc. Even commitments to sustaining the work of small organizations like AART over a 5-10 year period can support our ability to continue to build our work as well as the communities we serve. Additionally, philanthropists should share the great work that their grantees are doing with other donors (shout out to Ms. Foundation for producing this blog)!

What gives you hope?

In 12 years, I’ve seen that when the people are empowered and in solidarity, we get things done! I saw this at a recent community input session AART held, where residents reflected a key tenant of abolitionist projects and movements: the active practice of the world we want to see as we’re building it. Residents expressed joy to see each other again, looked after one another’s children, helped each other in small ways, and committed to collective work to build a community safety campaign alongside AART, fellow neighbors, and Northwest Side leaders. This exemplified the fact that Milwaukee’s organizers are some of the best at building authentic relationships, so even in our most daunting fights, we got this!