By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The Black Future Co-op Fund — a non-profit organization founded by four Black women to create a new model of philanthropy that uplifts Black people and Black communities throughout the state of Washington – will host a statewide, hybrid event on Black well-being this Sun., June 5 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The event, which will be held virtually and live streamed at three locations throughout the state of Washington, including the Central Area Senior Center in Seattle, will preview the findings of an upcoming report on Black Well-being: Moving Toward Solutions Together. At the gathering, the Black Future Co-op Fund will showcase the ideas and concepts presented in the report for directing resources and shaping policy, engage people around the ideas and get feedback on how we drive collective action, and connect people to existing efforts and each other, making us stronger, more effective in manifesting Black well-being.
The report will talk about what the community has felt,” says Andrea Caupain Sanderson, co-founder of the Black Future Co-op Fund. “It will talk about where Black organizations can step in to change our narrative or this picture of ourselves and pair it with the quantitative and qualitative data.”
In addition to providing a preview of the report, the event will also feature local changemakers, brilliant artists, and special guests including New York Times best-selling author Resmaa Menakem and Free Press’ Media 2070 campaign manager Venneikia Williams. There will also be a series of conversations about education, health, economics, public safety, and civic engagement.
“Part of the emphasis of the event that needs sharing is that we have these guiding principles,” says Caupain Sanderson. “One of them is we are working to promote a truthful Black narrative. Taking control of our stories and lived experiences. This event and the report, the data gathering, the sharing of this data, is to begin to connect Black communities, to build that power in our numbers across the state.”
According to Caupain Sanderson, the organization is inviting Black folks from across the state to gather safely, tune in, and be part of building the collective vision for statewide Black well-being, which will be crafted by us and for us.
“We want to connect Black folks in Spokane County, Clark County, Whatcom County, [and all over the state],” says Caupain Sanderson. “We have a shared history and shared experiences as Black people; we want to harness that power of togetherness to create the change that we need.”
Unity within the community is the foundation for which the Black Future Co-op Fund is striving to achieve. Black people, in general, are spread thinly across the state of Washington and the Black Future Co-op Fund believes coming together is essential to the progress of the Black community. With that in mind, the Black Future Co-op Fund is calling on all Black Washingtonians to come together, learn from each other, unify, and to help build a cohesive plan that we can all implement and share with our personal and professional networks.
“This event is a way to build a unified agenda, priorities for our Black people across the state,” says Caupain Sanderson. “We should be learning from each other and seeking to better understand each of our communities across the state. We are not monolithic, but we should be truly connecting the approximately 400,000 plus Black Washingtonians that live our state.”
According to Caupain Sanderson, the purpose of the event is to build a consensus on the pathways and direction in order to improve the quality of life and plight of Black people and Black communities in Washington state for years to come.
“This event is important because it links to hopefulness, a lot of people have a sense of hopelessness and when we reframe psychologically what is possible, I think it energizes people in a different way,” says Caupain Sanderson. “It gets us to take action in our own behalf, when we think about the younger who and what are they look up to or looking forward to, what are they building towards? I have a mantra, “I am working to be a good ancestor and that is what keeps me going, because I want to make sure that every step I take today, enables my future descendant to not have to do this work again.”
The Black Future Co-op Fund is led by Andrea Caupain Sanderson, Angela Jones, J.D., Director of the Washington State Initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Michelle Merriweather, President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and T’wina Nobles, Senator for the 28th Legislative District of Washington state.
