Tag Archives: racial justice

Organizing your neighborhood for justice: Past, Present, and Future

October 29, 2020Neighbors making neighborhoodsracial justiceioby

Fighting for racial justice is an ongoing, multifaceted process. The challenges we face are interconnected and will take actions big and small from all of us to overcome. To commit to the movement for Black lives, then, is to be committed to a continuous and systemic approach to our fight for racial justice. It’s a tall order, but we know some folks who are up to the task!

We put together a three-part blog series to offer just a few examples of what the fight for Black lives might look like in your community; we invite you to support these projects and to draw inspiration from them for your own project. It features powerful examples of Black-led projects on ioby that fight for a world where Black Lives Matter in their own unique ways. Explore them below, then, check out our resources to help bring your own idea to life.

Continue reading →

Organizing the Neighborhood for Justice: Building the future

October 6, 2020Neighbors making neighborhoodsAfrofuturism, garden, memphis, philadelphia, racial justice, urban planningioby

Right now, we are living in a pivotal moment in our nation’s racial trajectory, and the whole country is paying attention to the Black Lives Matter movement’s call to action. From small backyard gatherings to busy city streets, people everywhere are standing in solidarity with Black lives. They’re listening, they’re learning, and they’re fighting positive change that will move us all toward a more racially just society.

We know that we have a long way to go until we get to justice, but we know that achieving racial justice is possible. It will take neighbor leaders like you uniting to celebrate and honor Black history, stand against racism and fight for justice in the present, and look toward the future with hope.

So today, we’re sharing the stories of several ioby projects that are exploring what a just future might look like, and investing in their communities as they chart a path to that future. We hope you’ll be as inspired by these changemakers as we are! This is the final piece of a three-part series on fighting for Black lives; be sure to check out our previous posts about honoring Black lives of the past and sustaining the fight in the present.

Continue reading →

Organizing the Neighborhood for Justice: Projects that sustain the present

September 15, 2020Neighbors making neighborhoodscleveland, memphis, New York City, racial justiceioby

As our nation continues to reckon with a 400 year legacy of racism, you might be surfacing and grappling with some of your own feelings, and coming to a place of action. Maybe you’ve participated in a protest, supported local Black-owned businesses, or contributed to a bail fund. These are all important ways we can center our Black neighbors and show that Black Lives Matter, and we know our work won’t end when the headlines fade.

Anti-Black racism in America isn’t new, and it’s clear that it continues to this day in stark terms. Many American policies are deeply rooted in racist ideology and as a result have perpetuated racist beliefs and outcomes. This systemic racism affects all aspects of life for Black Americans. Extending far beyond the criminal justice system, it results in income inequality; disproportionately high Black maternal death rates; discrimination in the housing market; chronic stress from the psychological effects of racism; and much, much more.

Today, we’re talking about sustaining the fight for racial justice in the present, and we’re also highlighting some recent ioby projects that are doing just that. (By the way, some of them are currently fundraising, so you might consider donating to help them achieve their goals.) This is the second piece of our three-part series on fighting for Black lives, so check out our previous post about why it’s important to honor Black history and movements in our past, then stay tuned for our final installment about building a racially just and equitable future for us all.

Continue reading →

Organizing the Neighborhood for Justice: Black History Projects That Honor the Past

September 8, 2020Neighbors making neighborhoodsBlack History, racial justiceioby

Every day since the June 25th murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, demonstrators around the world have been taking to the streets to demand that Black Lives Matter. (Recent studies say that the movement may be the largest ever in US history!) The protests are reigniting a long-overdue reckoning with anti-black racism, and we’re heartened to see so many neighbors across the country showing up.

We know that fighting for Black lives is an ongoing, multifaceted process. Each and every step we take is important, but our work isn’t done when our projects are complete. Instead, we need to be committed to a continuous, systemic approach to our fight for racial justice. Anti-racism is not a moment; it’s a movement.

So today, we’re sharing the first in a three-part blog series to offer a few examples of what a fight for Black lives might look like in your community. We pulled together powerful examples of Black-led projects on ioby that are, in their own way, fighting for a world where Black Lives Matter.

Continue reading →

Awesome Project: BlackSpace Urbanist Collective

September 1, 2020Awesome Projectawesome project, racial justice, urban planningNoah Lumbantobing

The idea for the BlackSpace Urbanist Collective first emerged in 2015 at the Black in Design Conference at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. “The conference was about Black urbanism and looking at it from the perspective of architects, artists, urban planners, and other designers,” Emma said. It’s a perspective that was, and still is, often overlooked in the mainstream urbanist world despite a long history of racist systems and actions, from the urban renewal and highway projects that devastated Black communities in the 20th century to the contemporary processes of development and gentrification. Naturally, it struck a chord. “We wanted to continue having the conversation after the conference, so we started having brunch,” Emma said.

In its first few years of existence, those brunches were an informal communal extension of the conference for the Black designers and planners who craved it. “When I look back,” Emma said, “a lot of that time was about unlearning and sort of unpacking a lot of the things that were happening in our professions and the toxicity that we inherited through our institutional jobs, our education.” Having been educated in, and often working in, predominantly white places, the opportunity to do that work was significant for BlackSpace’s members.

Continue reading →

ioby’s journey towards racial justice: Anti-racist hiring practices

August 28, 2020Under the Hoodanti-racism, equity, racial justiceNoah Lumbantobing

Racial equity is a core value to us at ioby. It shows up in our work in lots of different ways, both formal and informal, and we’re continuously learning, adapting, and adjusting our anti-racist practice. As we continue to grow, we want to invite you to join us—to keep us accountable, but also to take something away from our learnings, just as we’ve grown from learning from others.

Continue reading →

3 crowdfunding projects that honor Black History Month, plus 3 tips to start your own project!

February 20, 2020Neighbors making neighborhoods, UncategorizedBlack History Month, cleveland, pittsburgh, racial justiceioby

As we celebrate Black History Month this February at ioby, we want to celebrate the fact that Black History is a living history. It’s something to look back on to learn from and take pride in, but it’s also something that lives today—something to build on and to grow. Something that’s happening right now! Our neighbors are showing us the way to do that.

This year, we want to lift up the incredible work that neighbors are doing to honor Black history, celebrate Black culture and Black people, and fight back against anti-black racism. We’ve highlighted a few projects that are working to strengthen bonds in their neighborhoods and that are moving us all toward a more just world. Many of them are still crowdfunding, too! If you’re feeling inspired, we’ve also pulled together a few of our best tips for starting your own project that fights for racial justice.

Continue reading →

Getting good done in Cleveland: Over $180,000 raised with matches

September 19, 2019Clevelandart, community engagement, match, racial justiceNoah Lumbantobing

It’s still September but we’re ready to say that this was one of our best years yet in Cleveland. Really! All across the city, neighbors proved what we’ve long known—when you set out to get good done, Clevelanders are ready to lend you a hand.

Earlier this year we launched three crowdfunding matches—the Common Ground match with support from The Cleveland Foundation and Neighborhood Connections, the Cuyahoga Arts & Culture Match Fund with support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, and the Racial Equity Matching Fund with support from Neighborhood Connections. With ioby’s match fund opportunities, resident donations on ioby.org are matched dollar for dollar, helping to grow neighbor’s impact even further. We closed out all three matches last month, and all told neighbors have crowdfunded over $180,000 together to fight for racial justice, bring art and cultural opportunities to the neighborhood, bridge divides to strengthen our communities, and grow our movement for positive civic change.

Continue reading →