MLK Day Reflections

Plus our Favorite Racial Equity Nonprofits in Chicago

Martin Luther King Jr did incredible work for the Civil Rights movement. Every year, on MLK Jr Day, we take some time to reflect on the work and impact he had, and the work we still have left to do. While the civil rights movement paved the way for many improvements in the lives of BIPOC people, there are still huge discrepancies in the resources and opportunities accessible to people of color. White supremacy is ingrained in our current society, and eradicating that isn’t an easy task. It involves massive changes to our systems, both on a societal and a personal level. 

Often times when we speak about racial inequality, we speak about out hopes for equality. While equality sounds great, what we’re really striving for is equity. Since these words are often used interchangeably it’s easy to forget they’re actually very different. Equality means giving equal resources to all, and it’s only effective when everyone starts at the same baseline. Unfortunately, the racism that is still very much present in our society means that people of color start off at a disadvantage. So what we need is equity: allocating resources to give more to those that started out with a disadvantage.  

Equity is important to us, and we try to practice equity through our accessibility programming and presence at accessible markets. So we’d like to take a moment to highlight some organizations who are doing incredible work in our local community. We’ve chosen these organizations because of their work focused on racial equity.* 

Assata’s Daughters

• Assata’s Daughters (“AD”) first formed in 2015 as a volunteer-based collective of Black women, femmes, and gender non-conforming people, to address a shortage of programming and community for women-identified, femme, and gender non-conforming young Black people in Chicago.
  • AD was founded, planned, and operated by Black women, femmes, and gender non-conforming people to carry on the tradition of radical liberatory activism encompassed by Assata Shakur, to train up others in the radical political tradition of Black feminism, and to learn how to organize on the ground around the demand for Black liberation, particularly a demand for abolition. 
  • In 2018, AD shifted from a collective-model to a formal organizational structure with a board and staff. As a result and at the bequest of those we served, the organization has now broadened its scope to provide lessons to young men and boys on toxic notions of masculinity, dismantling patriarchal systems of oppression, and understanding the impact of both on interpersonal relationships. 
  • AD continues to be an abolitionist organization led by Black women using a Black queer feminist lens and relationship-based tactics to organize bases of young Black people in divested-from areas of Chicago. 

Equity and Transformation

• Equity and Transformation (EAT) is a non-profit, community-led organization founded by and for post-incarcerated people. EAT was established in 2018 to uplift the voices and power of Black Chicagoans engaged in the informal economy. The informal economy is the diversified set of economic activities, enterprises, jobs, and workers that are not regulated or protected by the state. We have continuously witnessed system-impacted individuals face significant barriers in their everyday lives. For example, they are shut out of the workforce, forced into informality, and criminalized for surviving. These systemic inequalities often lead to extreme poverty and additional periods of incarceration. EAT is committed to building social and economic equity for informal workers and dismantling anti-Black racism.  

Greater Chicago Legal Clinic

• Most working-class families do not have sufficient resources to hire private attorneys. GCLC provides a sliding-scale fee approach that provides access to justice for disadvantaged individuals and families. These services are available even if they do not qualify for pro bono legal aid. This unique approach allows GCLC clients to resolve their legal disputes. This allows our clients to get back to what matters most to them—regardless of their ability to pay. At GCLC, we pride ourselves on helping our clients resolve the types of legal issues that disrupt their everyday lives. Through our efforts and outreach, GCLC has been able to assist hundreds of thousands of clients in our Chicagoland neighborhoods, restoring hope and providing stability to our most vulnerable communities. 

Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression

• The Chicago Alliance was born in 1973 out of the movement to free Angela Davis and all political prisoners. Since then, the Alliance has defended the rights of workers and oppressed people in Illinois and around the world. We defend the rights of workers and oppressed people. We struggle against white supremacy, the prison industrial complex, and state violence. We demand community control of the police. We demand full representation for Black people and other poor, oppressed people at all levels of government. 

My Block My Hood My City

• Our mission is to inspire youth, empower communities, and build a better world one block at a time. 
  • We firstly believe in providing opportunities for others to step outside their comfort zone and explore new communities, cultures, and cuisines in an effort to gain a greater understanding of the world. 
  • We secondly believe in encouraging others to fully immerse themselves in new experiences, continuously soaking up new knowledge and expanding their network. 
  • We thirdly believe that each and every one of us needs to take responsibility for our communities; it is only through our efforts of service, empathy, and collaboration will we see our communities truly evolve. 

The Grey Matter Experience

• Gray Matter is an entrepreneurial experience program for high school students across the country. All of our programs consist of a series of engaging workshops comprised of team building activities, group and individual tasks, discussions, guest speakers, and fun and engaging field trips. 
  • Participating students learn business concepts from entrepreneurs and professionals. They then use that knowledge to create businesses to help impact Black communities within their cities. Students are encouraged to launch their businesses and will be placed in relevant internships and mentorships to ensure their success. 
  • Gray Matter aims to educate, empower and assist students in creating their own businesses. We do this by providing them access to resources and support. This ensures students understand that their ideas are valid and vital to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation

• SOUL is working to build a movement to create change. We have keenly listened to the communities that we serve to develop a shared vision.  We are dedicated to the belief that all people deserve decent and affordable housing; access to healthy, nutritious food in every neighborhood; and a sanitary environment where people will be able to breathe clean air and drink clean the water. We are working to create a full-employment economy, so that everyone (despite their race, economic demographic, criminal history, etc.) has the opportunity to work. We further believe everyone deserves access to gainful, sustainable, living-wage employment. We believe that good, quality public education is a right and not a privilege. We are also committed to ensuring that public funds are leveraged fairly, and resources are invested in the communities that need them the most. not redistributed to keep local economies beholden to corporate greed. 

#LetUsBreathe Collective

• #LetUsBreathe Collective serves as an incubator for innovative activism and liberatory and cultural work in Chicago. create alternatives to prisons and policing for communities, produce cultural events, and build power in communities. All donations benefit the #LetUsBreathe Collective’s #BreathingRoom space — an arts, organizing, and healing hub on the South Side of Chicago.  

West Side Justice Center

• The Westside Justice Center is a community-centered organization that promotes a holistic approach to justice by:
  • 1) Facilitating legal literacy to reduce recidivism;
  • 2) Providing legal and quasi- legal assistance to individuals; and
  • 3) Establishing and nurturing community trust through participatory deliberations and restorative justice practices. Including collaboratively mitigate the consequences of incarceration on criminalized communities. 

Brave Space Alliance

• Brave Space Alliance is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ Center located on the South Side of Chicago. We are dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals. We work on the South and West sides of the city. We strive to empower, embolden, and educate each other. Accordingly, we do this through mutual aid, knowledge-sharing, and creating community-sourced resources. This works toward the liberation of oppressed peoples. 
  • All of BSA’s programs, services, and resources utilize a mutual aid framework. Mutual aid understands that systems and institutions can’t and won’t sustain us, but WE can. BIPOC communities and community members have everything they need to sustain themselves when given the same access to resources and skills needed to ensure they create a life of their choosing. 
  • We’re an LGBTQ+ center that serves the entire community. However, we prioritize BIPOC transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals because they are most marginalized and vulnerable of the LGBTQ+ community. Most programs, services, and resources geared towards BIPOC TGNC individuals provide temporary solutions that do not address the root of their problems. 
  • As BIPOC, trans individuals, we believe that we’re the experts on our experiences and can better identify our needs. This is why all programming, services, and resource provided by BSA give community members an active hand in development and implementation.  

* ^{All information below has been pulled from the organization’s website.} 

Each of these organizations do important work related to uplifting and supporting the BIPOC community and working toward equity. Along with donations, many of them also offer opportunities to volunteer. These are great organizations to choose next time you have volunteer or donate. What organizations do you love, and what should we add to our list? What are your MLK day traditions?