Photo credit: Giorgio Viera/EFE/ZUMA
Black Lives Matter co-founder, Alicia Garza recently announced the launch of her newest project called Black Futures Lab. The organization seeks to "develop strategies that help Black people imagine the political, social and economic alternatives needed at the local, state, and federal level, while also building the political power needed to implement those alternatives," shared Garza.
Garza has been extremely vocal about the existing conditions for Black people in the U.S. This new venture seeks to inform, mobilize, and strategize around policy changes and improvements to Black communities. She is hopeful that the work of Black Futures Lab will do a better job of articulating the experiences and challenges within Black communities and offering solutions to bring about much needed positive changes.
Co-Founders of Black Lives Matter Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, Photo credit: Ben Baker/Redux
In collaboration with other people of color-centered organizations, including: Demos, Color of Change, Center for Third World Organizing, and the Tides Foundation, Black Futures Lab will seek to take over communicating the narratives of Black experiences in America. “Non-Black politicians often try to explain issues Black people are facing to them, Garza said. But it’s time for a change."
Their first initiative is the Black Census Project, the first nation-wide survey to focus on Black lives in America in over 150 years. The goal is to obtain participation from at least 200,000 Black people in 20 selected states before May 1st. Questions will encourage people to share about their experiences, hopes, and dreams. In addition, questions around political attitudes and affiliations, experienced racism, police violence, access to healthcare, and economic well-being will also be present. "We really have a wide breadth of questions that we're asking folks to tell us more about and the (general) census doesn't really do that," Garza said.
"It's time for a survey that really captures the experiences that Black people are facing in these communities and it's time to do that in a way that also captures the diversity of communities that Black folks are living in," Garza said. "We really want to capture the breadth and the complexity of who our communities are and we plan to use that information to influence decisions that are made about us."
In the words of Garza,"Black people have always played a role in unlocking the promise of an America that has not yet been realized, and if there was ever a time to tap into that power—it’s now."
To take the approximately 15-minute survey, visit www.blackcensus.org and have your voice counted.