An implementation plan to manifest the vision of Beloved Communities
Before his fatal passing, Dr. Martin Lurther King, Jr. gave reference to the concept of Beloved Communities in his dream for a better humanity. Other cultural architects including bell hooks and John A. Powell have picked up this idea and have added their own flavoring to give more detailed meaning – layering in concepts for communities that are empowered, self-determined, sustainable, free of racial and gender violence, and that are safe spaces where everyone’s ability creates a contribution and experience a sense of belonging.
Through the Florence Aliese Advancement Network, I join these generational leaders to continue carrying the torch of creating just communities so that my nephews and their children and grandchildren have places on this earth where they can thrive. Having worked in homelessness services and system change for the past 25+ years, I have come to understand that homelessness is often the result of past public policies and social service systems that have caused harm to multiple communities, leaving the legacies of social division, hierarchies of power, segregation, and loss of autonomy.
FAAN was inspired by my two grandmothers, Florence and Aliese, who with limited education and economic opportunities guided my family through the dark times of American history such as Jim Crow, the Depression, WWII, and the Civil Rights Movement. Through kitchen table chats, wisdom was passed down through stories that empowered me to pursue a combination of higher education and front-line experience in the ongoing pursuit of social and economic justice for urban communities of color.
Centered in a modality called Osun Consciousness (honoring land, ancestors, elders, and culture), FAAN believes that communities have the ability to overcome historic harm and mistrust through carefully crafted facilitated processes that engage impacted communities in respectful ways the amplify their voices, center design solutions on their lived expertise, and distribute resources equitably to give people what they need to thrive and advance towards beloved communities.
Mission: Expand the capacity of city and county governments, private funders, communities, and policymakers to address homelessness through the development of culturally affirming, regional, holistic response systems that create communities of belonging.
Vision: End racial disparities within homelessness systems through peacemaking and reconciliatory practices as a form of racial reckoning, healing, and repair of past injustices through the application of community-led healing modalities that foster cultures of belonging. Beloved communities isn’t just a vision, it is our value statement.
Please email info@faan.community for more information or visit https://www.adordunaatwork.com/.
Alisa's thoughts on Beloved Communities 