Change Agents in the American South
Connecting Leadership for Equity across the Divides of Race, Place and Generation
What is the ‘Change Agents in the American South’ project?
The Change Agents in the American South (CAAS) project is a multi-phase effort to accelerate racial and social equity outcomes in the American South by better understanding and then serving the leadership development, career support and mentorship needs of early and mid-career change agents of color (ages 25-40) working in southern grassroots communities, organized philanthropy and philanthropic support organizations. More specifically, CAAS convenes emerging grassroots leaders working in various social change arenas (i.e. advocacy, activism, community organizing and service delivery) with their similarly aged contemporaries working in philanthropy and philanthropic support organizations across various sectors (i.e. education, health, housing and employment).
The project, facilitated by Omisade Burney Scott and Milano Harden also intentionally involves veteran, cross-generation advisors (mature grassroots leaders, philanthropy and nonprofit professionals from the Baby Boomer generation who have pioneered social change careers). This approach seeks to address the culture of separation that isolates early career change agents from the range of financial and human resources, social connections and wise perspectives important to advance their work in ways that yield progress for their communities, and are personally sustainable. Practically, CAAS has brought together an initial group of these change agents as co-design partners to develop a leadership learning design, and then field-test and refine the design at convenings with early career change agents of color and veteran cross-generation advisors in several southern cities (Atlanta, GA., Raleigh-Durham, NC and the Gulf Region). Learn More.
A Message from Omisade and Milano....
The Journey
What a journey the last year has been! We want to express our extreme gratitude we for being able to gather together as change agents and share our stories. These beautiful and sometimes righteous change agent narratives were woven with the complexity of race, place and generation. They also held the special meaning of the change agent identify unfolding while living and working the American South. The narratives evoked laughter, tears, heartache and hope, and in a way, the journey has only begun.
You have clearly communicated to us the importance of continuing these conversations-- in more locations, with more diverse groups of change agents and soon. We have heard you, but wanted to pause, share and celebrate where we have been.
With your support, input and blessings, the Chang Agents in The American South project (CAAS) either hosted or participated in over fiver leadership learning events. The locations for the CAAS convening include Kannapolis, North Carolina, and two in the Metro Atlanta Area. In addition, we joined change agent partners (i.e. Marcus Littles) and cross generation advisors at the Gulf Coast Young Leaders’ Convening in Jackson, Mississippi. Over 50 young leaders gathered at this special event supported by the Ford Foundation sponsored Institute for Regional and Community Transformation (IRCT) at Rutgers’ University, the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP, the Foundation for the Mid South, and the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF). To share this work with a broader audience, we facilitated an on-site experience during Leadership Learning Community’s Creating Space VIII conference held at the Anne E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland.
With Much Gratitude
We are humbled by the support, wisdom and time and energy so freely shared with the project. Many change agents played a various roles in support of CAAS’s first phase. We especially thank all the fire starters who set the spark or threw the flame for this project, we say thank you to kwadwo (Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation), tracey (National Rural Funders Collaborative), nat (Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership), anton (South Carolina Campaign for Obama for President), patrick (Anne E. Casey), alvin (Open Society Institute), rusty (Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy), elissa (Leadership Learning Community), andrea (Aspen Roundtable for Community Change), rahn (abt Associaties), marcus (irct), lavastian (neighbors for better neighborhoods), and sangotosin (Center for Community Change). To the elders who provided respite, sanctuary and a righteous kick in the pants when warranted, we say thank you to lynn (southern education foundation), gladys (Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation), caesar (Center for Reflective Practice at MIT), david (MDC, Inc.), and linetta (Ford Foundation). To the water bearers who provided the much needed resources to keep the momentum for this work flowing, we say thank you to the Leadership Learning Community, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and MDC, Inc. To the change agents who shared their stories of hope, fear, paradox and joy, we say thank you to sharon (consultant), cynthia (The Sojourner Group), theresa (Southern Anti-racist Network/SARN), christina (Blue Springs-Hoke County CDC), donna (New Life Women’s Leadership Project), kwadwo, nat, sangotosin, colette (Moving Forward Gulf Coast)), dominque (Policy Link), derrick(Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP), venus (NAACP), charles (Birmingham Change Fund), sherece (LDRF), ashley (LDRF), samantha (LDRF) hollis (Southern ECHO), sherell (United Way of King County Washington), diane(Associated Black Charities), ladon (CCC), british (SunTrust Bank), chris (Dekalb County Board of Health), gary (Hands On Atlanta Network), danny (Arthur M. Blank Foundation), juanita (University of Georgia), david (Social Capital Consulting), anana (AfriSalsa), charles (United Way of Cobb County), saudia (Martin Luther King Historic Site National Park Service) and many many more.
Our Accomplishments
There were so many accomplishments that we decided to share our learning in three sections. The first section is what we call Give Me Five! These represent cross-cutting, emerging themes from CAAS’ first phase.The second section will be information shared on our wikki site including agendas, notes, blogs and photos. You can find our wiki at caas.pbwiki.com. The final section is a longer summary paper that describes various technical aspects of Phase I-- co-design process and meeting, the tools developed and used in actual meetings, and a fuller treatment of annotated themes from the Phase I journey.
Please find below Give Me Five!
- Desire for sanctuary, respite and a healing place are essential to change agent partners and cross-generation advisers. By healing space we mean both a space for dialogue to explore more authentically and openly issues of race that occur in these leaders experiences doing social change work, and in their careers with colleagues as well as a desire for physical retreat space and sabbatical like experiences.
- Place and location completely color how change agents experiencetheir ability to fully operate and bring their full contribution. This is particularly true in the American South because the history and dynamics around race and racism and other difference. Ghost of our collective past continues to return because of the way constructs of race and race relations where forged in the South.
- Shift from the underlying older narrative of effectiveness to a new narrative of relationship and interdependence. The effectiveness narrative over emphasis skills and information whiles eclipsing the need for authentic connections. Whereas the new narrative brings into balances the need for learning and effective with key relationships support like mentors. In addition, there need to be critical changes in organizational culture and practices that are grounded in fairness and equity. These new approaches translate into supports, investment and resources given to change agents of color within that organization
- The capacity to more deeply understand and negotiate difference is a core leadership competence towards a commonly held social justice perspective.
- Paradox: it is important that space be made for authentic intergenerational exchange grounded hope, mutual understanding, and reciprocity. In particular, finding creative ways to support each others uniquely different leadership transitions while respecting the interconnectedness of generational differences.
Continuing The Work
The objectives of CAAS’ first phase were the following:
· To convene an initiating a cross-generation co-design and advisory team
· To develop a preliminary model or learning design
· To capture preliminary insights that arise from the co-design and communities of practice gatherings
We would like to extend an invitation to all change agent partners to further refine and development this collective narrative. In that spirit, we ask folks forward us their responses to the following question:
· What insights or awareness do you have regarding your CAAS experience?
· Since your individual CAAS experience, how have you used what you learned from others in your own leadership practice?
· What pathways or clear next steps can you envision for CAAS’ next chapter?
· How do you want to be involved in the next phase?
Please forward your answers to Omisade, Milano or Elissa and we will post them on our wikki as an open space learning document.
We hope that everyone is well and thriving. We pray that the information that has been gathered can be used to transform and bolster the leadership supports that already exist within our institutions and communities or to create new and bolder strategies for support the leadership of change agents.
Omisade Burney-Scott, Co-Director, CAAS Project/Ananse Consulting
C. Milano Harden, Co-Director, CAAS Project/The Genius Group, Inc.
“Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” Howard Zinn
For more on the projects' grounding and formation, visit the About the Project page or download a PDF of the draft project statement.
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