More of our Programs, Partners, and Broader Network
PROGRAMS
Songhoy Princess Clubs, International
“From the Nile to the Niger to the Neighborhood” — Empowerment: Connecting Our Future to the Memory of our past
Songhoy Princess Clubs, International is an international network of Black girls engaging in cultural heritage apprenticeships. Through hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) learning, girls use digital tools for community problem-solving.
Songhoy Princess Clubs, International is a Division of the Academy for Diaspora Literacy, Inc.
Guardians of Heritage
Guardians of Heritage (GoH), an African-centered youth leadership and legacy collaborative, will engage Black youth in intergenerational placed-based inquiry, collaborative study, and community-based social problem-solving activities.
The GoH program uses Black scholarship, cultural expression, traditions of resistance, community history, legacies of struggle, and heritage knowledge as resources to build and sustain young people’s transformative power, agency, activism critical reasoning and leadership skills.
Guardians of Heritage is a division of the Academy for Diaspora Literacy, Inc.
PARTNERS
The Academy’s Partnership Method is based on the traditional African cultural ethos, “I am because we are”—Ubuntu—that centers on mutually beneficial, authentic collaboration. The Academy makes virtual learning spaces available for educators, schools, non-profit organizations and cultural entities to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations and to achieve sustainable and equitable impact, community accountability and mission fulfillment. The African focused way of doing and being informs all that we do collectively and permeates the programs and practices of the Academy.
Institute for local innovations
The Institute for Local Innovations, Inc. (ILI) is focused on innovations that improve the quality and sustainability of communities and the lives of their stakeholders across generations. ILI provides a positive impact to urban, suburban and rural communities through Capacity Building, and Talent Development for Community Stability. The Institute for Local Innovations, Inc. is a “Think-Do Tank” focused on Enhancing Innovative Community Development. Established in 2012 ILI, is a Louisiana public charity [501(c)(3) organization] based in New Orleans. ILI exists out of a desire to see better, innovative and sustainable progress made in efforts to improve the lives of low-wealth individuals and families and their communities. Responding to the needs of community members, nonprofit leaders, and private and public funders, the Institute for Local Innovations (ILI) has focused on empowering other nonprofits through three primary programs: (1) Organizational Stability & Capacity Building - Technical Assistance; (2) Knowledge Capture & Transfer; and (3) Innovation Hub. By building capacities, capturing and transferring knowledge across generations, and lifting up innovations in community development ILI serves as a catalyst for positive change in low-wealth communities.
For More Information, Visit: https://www.ili360.org/
SAMUEL DEWITT PROCTOR CONFERENCE
The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. (SDPC) represents a cross-section of progressive African American faith leaders and their congregations in the United States. Founded in 2003 as a 501(c)(3) organization, the SDPC was called into being to continue the rich legacy of the Black Church and faith community’s engagement in issues of social justice as well as honoring the remarkable life and courageous leadership of the theological and educational legend, Rev. Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor. Dr. Iva Carruthers is one of the three founders along with Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright and Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes and she serves as the General Secretary of the Proctor Conference responsible for the daily functioning of this venerable organization. SDPC’s mission is “to nurture, sustain, and mobilize the African American faith community in collaboration with civic, corporate, and philanthropic leaders to address critical needs of human and social justice within local, national, and global communities.”
For more information, visit: http://sdpconference.info/
IKG CULTURAL RESOURCE CENTER
Anthony T. Browder founded IKG in 1981, as an educational organization devoted to the re-discovery and application of ancient African history, culture and wisdom. As the architects of civilization, ancient Africans developed the humanizing principles which established the foundation for world civilization. It is within this framework that IKG concentrates its research and disseminates its findings in an effort to demystify history and present knowledge that can be readily applied in a practical and personal manner. Tony has sought to challenge the distorted perceptions of Africa that are perpetuated in the media and in classrooms worldwide.
For more information, visit: https://ikgculturalresourcecenter.com/
A BLACK EDUCATION NETWORK
ABEN is the national successor organization of the California Alliance of African American Educators (CAAAE). Debra Watkins, founded and served as the executive director of CAAAE and now ABEN, which is uniquely positioned because of CAAAE’s almost 20-year track record of consistently demonstrated a positive impact on the educational achievement of African American students, to help address the national crisis in Black education. ABEN’s mission is “to assist our children and youth in reaching their full potential by facilitating academic and cultural excellence wherever they are, using culturally informed research, technology, visionary parent education and networking in our communities here and in diaspora contexts.” Dr. Hassimi O. Maiga, a renowned expert in the African Songhoy language, and Dr. Joyce King suggested that the new organization be called, A Black Education Network (ABEN). In the Songhoy language, ABEN means “it is finished” or “the buck stops here,” a name we felt was most fitting for the radical stance we are taking to regain control over the education of Black children for true liberation.
For more information, visit: https://www.aben4ace.org/
The Sirius learning studio
The Sirius Star, also known as the Nile Star and the Star of the Goddess Isis, announces the annual flood that transformed the Nile River upon which the ancient civilization of Kemet depended. The Sirius Learning Studio is the membership portal for Academy for Diaspora Literacy Certificate programs in personal and organizational transformation. Members are engaged in cultural and heritage knowledge recovery via communal and one-on-one hybrid learning experiences, including online courses and webinars, customized apprenticeships, teleconferences, video lectures, consultations, film series and other resources.
THE ACADEMY’S BROADER NETWORK
NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN REPARATIONS COMMISSION
Established in April 2015, the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) is a group of distinguished professionals from all around the country with outstanding accomplishments in the fields of law, medicine, journalism, academia, history, civil rights and social justice advocacy.
They are united in a common commitment to fight for reparatory justice, compensation and restoration of African American communities that were plundered by the historical crimes of slavery, segregation and colonialism and that continue to be victimized by the legacies of slavery and American apartheid.