When Anthony Curtis took the first steps toward founding the Black Equality Coalition early in the pandemic, he wasn’t seeking to found a nonprofit organization. He was responding to a crisis: a crisis of racism, of silence, and of complicity in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
Seeing these and so many other Black lives violently ended at the hands of people in power, he and countless other Black colleagues, friends, and communities were in pain.
Yet all that he heard in response to these horrible crimes from the leaders of the large corporation where he worked was silence. So Anthony chose to be silent too, by literally not speaking, at work, on the job, for three days.
Through his silence, he became a voice for himself and his Black colleagues. And his voice was heard. His supervisors called him into their office and said, “We’re sorry.”
The Black Equality Coalition grew out of that crisis and Anthony’s courageous act of protest. Following his employer’s “sorry,” Anthony began making requests of his company, of other businesses, and of other community organizations. His requests were all aimed at helping Black communities and Black families in concrete ways.
He never knew if his requests would be met with a yes, but as his grandma always told him, “Nothing beats a failure but a try.”
So try he did. And thankfully his combined and persistent efforts have led to a tremendous impact over the past five years in the lives of Black families. Today the Black Equality Coalition (BEC) promotes the advancement of Black communities primarily through two thriving programs: the Unstoppable Mentorship Initiative and Lori’s Closet.
As a child, Anthony experienced what it meant to be overlooked in the education system and to lack positive mentorship and role models. Determined to ensure that Black youth at schools in South King County have a different experience than he did, the Unstoppable Mentorship Initiative starts early by empowering children in elementary schools.
The mentors teach kids about values, character, decision making, consequences, and rewards. They give youth the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and a variety of life skills. It’s all about setting them on the right track—and preventing the conditions that can get kids off onto the wrong track.
To ensure that these children and their families also have their basic needs met at home, the participants in the mentoring program are the first ones served by Lori’s Closet—BEC’s wraparound social services program.
Lori’s Closet provides clothing, hygiene products, and school supplies—all with a goal of meeting families’ most tangible needs. This all-inclusive program also extends beyond the youth and families from the mentorship program.
BEC partners with community groups and other nonprofits to support families in need throughout South King County. These include the African Young Dreamers Empowerment Program International (AYDEPI), Build 2 Lead, Treehouse, Mary’s Place, Community Pathways, and more.
In fact, BEC is excited to have begun a new chapter of convening and coalition-building with local organizations to increase their direct, shared access to local youth and families. In the case of AYDEPI and Build 2 Lead, this collective approach has taken a very concrete form. All three organizations recently decided to locate their offices and staff in the same physical space at the Family Life Center in Federal Way.
By having their offices located side by side, the three organizations now enjoy a vibrant co-working environment to facilitate day-to-day collaboration. This dynamic supports BEC’s commitment to building strategic partnerships with kindred agencies. And best of all, the new workspace has plenty of potential energy and room to grow for hosting new programs, events, and resources among strategic partners. Plans are already in place to welcome Look2Justice as a fourth nonprofit in the shared space very soon.
Partnerships like these were on full display at BEC’s annual Block Party in August. This welcoming, inclusive, and joyful celebration was attended by hundreds of people in the parking lot of the Family Life Center. It displayed the breadth of BEC’s services and the wisdom of their coalition approach, as multiple nonprofits joined forces to deliver care and support to communities made more vulnerable in our current times.
Families perused racks and racks of free clothing. Children received backpacks filled with school supplies. Social service agencies hosted information tables with staff on hand to meet families from throughout the region. And there was delicious food, great music, and even spontaneous dancing throughout the day.
BEC’s regional impact makes their partnership with Renton Regional Community Foundation (RRCF) a natural one. While the grant funding which BEC has received through RRCF’s Care Together Fund is certainly a help, Anthony says that the greatest gift of BEC’s partnership with RRCF is to have been brought into a community and “into spaces where I see my people.”
As Anthony puts it, “RRCF has shown us that in navigating this nonprofit space, we have every right to be who we are. RRCF does not see us as any less than that.” They have given us “a place at the table, where people hear us,” among funders, nonprofit partners, and other stakeholders.
And the broader community of partners is all the better for hearing the wisdom and experience of Anthony and BEC—especially amidst the current political climate in our country.
When we asked Anthony how new federal policies are impacting BEC’s work, he shared that many immigrant community members are afraid to come to public events—like the Block Party mentioned above. In addition, many partner nonprofits through which BEC reaches vulnerable families have now experienced federal funding cuts. These cuts can create obstacles to BEC’s reach.
Yet Anthony and BEC remain unstoppable. “With Black-led organizations and the people I work with, you can never just stare at the problem. You have to go for solutions. You have to constantly be creative. I’m not seeing any of us back down or stop the work or complain. I just see it evolving.”
Amidst the current crises facing our communities and our country, these examples of Anthony Curtis and the Black Equality Coalition encourage us to respond creatively and courageously to work for justice and the rights of all—just as Anthony did five years ago and continues doing today.
As Anthony is fond of saying: “I believe in never letting a good crisis go to waste.”