Institute for Black Justice

CHIMES Family Advocacy ProgramVolunteers in the Institute for Black Justice CHIMES Family Advocacy Program "chime-in" on behalf of African American families at Pierce County and King County courts.Eight Institute for Black Justice CHIMES volunteers provide a community of culturally-relevant support and empathy for families navigating the criminal justice system. CHIMES volunteers explain the criminal justice process, facilitate communication between Prosecutors, Defense Counsel and families, and appear in court with families as criminal cases proceed through trial or plea agreement.Our proudest CHIMES achievement has been the success of our advocacy work on behalf of families in state dependency actions. In a very short period of time, the Institute for Black Justice has established itself as an influential advocate and innovator of alternatives to the state's child welfare system.Since its official launch in March, 2021 the CHIMES Family Advocacy program has successfully supported reunification of African American families who were facing termination of their parental rights.Thanks to the CLG grant, the CHIMES program has expanded beyond the capacity of 8 volunteers and the Institute for Black Justice Founder. The CHIMES team now includes a contracted Director of Social Work, a Housing Partner, several contracted health care and social services providers, and part-time administrative and IT support.Institute for Black Justice has leveraged early investments from Group Health to secure support for the CHIMES expansion from The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, Black Future Co-op Fund, The Bamford Foundation and Perigee Fund.

Activists Cultivating Equitable Strategies (ACES) Leadership Development ProgramIn 2022, the Institute for Black Justice re-branded and updated its youth and young adult programming as the ACES program. This effort was led and co-designed by young adults and Institute for Black Justice's Community Engagement Director, Anzhane Slaughter. The new approach raised the profile of ACES participants in three ways: 1)amplifying the social justice work in which they were already involved; 2) providing greater visibility for their talents in the visual and performing arts; and 3) by connecting them to job and entrepreneurial opportunities.Our signature ACES event is the two-day Freedom Summer Symposium and Design Challenge (FSS). The FSS is an annual call-to-action from community elders to future generations of social justice activists. The FSS theme is anchored in a particular historical event that holds value to the elders. This "historic anchor" creates a foundation for dialog,inquiry and mutual understanding between elder and their modern counterparts in the 18-35 year-old demographic.In 2022, the FSS was held on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University where 12 ACES participants and 86 registrants responded to the historic theme: "Remembering the Mother's Day Uprising: Updating the Blueprint for Black Excellence.In both 2021 and 2022, the Institute for Black Justice partnered with local colleges and universities to teach principles of human-centered design to the ACES cohort. These creative tools are a value-added benefit of the Freedom Summer Symposium Design Challenge. The University of Washington Tacoma, Pacific Lutheran University, Evergreen State College and University of Puget Sound all played a role in executing the 2022 Freedom Summer Symposium.The ACES program also organizes community education events. For example, the Institute for Black Justice's 2022 Black History event, "Let the Kings Talk," put youth and young adults on stage at Tacoma's Blue Mouse Theatre to discuss gun violence in the African American community. The panel discussion was preceded by a film screening of "Since I Been Down," a locally-produced documentary about gun violence in Tacoma's Hilltop, circa 1993.

The Black Robe PodcastBetween September, 2021 and August, 2022, The Institute for Black Justice produced more than 65 segments of the Black Robe podcast, an intergenerational dialog where the hosts interview guests, discuss public policy decisions, offer insights on changes in the law, and promote events impacting communities of color.One powerful example of our the impact of the podcast was the episode that explained the history and rationale for the Attorney General's investigation and charging decisions in the death of Manuel Ellis. Manuel Ellis died in a tragic encounter with Tacoma Police in March, 2021. Representatives of a local community group called the IBJ seeking permission to forward the episode to their members, as a way to get them up-to-speed quickly on the issues presented in the Ellis case.Another example was a lively episode that expressed two generational perspectives on the state's Washington Ready legislation. Washington Ready set forth certain COVID-19 mandates that caused significant controversy. The episode illustrated the widely divergent perspectives held by your and young adults, offered historical perspectives to explain African American hesitation and mistrust, and suggested strategies to increase voluntary vaccination rates among young adults and communities of color.