Black Humboldt’s Impact

Black Humboldt, BH, is a community-based, grassroots organization offering cultural, arts and educational programming to the Black and Brown communities of The Northern Coast of CA. BH is interested in networking, building relationships and community with residents who identify as Black, Indigenous or as a person of color that also finds themselves intersected with other marginalized identities like 2S/LGBTQAI+, experiencing poverty, being disabled, experiencing incarceration or not having access to higher education. Black Humboldt is a fiscally sponsored project of The Ink People Center of The Arts and was established in 2018 by visionary Dionna Ndlovu and co-founder Mo Harper-Desir.

Black Humboldt is filling the gaps we see in education, representation, positions of power, and accessibility to resources for BIPOC identities. Through creating opportunities of success for the communities we serve Black Humboldt is drastically decreasing the vulnerability of our community. Through monetary opportunities we are giving them financial security as well as the skills needed to maintain this security. Through community connection we are providing space for healing and thriving which decreases racial vulnerability as well as maintains a more positive mental health. We are creating safety for our community as well as awareness that safety exists in a potentially harmful area, through these means we are continuously creating security and the tools to build the future we imagine for a liberated community whilst always being a very vulnerable community. 

We measure the success of our programming through the number of community members served, event participation numbers, grants received, new programs/projects created and programs and projects continuing. We will know our project is successful based off the way communities we serve grow and prosper. We are basing growth on the number of available services, resources and opportunities that directly diminish the gaps we see in employment, education, class and incarceration between BIPOC and nonBIPOC communities. We evaluate the programs and projects through community listening sessions and surveys. We respond to the diverse needs of the communities and artists / cultural practitioners by engaging in our programming and including as many community members in decision making and strategic planning as possible.

Black Humboldt operates with an open door policy and provides ongoing monetary opportunities for BIPOC community members to organize, coordinate and participate in the building of our programming to ensure we are including the communities we aim to serve in decision making. We operate without any internal structure that would place any team mate "above" or in charge of another. The actions Black Humboldt takes to build trust and ongoing relationships include being a part of the community we serve. We have maintained this trust through community partnerships, Black mixers, culturally significant space and teachings, gathering BIPOC community members in safe spaces, educating non BIPOC populations and providing support and resources to the Black & Brown population and business owners.

Black Humboldt’s impact in 2023 is thanks to the following support and funders:

2023 ANNUAL REPORT