We see our work as but a small part of a much larger push toward liberation that neither begins nor ends with us, but which we are uniquely situated to contribute to.

Mission

The Black Midwest Initiative is a progressive collective of scholars, students, activists, organizers, and community-involved people who are committed to advocating for the lives of people of African descent as they are situated throughout the Midwest and Rust Belt regions of the United States. We understand that the various forms of oppression and marginalization that we struggle against are not the sum total of our existence. Just as we know pain and suffering and struggle, we have known joy and love and care. So we fight– because we know that we are worth fighting for. 

Vision

BMI endeavors to build an expansive network of similarly aligned people across the region whose individual and collective creative, organizational, and scholarly pursuits on behalf of Black Midwesterners are acknowledged, supported, and developed.

Values of the Black Midwest Initiative

  • BMI organizes its work around three interrelated pillars: Art, Activism, and Academics.

  • BMI archives, witnesses, and documents the lives, cultures, histories, and experiences of Black people in and of the Midwest.

  • BMI cultivates a new language in pursuit of Black-led conversations and the transformative possibilities of those conversations.

  • BMI acknowledges, cultivates and holds space for restoration and transformation.

  • BMI creates an evolving dynamic space where people of African descent can bring their whole selves, build authentic relationships, and engage in enduring and dynamic praxis.

  • BMI is committed to social justice and to the liberation of all Black people, everywhere.

  • BMI honors the diverse backgrounds of people across the region, including those who are poor and working class, nonbinary and gender expansive, LGBTQIA, immigrant, disabled, and from various faith and religious traditions.