Initiative

Village of Wisdom

Village of Wisdom (VOW) organizes Black parent power by codifying their wisdom and expertise into tools and resources that support how parents and educators build culturally affirming learning environments.  We design learning experiences that support how Black parents activate their agency in research, cultural organizing, leadership, and instructional liberation. Our ultimate goal is to position Black parents as experts in building the environments needed for Black children to thrive.

Home Pathways Action Map Village of Wisdom

Fast Facts

Relevant Actions Action 1.1, Action 1.2, Action 1.5
State or Local?

Local
Counties

Durham, Forsyth, Orange, Wake
Lead Agency

Village of Wisdom
Type of Agency

Non-profit
Racial Equity Lens
  • Village of Wisdom leverages funding and support to compensate our parents and provide them with the resources to alleviate barriers to engagement in programming.
  • Village of Wisdom adopted a community-driven research approach built on trust and care that debunk myths about research, scientific processes, and center research in the everyday practice of Black caregivers and parents.
  • Village of Wisdom supports how Black parents translate research, art into their own leadership and advocacy centered on racial justice and equity.
Community Voice
  • Village of Wisdom builds a model for parents to engage in healing and restorative learning experiences that combat racism.
  • Village of Wisdom positions our Black parents to co-lead community-driven research, cultural organizing, and instructional liberation with the aim of building culturally affirming learning environments.
  • Village of Wisdom positions Black parents as leaders in the organization and advisors in designing and implementing programming and offerings.
Impact
  • Village of Wisdom co-creates and co-leads our work with Black parents; as a result, 5 Black woman co-authored the Dream Assessment report (more than 1,000 + users have reviewed the report and visited the page since its release in April 2021)
  • Six Black parents co-designed the Keep Dreaming Toolkit (more than 350+ downloads since October and the PDF version has been shared with more than 13,000 people)
  • Black parents have co-facilitated three sessions with education and community leaders (with more than 100+ attendees) and presented their work at conferences, including the American Psychological Association, Division 45, the Color of Education, and We Are Anti-Racism Conference.

 
Next Steps
  • Continue to build a cadre of Black parent leaders and researchers to leverage their wisdom to inform policies and practices that impact their community and children.
  • Build a council of Black parents to serve as reviewers to monitor and produce tools and resources that build culturally affirming learning environments.
  • Strengthen Black parent-school relationships by positioning parents as key reflective practice partners in educational decisions.
Primary Partners
  • Center for Racial Equity in Education (CREED)
  • Discriminology+
  • Action4Equity
  • Iheoma Iruka, UNC-Chapel Hill
Primary Funders
  • K. Kellogg Foundation
  • Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
  • Schusterman Foundation
Contact

William P Jackson

Active Counties