Assisi House Inc. is a left-of-center racial advocacy, arts, and research nonprofit. It was founded by activist and researcher Leslie T. Grover, author of The Benefits of Eating White Folks. Its work is centered around “racial healing” and storytelling, and is supported by the left-of-center grantmaking group Foundation for Louisiana. ^{1 2}

Funding and Partnerships

Assisi House is funded by the Foundation for Louisiana and solicits private donations. ³

It partners with several local projects, including Red Stick Bras and All, a charitable initiative that provides sanitary napkins and other women’s hygiene products to homeless shelters. It also partners with therapeutic dance nonprofit DANCE tHerAPPY and the low-income community outreach group Gardere Initiative. This latter group provides services such as youth summer programs, after-school tutoring, and free computer access to facilitate job application. Assisi House also partners with the arts and social justice collaborative Narrative 4. ^{4 5}

Activities

Assisi House presents itself as a research and program development service, offering to analyze and reshape organizational policies and structures. ⁶ It also has plans to host an arts and “storytelling workshop” called “Art of Resistance.” ^{7 8}

Leadership

Leslie T. Grover is the founder and president of Assisi House. She is the author of The Benefits of Eating White Folks and Jim Crow’s Secret Negro Girlfriend, ² and is the managing editor for nonprofit media group PushBlack. Grover previously worked as an associate professor at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as executive director for the Clemson University office of Access and Equity, and as an analyst at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ⁹

Reva Hines is the vice president of Assisi House, and the founder of the Red Stick Bras and All project. She is also professor at Southern University and the author of Community Organizing and Community Building for Health and Social Equity. ^{10 11}

1. ^[1] “Foundation for Louisiana.” Return of a 501(c)3 (Form 990). Accessed January 29, 2024.. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203399944/202341359349317284/full
2. Grover, Leslie Taylor-Grover. “Join Me.” Youtube. December 12, 2021. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt3tEAfgO78
3. “Foundation for Louisiana.” Return of a 501(c)3 (Form 990). Accessed January 29, 2024.. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203399944/202341359349317284/full
4. “Programs.” Assisi House. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.assisihouseinc.org/programs
5. “Services.” Gardere Initiative. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.gardereinitiative.org/services
6. “Research and Program Evaluation.” Assisi House. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.assisihouseinc.org/research-and-program-evaluation
7. “Save the Date: Art of Resistance Conference.” Northwestern Ontario Women’s Center. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://nwowomenscentre.org/save-the-date-art-of-resistance-conference/
8. “The Art of Resistance.” Assisi House. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.assisihouseinc.org/art-of-resistance-annual-conference
9. “Leslie Grover.” Linkedin. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-grover-ph-d-3a1a9511b/
10. “Reva Hines.” Linkedin. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/reva-hines-0083b71a9/
11. “Reva Hines.” Amazon. Accessed January 29, 2024. https://www.amazon.com/Books-Reva-Hines/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AReva+Hines