Black Women’s Blueprint is a left-of-center advocacy group that provides services and programs for Black women and girls and supports left-leaning racial and economic policies. 1 The group was founded in Brooklyn, New York in response to the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination process. 2 The organization uses left-leaning community organizing tactics to promote social and economic policies that are left-of-center and promotes causes including far-reaching changes to the criminal justice system. 3
Much of the work done by Black Women’s Blueprint focuses on publicizing research that points to inequality of wages and economic success between Black women and other minority groups. 4
Background
Black Women’s Blueprint is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that provides services including organizing training and donated materials to Black women and girls. 5 The organization also advocates for radical changes to the economic and social structures in the United States, calling on donors to “Give Radically” to their cause. 6
The group was founded during the 2008 Democratic primaries. The group’s founders stated that neither eventual nominee and U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) or his rival, then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) properly understood the problems that Black women and children were facing, including “gender-violence, poverty, the over-criminalization of black women and girls among others.” The group also believed that there was a cultural tendency to “erase Black women” by having white women speak on gender issues and having black men speak on racial issues. 7 Black Women’s Blueprint self-identifies as a “transnational Black feminist organization.” 8
The organization also campaigns on addressing racial and gender inequalities in the work force. 9
Services
Black Women’s Blueprint works on advocacy and service programs, mostly centered around providing aid to victims of sexual violence against Black women at the hands of police and family members. The group organized over 2,000 Black women and girls to testify about sexual violence before the United Nations. 10
Advocacy
Black Women’s Blueprint has noted that in the wake of the May 2020 death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police, fundraising and material donations to the group increased substantially. 11
Staff
Black Women’s Blueprint’s executive director is Farah Tanis, and its associate executive director is Sevonna Brown. 12 Before becoming the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Black Women’s Blueprint, Ms. Tanis founded the New York City-based group Museum of Women’s Resistance. 13 She also previously worked as an organizer with the March for Black Women, which advocated for race, gender, and expanded abortion. 14
References
- “ABOUT.” Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/copy-of-about.
- “ABOUT.” Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/copy-of-about.
- “Black Women’s Blueprint.” Philanthropy News Digest. February 21, 2017. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/npo-spotlight/black-women-s-blueprint
- “Economic Justice & Solidarity Economy.” BlackWomensBlueprint. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/economic-justice-solidarity-economy.
- “ABOUT.” Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/copy-of-about.
- “Amplify The Blueprint For Survivors Today.” GiveGab. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.givegab.com/campaigns/giving-tuesday-2019-9ba3528f-66e2-4b6a-904b-b616f89551f1
- “ABOUT.” Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/copy-of-about.
- “ABOUT.” Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/copy-of-about
- “Economic Justice & Solidarity Economy.” BlackWomensBlueprint. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/economic-justice-solidarity-economy.
- “Amplify The Blueprint For Survivors Today.” GiveGab. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.givegab.com/campaigns/giving-tuesday-2019-9ba3528f-66e2-4b6a-904b-b616f89551f1
- Bradley-Smith, Anna. “Through Pandemic and Protest, Black Women’s Blueprint Pulls Up for Women and Families in Need.” Brooklyn Reader. July 3, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.bkreader.com/2020/07/03/through-pandemic-and-protest-black-womens-blueprint-pulls-up-for-women-and-families-in-need/
- “Black Womens Blueprint, Inc.” Black Womens Blueprint, Inc. – GuideStar Profile. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/27-1308862.
- “Farah Tanis.” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/farah-tanis/
- [1] “Farah Tanis.” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/farah-tanis/