Prepare to cast your vote in the New Mexico CD-1 election with the NMBLC special election resource guide.
The special election for Congressional District 1 (CD-1) in New Mexico is on June 1, 2021. This race will fill the seat vacated when Deb Haaland was confirmed as the cabinet secretary for the Department of the Interior. CD-1 covers Bernalillo, Torrance, and parts of Sandoval, Santa Fe and Valencia counties.
New Mexico CD-1 Map. Source: Wikipedia Public Domain
The candidates running for Congressional District 1 are
Keep scrolling to find information on requesting your absentee ballot, where to find your polling location, and information about the candidates so that you can make an educated voting decision.
How to Request Your Absentee Ballot
Want to avoid the lines and do the ultimate social distancing for this election? Stay home on election day and mail in your ballot instead. Request your absentee ballot by May 18, 2021. To request an absentee ballot, click here: https://portal.sos.state.nm.us/OVR/WebPages/AbsenteeApplication.aspx
Under “Elections” select “Special Congressional District Election One”
Click Next and complete your voter identity information.
Click Next and confirm your registration data.
Click Next and select your ballot type and delivery method.
Click Next to review and submit your application.
To make sure your absentee ballot arrives in time to be counted, mail it by May 25, 2021.
Not Registered to Vote? Do Same Day Registration
If you haven’t yet registered to vote, you can still vote in the special election with same day registration. Register to vote or update your voter registration and vote at the same time.
New Mexico law now provides the opportunity for people to register to vote or update their voter registration immediately before voting.
— Bernalillo County Clerk website
All you need for same day registration is your current and valid photo ID. If you don’t have a photo ID, you can use one of the following documents instead: a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card or other government document, including identification issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo that shows your name and current address.
Starting May 4, 2021, register and vote on the same day at the County Clerk’s Office, 1500 Lomas A NW, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Do you prefer to vote old school? Do you like to take your time making your choice? Vote on Election Day, Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Seventy (70) polling locations are open on election day from 7AM to 7PM. Find your voting day polling location here: https://www.bernco.gov/clerk/election-day-voting-locations.aspx
Learn More About the Candidates
The candidates running for Congressional District 1 are
Last Day to Mail in Your Absentee Ballot: May 25, 2021
Last Day to Vote Early: May 29, 2021. Starting May 4, vote early at the County Clerk’s Office, 1500 Lomas NW, Suite A, 87104, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Starting May 15, vote early at additional locations, Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find your nearest early voting location here: https://www.bernco.gov/clerk/early-voting-locations.aspx
Last Day for Same Day Registration (SDR): May 29, 2021. You can register to vote or update your voter registration immediately before voting. Starting May 4, SDR at the County Clerk’s Office, 1500 Lomas A NW, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Starting May 15, SDR at additional locations, Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find your same day registration location here: https://www.bernco.gov/clerk/same-day-registration.aspx
Celebrate Black history in New Mexico with events in health and wellness, cultural vibrancy, and positive youth development.
Here at the New Mexico Black Leadership Council, we believe Black history is not something that happens just once a year in February and then goes away. In New Mexico, we celebrate Black history all year with ongoing events designed to inspire and enlighten. From the Black health and wellness townhall through the visionary Roots Summer Leadership Academy, we build partnerships and band the community.
Invisibility Syndrome: A psychological experience where a person feels that their personal identity and ability are undermined by racism
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
The New Mexico Black Leadership Council is proud to have hosted the Invisibility Syndrome Workshop, presented by the concept’s creator, Dr. Anderson J. Franklin. “Invisibility Syndrome” is defined by Dr. Franklin as a psychological experience where a person feels that their personal identity and ability are undermined by racism in ways big and small.
“This was a very valuable presentation, really appreciated the breakout sessions to hear everyone’s thoughts as well. NM is a multicultural state!”
— Invisibility Syndrome Workshop Attendee
Two tracks were offered: one for mental health providers, with CEUs available, and the other for the community.
The programming was supported by NM Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Initiatives, Behavioral Health Training and Education Services Grant.
We are excited to bring more innovative workshops centered on mental health in the future.
“Before determining what that person is like find out first hand who they are.”
— Invisibility Syndrome Workshop Attendee
True New Mexico Artwalk Pop-up
Friday, May 7, 2021, 5-9PM
A collection of self-portraits from young Black & AAPI New Mexicans
The True NM collaboration between the New Mexico Black Leadership Council (NMBLC) and the New Mexico Asian Family Center (NMAFC) brings together a collection of self-portraits from young Black & AAPI New Mexicans looking to dismantle the tricultural myth. The tricultural myth is the idea that Hispanics, Indigenous, and LatinX people live together in harmony. This false belief erases the reality of oppression that many New Mexicans still experience, and ignores the existence of Black and Asian American/Pacific Islander people in the state.
“Combating erasure can feel like an uphill battle, but it starts with teaching our history. It also starts with all marginalized New Mexicans being loudly and unapologetically ourselves. It starts with us learning about our culture, our history, and having conversations like these. We can only teach history if we learn it and care about it ourselves.”
— Raine F. (They/Them/Theirs), TRUE NM Artist
This evocative Photovoice project gives youth from the groups often overlooked as an integral part of the New Mexico citizenry a chance to speak up about their experiences. The digital exhibit was held on April 25th. In case you missed it, you can view photos of the artwork here: https://truenm.com/gallery
Meet the young artists in person and support their amazing work on May 7th at the pop-up happening as part of ABQ Artwalk. Stop by any time between 5-9PM at the Secret Gallery located at B Ruppe Drugstore on 807 4th Street SW.
Racial Reckoning: True Equity in Mental Health
Wednesday, May 26, 2021, 9AM – Noon
Take part in an opportunity to build a better and more inclusive mental health system in New Mexico and the United States. The New Mexico Black Leadership Council, with support from the Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Initiative, presents the “Racial Reckoning: True Equity in Mental Health Townhall” virtual event. We’re spearheading this convening about mental health in New Mexico from the Black and Indigenous People of Color perspective. Dr. Jamal Martin of the University of New Mexico will discuss current epidemiology and Dr. Michael Lindsey, NYU and editor of “Ring The Alarm: The Crisis of Black Suicide in America,” will be the Keynote Speaker. Participants will have the chance to delve deeper into this topic in panel discussions, as well as qualify for Continuing Education Credits (CEUs).
The Roots Summer Leadership Academy (RSLA) is NMBLC’s flagship 3-week summer learning program that uses the performing / visual arts and math integrated curriculum to engage youth during out of school time. In 2020, we created a hybrid online and in-person COVID-19 safe camp experience for 25 young people. We plan to do even bigger and better this year. RSLA recently expanded to an after-school program. In a partnership with Explora, Emerson Elementary students registered with the Boys & Girls Club can take part in the Roots Explorers Project (R.E.P.) for four weeks during the 2021 spring term.
When New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland was confirmed as the cabinet secretary for the Department of the Interior, her Congressional District 1 seat became open. A special congressional election to fill the seat will be held June 1, 2021.
New Mexico CD-1 Candidates
The candidates running for Congressional District 1 are
Candidates from New Mexico Congressional District 1 will answer questions from organizations and voters in the state. (Originally, all four candidates agreed to participate in the forum; however, Mark Moores recently pulled out.) NMBVC’s goal is to provide communities around the state with as much information as possible about upcoming elections, candidates, and legislation to ensure fair representation and education for all voters in the state of New Mexico. The forum also gives the candidates a chance to get to know and understand the real issues that matter to voters in CD-1.
“I don’t think that we get enough information from the candidates just from their campaigns; typically, it’s what they want you to know.”
—Mason Graham, NMBVC
Mason Graham, the NMBVC forum project lead, says that this format facilitates getting answers that lie behind the standard campaign messages. “When they’re on the spot and they’re answering questions about real issues, that’s when we get to know the quality of their character, their background, their ideas and thought process, and the way that they would handle an issue.”
New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative CD-1 Forum Moderators
How to Attend the New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative CD-1 Forum
Over 400 people have responded to the CD-1 Congressional Forum event on Facebook, an indication that this type of civic discourse is of interest to voters in New Mexico. NMBVC plans to continue to host forums in the future, particularly the upcoming mayoral election in the city of Albuquerque.
“For New Mexico, they’re like yes, I want to be a part of that, I want to see that, I want to see what these people have to say before I go and cast my vote.”
NMBLC takes a look back at a decade of New Mexico Black History Festival events and previews what’s coming up in 2021
In the fall of 2011, a group of like-minded community members from all walks of life met to plan the very first New Mexico Black History Festival. The vision was to honor and celebrate the contributions of Black people in New Mexico while building community from the inside out. This group of volunteers formed the New Mexico Black History Organizing Committee (NMBHOC), led by founder Cathryn McGill. NMBHOC curated and managed events to reflect themes of the week: Arts & Culture; Taste of Soul; and Mind, Body & Soul.
These collaborations created impactful, necessary ongoing programs that have become anticipated traditions in the community. Such events include the Asante Awards, honoring Black leaders and trailblazers in New Mexico, the Roots Summer Leadership Academy, teaching youth self esteem and leadership skills through the arts, and the Young Blacks of Albuquerque Meetup Group, which in turn inspired The Syndicate ABQ, a safe and curated space for Black creatives, Queer folx, and healing.
“A people who lack the knowledge of their past history, culture and origin are like a tree without roots.”
~ Marcus Garvey
When the New Mexico Black Leadership Council (NMBLC) formed at the end of 2019, the NMBHOC became one of the many programs administered by the NMBLC. NMBLC serves as a hub that focuses on Cultural Vibrancy, Health, Leadership Development, Civic Engagement and Youth Development. As part of its Cultural Vibrancy mission, NMBLC supports the NMBHOC and the annual New Mexico Black History Festival. The year 2021 marks a major milestone— the Festival enters its 10th year of providing a slate of artistic and cultural celebrations to bring the community together.
We’re taking a look back at the festival highlights of the past decade. We’re also giving you a preview of what’s planned for the 2021 festival. Most everything will be virtual, or a virtual and socially-distanced hybrid, and it will still be amazing. Mark your calendar for February – July 2021 as we launch DECADES: Past, Present, Future a 10 year Celebration of the New Mexico Black History Festival!
Inaugural New Mexico Black History Festival – Roots Revival (2011/2012)
The theatrical performance of Roots opened with students who are preparing to go on an exciting trip to learn about the past, present, and future of Black history. The Griot (storyteller) uses a backdrop of high-energy music, dance, and spoken word to take these unwitting students, who initially think they “know it all,” on an eye-opening, riveting journey, full of poignant, heart-wrenching, and inspiring stories they didn’t learn in school.
Sold Out Popejoy with Roots Revival (2013)
Roots: Our Story, Our Struggle, Our Glory and Roots Revival chronicled the history of Blacks in the United States in spoken word, music and dance. Our struggle, our story, our glory was the rallying cry for more than 100 artists, staff and crew members beginning in 2012 at a small 150 seat theater in northwest Albuquerque. Roots became the first locally Black-produced event to sell out Popejoy Hall, the state’s largest theatrical venue. The show lives on in the hearts of the participants and patrons who remember it as a launching point for children coming of age, romance, and new business ventures. The critically acclaimed production renewed interest in authentic Black history created about us, by us and for all New Mexicans.
The WIZ (2014)
Throughout the years, the New Mexico Black History Organizing Committee continued expanding its catalogue of performances. The WIZ is a musical written by Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown. The story is a retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African-American culture. The WIZ stage show was the flagship event of the 3rd Annual New Mexico Black History Festival.
Kumbuka Celebrations at KiMo and Lensic (2019 & 2020)
The Kumbuka Celebrations are all about remembering our ancestors. We brought together a stellar ensemble of artists in song, spoken word, and dance to celebrate our ancestors, the ones who are famous in our collective consciousness and the ones who are close to our individual hearts and minds.
Many memorable community collaborations have taken place over the ten years of arts and culture events. Highlights include the One New Mexico Gospel concert featuring gospel sensation Kelontae Gavin, and the Omega Psi Phi Talent Hunt Competition, which awards cash prizes to high school students who win the top spot in the areas of song, dance, and spoken word. Check out winners from the 2019 talent hunt below:
A Taste of Soul
Sweet Potato Pie Contest (2012)
The New Mexico Black History Festival in year’s past included a cuisine focus. In 2012 we hosted a sweet potato pie contest where members of the community were asked to put their baking skills to the test in an effort to win a cash prize of $500, $300, or $200.
Soul Food Cooking Class (2015)
We partnered with CNM to offer a soul food cooking class to the community. The class was hugely popular, filling to capacity within a week of being announced.
Another sold out event was the 2015 Sunday Dinner held at the Navajo Elks Lounge. Several Black-owned restaurants, including Nexus and Powdrell’s Barbecue, brought samples of their menu for attendees to sample. A portion of the ticket proceeds went to the Prince Hall Scholarship Fund.
Work It Out Day & The STEM Festival
The festival often culminated with Mind, Body, and Soul Week. This free, all day community event included health and fitness workshops, dance classes, and interactive game stations where youth learned about all the fun career options available in the STEM fields.
Honoring Service and Leadership
The Asante Awards
The Asante Awards focus on different categories of recognition from law, to the arts, to hospitality. Through the past 6 years, the Asante Awards has engaged participants to honor those who have made significant contributions to the Black community. Past recipients of the Asante Awards include the Powdrell family (2015), educator Joycelyn Jackson (2016), journalist and photographer Ron Wallace (2017), and artists Linda Piper and Juba Clayton (2020). Retired judges husband and wife team Tommy and Angela Jewell were honored at the 2019 Race and Law Conference, held in collaboration with the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association.
Cotton Club Gala
The signature Cotton Club Galas, hosted with the Albuquerque Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, was not just a chance for New Mexicans to show up and show out. It was another opportunity to recognize excellence with the Frederick Douglass Award. The 2018 honoree was education champion Dr. Linda Townsend-Johnson.
In 2019, we honored five amazing Black women who received tenure and professorships at the University of New Mexico: Dr. Sonia Gipson Rankin, Dr. Myra Washington, Dr. Claudia Isaac, Dr. Melanie Moses, and Dr. Nancy Lopez.
In addition, a portion of the proceeds from the Cotton Club Galas benefited the Deltas Judith R. Harris Scholarship Fund.
Upcoming 2021 New Mexico Black History Festival Events
DECADES: Past, Present, Future
NM PBS Screening and Discussion: Mr. SOUL! Thursday, Feb.18, 2021
New Mexico PBS and the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande Chapter present a screening and discussion of Mr. Soul!, a film by Melissa Haizlip.
From 1968 into 1973, the PBS variety show SOUL! offered an unfiltered, uncompromising celebration of Black literature, poetry, music, and politics—voices that had few other options for national exposure and, as a result, found in the program a place to call home. The series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. Through participants’ recollections and illuminating archival clips, Mr. SOUL! captures a critical moment in culture whose impact continues to resonate and celebrates an unsung hero whose voice we need now more than ever, to restore the soul of a nation.
Following the film, join a panel discussion with filmmaker Melissa Haizlip, moderated by journalists Megan Kamerick and Jerry Redfern.
Kumbuka Celebration: DECADES DEEP Friday, Feb. 26, 2021
Kumbuka (Swahili): verb. bring to mind.
Kumbuka asks us to bring to mind, or to remember. At this year’s Kumbuka Celebration: DECADES Deep, we reflect on the past 10 years of the New Mexico Black HIstory Festival and recall the theatrical performances that our community came to know and love.
Though we can’t yet gather in our favorite theaters, our Kumbuka Celebration: DECADES Deep brings the theatre to you. Get your tickets today to gain access to a special celebration featuring the past cast and crew members of For Colored Girls, Roots Revival, highlights of The Wiz, and much more.
RSVP for the Kumbuka Celebration: Decades Deep below:
The national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is Monday, January 18, 2021. For this blog post I took a deep dive into five of his essays and speeches, some famous, some not so famous. I wanted to get a closer look at what he had to say back then and how some of it might apply to what’s happening today. Something beyond the usual oft-circulated quote bits of “I have a dream” and “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” Here’s what I found.
(Note: At the end of the post is a link to local virtual events commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.)
“And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream”
Martin Luther King, Jr. On the “Right” Time and “Right” Way to Protest
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” 1963
The following excerpts are from an open letter that Dr. King wrote while jailed in Birmingham for taking part in civil rights demonstrations. Eight white, liberal Alabama clergymen had called on King to allow integration to play out in court instead of through nonviolent protest. It was not very often that Dr. King took the time to respond to his detractors, but in this case he made an exception.
“You may well ask, ‘Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, etc.? Isn’t negotiation a better path?’ You are exactly right in your call for negotiation. Indeed, this is the purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. I just referred to the creation of tension as a part of the work of the nonviolent resistor. This may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word tension. I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive nonviolent tension that is necessary for growth.”
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have never yet engaged in a direct action movement that was ‘well-timed,’ according to the timetable of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation.”
“For years now I have heard the words ‘Wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’”
—Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
The Realities and Legacy of Police Brutality
“I Have a Dream” 1963
Folded within the optimistic and transcendent spirituality blanket of Dr. King‘s most famous speech are stark expressions of frustration. He offers a glimpse into the reckoning to be faced by the United States regarding treatment of Black peoples.
“And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.”
“There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”
“There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.”
“At that moment it seemed as if the Kingdom of God appeared. But it only lasted for a moment.“
—Coretta King on her husband’s speech that historic day in Washington, DC.
Examining Democracy and Economic Power
The following are from King’s article “Black Power Defined” summarizing his understanding of African American nationalism. His book titled Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community, published in 1967, further analyzes what he views as the merits and drawbacks of the Black Power movement.
“Negroes have illuminated imperfections in the democratic structure that were formerly only dimly perceived, and have forced a concerned reexamination of the true meaning of American democracy. As a consequence of the vigorous Negro protest, the whole nation has for a decade probed more searchingly the essential nature of democracy, both economic and political.”
“The other economic lever available to the Negro is as a consumer. . . . In Birmingham it was not the marching alone that brought about integration of public facilities in 1963. The downtown business establishments suffered for weeks under our most unbelievably effective boycott. The significant percentage of their sales that vanished, the ninety-eight percent of their Negro customers who stayed home, educated them forcefully to the dignity of the Negro as a consumer.”
Martin Luther King’s Words – Chilling Prophecies
“Showdown for Nonviolence” 1968
Before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had expanded his mission to include economic justice for all people regardless of race. The Poor People’s Campaign, that he organized along with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, lost steam in the wake of King’s assassination and the escalation of the Vietnam War. Recent events, including those of this past year, seem to be foretold in some of Dr. King’s words of the corrupting and rotting effects of extreme poverty on a civilization.
“There is an Old Testament prophecy of the ‘sins of the fathers being visited upon the third and fourth generations.’ Nothing could be more applicable to our situation. America is reaping the harvest of hate and shame planted through generations of educational denial, political disenfranchisement and economic exploitation of its black population. Now, almost a century removed from slavery, we find the heritage of oppression and racism erupting in our cities, with volcanic lava of bitterness and frustration pouring down our avenues.”
“In spite of years of national progress, the plight of the poor is worsening. Jobs are on the decline as a result of technological change, schools North and South are proving themselves more and more inadequate to the task of providing adequate education and thereby entrance into the mainstream of the society. Medical care is virtually out of reach of millions of black and white poor. They are aware of the great advances of medical science—heart transplants, miracle drugs—but their children still die of preventable diseases.”
Injustice takes Its Toll on Humanity
“I See the Promised Land” 1968
On the eve of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s assassination, he was in Memphis in support of the sanitation workers strike. It was his last action of commitment to his broader vision of economic justice for all people. In reading the speech, I was struck by how loosely it was structured in comparison to his other essays and speeches. There’s an almost rambling stream of consciousness quality to it. It’s as if he was bone tired, soul tired, and already straddling the line between this world and the next. An autopsy conducted after his murder revealed that his heart resembled that of a 60-year-old. Dr. King was thirty-nine at the time of his death. It’s a sobering illustration of how, as accomplished and as exceptional as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was, and in contrast to our exalted, mythic, nearly superhuman view of him, he was a man. A human being bearing the brunt and the scars and the never fading injury of being an advocate against injustice while also a recipient of it.
“That is where we are today. And also in the human rights revolution, if something isn’t done, and in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, the long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now, I’m just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding. And I’m happy that he’s allowed me to be in Memphis.”
“And that’s all this whole thing is about. We aren’t engaged in any negative protest and any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are God’s children. And that we don’t have to live like we are forced to live.”
“And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?
Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.”
We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are God’s children.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. “I See the Promised Land”
For a list of local virtual events commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr., click here to view our January calendar. Due to COVID-19, the annual MLK March in Albuquerque is cancelled.
Five Black Events including Book Releases, Movies, TV, and Celebrations for January 2021
Welcome to 2021! The New Mexico Black Leadership Council rounded up five Black events in the areas of books, film, and celebrations to look forward to during the winter days of January.
Read The Prophets, an Antebellum Black Queer Love Story
Robert Jones Jr.’s debut novel The Prophets imagines a love story between two young enslaved black men on a cotton plantation in Mississippi. Jones, a gay Black man who longed to read stories about Queer love when he was growing up, wrote the book that he wanted to read back then. He worked on the book while also writing a blog called “Son of Baldwin” that discussed race, sexuality, gender, and disability. It was through this blog that he made the connections necessary to land a book deal with Putnam. The Prophetsreleases on January 5th.
Watch (or Re-Watch) Underground on OWN January 5
In 2016, the groundbreaking show “Underground” premiered on WGN America. The series, co-created by Misha Green (Lovecraft Country showrunner) and Joe Pokaski and starring Aldis Hodge and Jurnee Smollett, told the story of an enslaved man named Noah who organizes a daring escape from a Georgia plantation. The travails of “The Macon 7” trended on Twitter every Wednesday night for the next two years. To the outrage and disappointment of many, the show was canceled after the second season when WGN underwent a reorganization. In December, OWN announced that they are acquiring Underground. The revitalized presentation, hosted by John Legend, will include introductions by cast members and behind the scenes footage. Catch the re-release of Underground starting January 5 at 7 PM mountain on the OWN Network.
Watch the Premiere of One Night In Miami on Amazon Prime January 15
Actress Regina King makes her directorial debut with her adaptation of One Night in Miami. It originally premiered at the Venice film festival and has been generating Oscar buzz. The story is a fictionalized account of one night on February 25, 1964 when boxer Muhammad Ali won his first world title match in Miami and celebrated with civil rights activist Malcolm X, football star Jim Brown, and singer Sam Cooke. One Night in Miami, starring Eli Goree, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr., premieres on Amazon prime video on January 15, 2021.
Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Grant Chapel MLK Celebration January 18
Celebrate the life and ideals of Dr. King with Grant Chapel AME at their twenty-fifth annual commemoration on Facebook live and Zoom! The theme “Keeping the dream alive: A day ON, not a day OFF!” encourages us to work toward creating a fair, equitable, and inclusive society by Dr. King’s example.
Grant Chapel’s MLK Celebration takes place via Zoom on January 18, 8AM Mountain Time.
Witness the Inauguration of the First Black Female Vice-President January 20
The Inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be a largely virtual celebration. The televised socially distanced swearing-in ceremony in front of the US Capitol will be followed by virtual diverse performances and communities across the country. The 2021 inauguration will not only be the first in the wake of the coronavirus but will be historic as the first inauguration of a Black female vice president.
The New Mexico Black Leadership Council says goodbye to Black icons who passed in 2020 and have now become ancestors.
This has been a year of many losses. Black icons who passed in 2020 include civil rights giants, sports legends, a mathematician who helped launch us into space, and our very own superhero. The Coronavirus ravaging the globe took some of our Black icons too early. As we prepare to send this year into antiquity, we bid farewell to those who inspired us, changed our world, and made our existence brighter.
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Star
Source: Wikimedia Commons
January 26, 2020, Age 41, Helicopter Crash
The Lakers legend and his daughter Gianna died along with seven other passengers in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. The news hit just hours before the airing of the 2020 Grammy awards, shrouding the ceremony in a pall of surreal sorrow and inspiring last minute tributes by Lizzo, Alicia Keys, and Boyz II Men. The 6-foot-6 guard made his pro debut in the 1996-97 season opener against Minnesota; at the time he was the youngest player to appear in an NBA game. Bryant and leading scorer Shaquille O’Neal quickly morphed into one of the most lethal scoring and defensive combinations in the league. Bryant retired in 2016 as a two-time Olympic gold medalist .
“Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act.”
B. Smith started off as one of the country’s first high-profile black models, becoming the second black model on the cover of Mademoiselle magazine in 1976. She went on to host a lifestyle show, “B. Smith With Style,” and was often dubbed the “Black Martha Stewart.”
“I’ve climbed a mountain of no’s to get one yes,” B. Smith once said.
She owned three restaurants and authored three cookbooks. Her loss was mourned by celebrities such as Viola Davis, Ava DuVernay, and Gabrielle Union.
“So supportive and so damn fly… she is, was, and forever will be an ICON”
Source: Science Photo Library via Albuquerque Library
February 24, 2020, Age 101, Natural Causes
Many people never heard of Katherine Johnson until Taraji P. Henson portrayed her in the 2016 hit movie Hidden Figures. Her calculations were critical to the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing. As one of a group of highly skilled mathematicians at NASA in the 1960s, Ms. Johnson and her cohorts were subjected to double segregation. As Black women, they were relegated to separate rooms and restrooms from their white female counterparts, who were in turn segregated from the male mathematicians and engineers.
A brilliant math student from youth, Johnson graduated summa cum laude with a double major in mathematics and French. In 1940, she became one of three black graduate students to integrate the all-white West Virginia University. She joined the NASA Flight Division in the early 1950’s and became part of the agency’s effort to put an astronaut into space.
In 1962, a few days before he was to orbit the Earth, John Glenn asked that Ms. Johnson, a flesh and blood human, double-check the orbital trajectory that had been calculated by a computer.
“If she says the numbers are good, I’m ready to go.”
Her first book, Blanche on the Lam, won the Agatha Award, Anthony Award, and the Macavity Award for best first novel, which are three of the top literary prizes for mysteries and the Go on Girl! Award from Black Women’s Reading Club. As a social activist, she was director of Women for Economic Justice, a welfare reform advocacy group. She also taught prison inmates and fought violence against women. Her most well-known literary character, Blanche White, was a black maid who solved murders under cover of her invisible social status. Last December, she was named the Mystery Writers of America’s 2020 Grand Master.
“For all the chatelaine fantasies of some of the women for whom she worked, she really was her own boss, and her clients knew it. She ordered her employers’ lives, not the other way around.”
Reverend Lowery was a figure in several pivotal events during the Civil Rights Movement. He helped coordinate the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, and led the delegation that delivered demands to segregationist Governor George Wallace in the 1965 voting rights march. He co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and stayed at the helm for two decades, restoring its financial health and pressuring businesses to boycott South Africa’s apartheid era regime. He was a staunch advocate for equal access to housing, employment, and healthcare. In his retirement, Lowery stayed at the forefront of social debates, being among the first old-guard civil rights figures to advocate for LGBTQ rights. Despite his life long fight for voting rights, he never imagined he would live to see a Black President of the United States.
In 2009, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.
“I’ve never felt your ministry should be totally devoted to making a heavenly home. I thought it should also be devoted to making your home here heavenly.”
The three-time Grammy Award winner Bill Withers created gorgeous melodies, delivered with a voice that sounds like a sunny day and the promise of summer. His ability to convey complex emotions in a deceptively simple way has made him omnipresent in all things involving the range of human experience, from birthdays to weddings to heartbreak. His soulful songs such as “Lovely Day” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” are eternal, and the classic “Lean On Me” has been a source of solace and inspiration during the coronavirus pandemic, with health care workers, choirs, artists and more posting their own renditions of “Lean on Me” to help get through.
“Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.”
April 1, 2020, Age 85, Complications from Coronavirus
As the father of Wynton and Branford Marsalis, pianist Ellis Marsalis was the patriarch of a highly musical family. His music students included Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Harry Connick Jr. and four of his sons: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis. He taught at the first full-time public arts high school in New Orleans, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He also had a standing gig at Snug Harbor in New Orleans up until his retirement a few months before he died.
“Like many parents, he sacrificed for us and made so much possible. Not only material things, but things of substance and beauty like the ability to hear complicated music and to read books; to see and to contemplate art; to be philosophical and kind, but to also understand that a time and place may require a pugilistic-minded expression of ignorance.”
Source: The Granger Collection via Albuquerque Library
May 9, 2020, Age 87, Bone Cancer
Born Richard Wayne Penniman, the singer & piano player cut a number of hits that set the template for rock ‘n’ roll: “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Lucille,” and “Good Golly Miss Molly.” LIttle Richard came up with the iconic “a wop bob alu bob a wop bam boom” chorus while washing dishes at a Greyhound bus station in Macon, GA. His influence reaches musicians from Elton John to the Beatles to the Rolling Stones to Prince. Fellow rock icon Jerry Lee Lewis said in a statement following the news of Richard’s death: “He will live on always in my heart with his amazing talent and his friendship! He was one of a kind and I will miss him dearly.”
Master of the blues guitar, mentored by Willie Dixon, he recorded his first record when he was only five years old and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson at the age of six. During his 50 year career as a professional musician, he toured and recorded such greats as Etta James, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and Little Milton.
Jimmy Cobb was the last surviving member of Miles Davis’ First Great Sextet. His playing on “Kind of Blue” contributed to its iconic status and undeniable bounce. He also played on canonical Davis albums like Sketches of Spain and In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk. Cobb accompanied high profile acts such as Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington before joining forces with Miles Davis in the late 1950s.
On Friday, July 17, 2020, we lost two civil rights icons: Rev. C.T. Vivian and Congressman John Lewis. The proximity of their passing brings to light the startling correlation and commonalities between these two leaders and activists.
Both men were inspired by hearing Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and were galvanized to join the nonviolent civil rights movement of the ‘60s. They attended American Baptist College in Nashville, and Rev. Vivian became a minister.
Vivian was a field general for King and later became the national director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Lewis founded and led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
They were warriors in the fight for racial equality, getting arrested and suffering blows and wounds multiple times over the course of their lives. They were beaten and spit on during freedom rides and lunch counter sit-ins. Vivian was punched in the face by Sheriff Clark outside the Selma courthouse during a voting rights drive. Lewis’s skull was cracked when he was struck by an Alabama state trooper at the March on Selma. Vivian was almost killed in St. Augustine during a peaceful protest. Lewis was left unconscious in a pool of his own blood outside the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Montgomery after an attack by hundreds of white people.
Vivian helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, and Lewis was one of the speakers.
Vivian received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2013. Lewis was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2011.
“I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community. We still have many bridges to cross.”
July 25, 2020, Age 43, Complications from Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome
Though Lady Red was not chosen for Ru Paul’s Drag Race, her impact was unforgettable. She was selected to co-host the talk show “Hey Qween!” which rose in parallel with “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” A self-described transgender woman, other young drag performers looked up to her, earning her the nickname “Mother Hen.”
Charles Evers, Civil Rights Activist, Older Brother to Medgar Evers
Source: Wikimedia Commons
July 22, 2020, Age 97, Natural Causes
Charles Evers was very different from his brother Medgar. He was a small time numbers runner and bootlegger who got run out of Mississippi to continue operations in Chicago. It all changed when his civil rights activist brother was assassinated. Charles Evers quit the rackets and replaced Medgar as the Mississippi field director of the N.A.A.C.P. He went on to change the racial face of politics in the state by leading Mississippi’s first integrated delegation to the Democratic National Convention and becoming the state’s first Black mayor since Reconstruction.
“Had he been born another color or in a more rational age, Charles Evers might have become a celebrated tycoon. He has a star salesman’s glibness, a trailblazer’s tenacity and the chutzpah of a P.T. Barnum.”
Malik Abdul-Basit was best known as Malik B., an early member of The Roots. He joined Questlove and Black Thought in the early 1990s and worked on the first four albums. His final album as a member of The Roots, Things Fall Apart, was a high mark for the band, earning a Grammy for “You Got Me” and selling over 1 million in the U.S.
Randall Kenan’s award-winning fiction blended myth and magic, set in a small Southern town similar to the one he grew up in. He died just three weeks before his short story collection, “If I Had Two Wings,” was selected as one of 10 nominees for the National Book Award for fiction. He won the 1992 Lambda Literary Award for gay fiction. His other honors include a Guggenheim fellowship; a Whiting Award for emerging writers, in 1994; and, in 2002, the John Dos Passos Prize, given by Longwood University in Virginia.
The news came on a Friday night in August that Chadwick Boseman, iconic for his role as King T’Challa aka Black Panther, died after a four-year battle with cancer. The profound shock and sorrow that followed came not only from him being so young and in the peak of his career, but also because very few people knew he had cancer to begin with. His regal performance in Black Panther, a movie that had sold-out premieres and attendees showing up in theaters dressed in African garb, was filmed after his diagnosis. Boseman worked on several other films while privately undergoing severe health struggles, including two more Avengers movies and Spike Lee’s Da Five Bloods. He was lauded by many co-stars and industry colleagues for his down to earth generosity and impeccable work ethic. (Read our interview with a local Black entrepreneur who was so moved by Chadwick’s death, she created a jewelry line in his honor.)
“He was an artist. Someone who was willing to leave his vanity, his ego, everything at the door, and serve the character. He was absolutely one hundred percent a joy to work with,” said actress and co-star Viola Davis.
For his final on screen performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (just released on Netflix), he actually learned to play the trumpet.
“You can get a lot of actors working out to fit into a role. Yeah, they’re all into that. But to take the time to learn how to play the damn trumpet, get the fingerings right, that’s crazy.”
— Branford Marsalis on Chadwick Boseman’s dedication
John Thompson was the first Black coach to win an NCAA championship, and architect of the Georgetown Hoya’s men’s basketball team. Thompson recruited and mentored some of the most influential players of our time, including Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing, and Allen Iverson—all of whom were selected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He finished his career with 596 NCAA wins.
September 11, 2020, Age 77, Complications from Coronavirus
Frederick “Toots” Hibbert was the lead singer and songwriter of Toots and the Maytals and one of reggae’s foundational figures. His versions of “I Can’t Stand the Rain” by Ann Peebles and “Country Road” by John Denver are beloved. He won the 2005 Grammy for best reggae album for True Love. He was considered a national treasure in Jamaica and conferred with the country’s fifth highest honor in 2012. On Aug. 28, 2020, Hibbert released the final album of his career, Got To Be Tough. Two days after its release, he was admitted to the hospital in Kingston.
September 16, 2020, Age 74, Health complications including Coronavirus
Stanly Crouch was a sometimes controversial yet always passionate critic of and writer on jazz music. Wynton Marsalis studied the texts of Stanley Crouch the way he did the music of Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong. Crouch’s many honors included a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant and a NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship. He was one of the more prominent guest speakers on the definitive Ken Burns PBS series Jazz.
September 23, 2020, Age 77, Complications from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
Known as the “Kansas Comet,” Sayers was the youngest athlete to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. He is described as one of the best running backs of all time and an extraordinary man who overcame great adversity in his career and in life. Sayers’s fame went outside the football field due to the Emmy Award-winning 1971 television movie “Brian’s Song,” which was based on his friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo, who died of cancer at 26.
“Sayers is the greatest halfback I ever saw.” —Ernie Accorsi, NFL Team Manager
Singer-songwriter and actor Johnny Nash was best known for his hit song “I Can See Clearly Now.” The song sold more than a million copies and reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. It remained number one for four weeks.
Lucille Bridges, Mother of Civil Rights Activist Ruby Bridges
Source: Wikimedia Commons
November 10, 2020, Age 86, Cancer
Lucille Bridges walked with her then 6-year-old daughter past crowds of people screaming racial slurs as Ruby became the first Black student to integrate her all-white elementary school in 1960.
“Today our country lost a hero. Brave, progressive, a champion for change. She helped alter the course of so many lives by setting me out on my path as a six year old little girl. Our nation lost a Mother of the Civil Rights Movement today. And I lost my mom. I love you and am grateful for you. May you Rest In Peace.”
A barber’s son, David Dinkins became New York City’s first Black mayor in 1989. During a time when the city was racked with racial strife and violent crimes, Dinkins easily beat his incumbent in the primary and opponent Rudolph Giuliani in the November election. He lasted for one term. Due in part to his handling of the Crown Heights riots, voters favored Giuliani in the next election.
December 12, 2020, Age 86, Complications from Coronavirus
Though other Black country musicians preceded him, Charley Pride was country music’s first Black superstar. In 1971, just four years after releasing his first hit record “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin,” he won the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year award — the genre’s highest honor.
He scored 52 Top 10 country hits, including 29 Number Ones, and was the first African-American performer to appear on the Grand Ole Opry stage since Deford Bailey made his debut in the 1920s. In 2000, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Just a month before his death, he was awarded the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the CMAs. On a sobering note, he contracted Coronavirus after performing at the CMAs. Unlike other recent awards shows, the CMAs contained an in person audience, most of whom were not wearing masks.
Jazz pianist Stanley Cowell worked with Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, and Roy Haynes. His first album, released in 1969, contains elements of black history and pride. His 2015 album, “Juneteenth” featured original pieces inspired by the African-American struggle for empowerment and freedom.
In the wake of the seemingly insurmountable challenges faced by the Black community in 2020, the New Mexico Black Leadership Council reviews major successes and looks ahead to the new year.
The mission of the New Mexico Black Leadership Council is to create a hub that fosters a viable and sustainable social profit sector designed to serve the Black community in the state of New Mexico. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resurgence of violent racist attacks, and the fear and vitriol surrounding the election show that the work of our organization is more necessary than ever. The horrifying events of this year heightened the need for flexibility, ingenuity, determination, and collaboration to rise to the occasion and accomplish the goals towards our vision. In the face of so many obstacles, our community-based advocacy, focus on inter-connectivity, and ongoing development proved to be a strong and sustainable methodology.
Launching a hub organization to serve New Mexico’s Black/African American community
New Mexico Black Leadership Council Open House
The New Mexico Black Leadership Council kicked off 2020 with a January 16th inaugural launch party at the newly expanded southeast heights location. Despite the afternoon snow storm, the community showed up strong for the open house. The space was filled to capacity as everyone listened to music, enjoyed refreshments, and toured the office. Attendees packed the conference room and lined the halls to hear the NMBLC leadership announce an exciting initiative: to create a viable and sustainable social profit sector for the Black community.
Leaders from the business, educational, legislative, and social sectors learned about NMBLC’s focus areas and affiliate organizations, including the New Mexico Black Mental Health Coalition, the New Mexico Black History Organizing Committee, Community Mentor Network, Young Black Professionals of Albuquerque, and The Syndicate ABQ. The celebration clearly presented an empowering change in how the New Mexico Black community will operate and flourish from that moment forward. Since the launch, NMBLC has become the largest Black led, non-governmental social profit in New Mexico, generating $500,000 in annual revenue. In October, NMBLC engaged a Black owned firm to transition from fiscal sponsorship to independent management.
“We are moving from a deficit mentality to an assets based strategy.”
—Shawna Brown, NMBLC Deputy Director
Illuminating mental health issues faced by Black New Mexicans
NMBLC Mental Health Conference
The second annual New Mexico Black Mental Health Conference was held on January 31 and February 1, 2020 at the University of New Mexico. The conference was sponsored by the New Mexico Black Leadership Council with practitioners from the NM Black Mental Health Coalition. The conference educates mental health providers, policy makers, consumers and supporters about primary mental health issues affecting Black New Mexicans. It also serves as a network and resource for people seeking Black mental health care professionals.
150 participants attended the two day conference. The two targeted tracks offered CEUs to both practitioners and community members. Attendees also took advantage of workshops facilitated by NMBMHC providers and interactive breakout sessions, all free of charge.
Nationally renowned speakers highlighted the theme of stereotypical burdens placed on Black people and the detrimental fallout of those societal pressures. Keynote speaker Dr. Angela Neal Barnett’s presentation “I’m Not Your SuperWoman: DeBunking the Myth/Trope of the Angry Black Woman” showed how the relentless defensive mask worn by Black women covers up deep fractures in their physical and mental health. In “John Henryism in the New Millenium: Black Men in America,” Dr. Napoleon Wells warned that the celebrated drive towards and expectation of Black excellence is, quite literally, lethal.
“The punchline is, you must perform exceptionally until you DIE.”
—Dr. Napoleon Wells on John Henryism and the Black obligation to overachieve.
Celebrating Black culture and contributions in New Mexico
New Mexico Black History Month Festival
The theme of the 2020 New Mexico Black History Month Festival was “And Justice for All.” In addition to the NM Black Mental Health Conference, the festival lineup included the One New Mexico Gospel Concert with Kelontae Gavin; the Omega Psi Phi Talent Hunt Competition, the Asante Awards and Kumbuka Celebration, and The Syndicate’s Blk Future Skate Night.
At the Talent Hunt Competition, 11 students were mentored by professional performing and visual artists. $2,000 in scholarships were awarded for winning youth.
NM Black History Organizing Committee presented this year’s Asante Awards to honored storytellers Linda Piper and Juba Clayton. Linda Piper is the founder and artistic director of Tapestry Players, a multicultural theatre company in Albuquerque. Juba Clayton employs stories to educate, empower, advocate, inspire, affirm and celebrate our communities.
The evening culminated in a free event for the community with soul-stirring performances by vocalists Cathy McGill, Josef Scott, Gene Corbin, Toni Morgan, Rebecca Arscott, and Michael Herndon; dancers Gabi Rojas, Rujeko Dumbutshena, Karen Price and Trey Pickett; and narrators Angela Littleton, Linda Piper, and Juba Clayton.
“BLK FUTURE SK8 NIGHT was filled with so much joy, laughter, love, and light. Thank you to everyone who came thru 🦋🖤🧚🏾♂️”
Compensating New Mexico musicians and spreading the word about the 2020 Census
Tiny Census Concerts
NMBLC teamed up with iCountNM to produce the Tiny Census Concert series. Inspired by NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, this series of online concerts highlighted New Mexico’s favorite creatives in support of participation in the Census.
Hosted by KNME’s Gene Grant, each concert featured up to 8 artists across multiple categories including musicians, dancers, spoken word artists, and visual artists. Between each performance, invited guests shared why a complete 2020 Census count truly matters. The series, sponsored by Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Complete Count Committee, was a big hit during the isolation of the early days of the pandemic, with over 17,000 views. It also provided much needed income for 37 New Mexican musicians and artists who abruptly found themselves out of work as gigs were cancelled at a 100% rate. For many of the artists who participated in the TCC, the $1000 compensation was some of the only money coming in and allowed them to pay rent and stock their refrigerators.
“This $1000 I’m getting paid by TCC means I get to keep my home and breathe a little easier for at least another month. I’ll use the money for rent and to get the books I need to study for my comprehensive exam and finish my doctorate.”
—Lazarus Letcher, Musician/Singer-songwriter
Building leadership and self-confidence in youth
Roots Summer Leadership Academy
As the pandemic swept the globe unabated, the NMBLC crew grappled with how or whether their signature summer camp could happen this year. During these unprecedented times, however, the power of collaboration and community made 2020 Roots Summer Leadership Academy unforgettable.
The format and logistics were modified to make the camp COVID-19 compliant, with a mix of socially-distanced outdoor activities and online offerings. For the kids and their parents, the camp was a critical panacea during the long, difficult summer of 2020. 100% of parents said that RSLA met their expectations and that they would recommend the program to others.
The fun-filled and engaging program of art, music, dance, and STEM projects proved that the spirit of teamwork and youth development is truly unstoppable.
“It felt like hope for three weeks. It shifted our whole household dynamic. It was amazing.”
— Kim Obregon, RSLA parent
Increasing voter participation and prioritizing voter protection
New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative
The New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative (NMBVC), a non-partisan collective of over 20 local Black-led organizations, debuted with the launch of NMBVC’s 2020 election initiative “Freedom Summer ‘20.” The goal: voter outreach, education, and mobilization.
NMBVC live streamed multiple nonpartisan roundtable discussions to amplify Black voices on election matters and collaborated with Comcast, 99.9 The Beat, and PBS to air PSAs consistently encouraging our community to Vote No Matter What and to share with the public why we vote.
“The more Black voters that the NMBVC gets to the ballot box, the more the Black community in New Mexico takes action toward representation and acting on the knowledge that our vote is our voice.” —Megan Bott, NMBVC
Through partnerships with Common Cause and the Secretary of State’s Office, the NMBVC prioritized voter safety messaging through the NMBVC and its partner’s social media platforms, and by recruitment of Election Protection volunteers to station at polling places. The NMBVC met with the City of Albuquerque’s Equity & Inclusion Department and Albuquerque Police Deputy Chief Mike Smathers to discuss what would be done at the polls to keep voters as well as any protesters safe the week of the election. NMBVC teamed up with Rude Boy Cookies to encourage the community to make the pledge to vote and in turn get a gift certificate for a free gourmet cookie.
The Collaborative distributed fact-checked information on both Republican and Democrat races. In partnership with Common Cause NM, the NMBVC placed Election Protection volunteers in zip codes with higher BIPOC populations. NMBVC created a one-stop voter resource with regularly distributed reliable voter information, educational resources, and information on get-out-the-vote events and campaigns tailored to the Black community.
Follow the NMBVC on social media for the most up to date information on Black civic engagement and voting in New Mexico:
NMBLC concluded the tumultuous year with the timely Racial Contract Lecture Series. Sponsored by Comcast, this three part, complimentary webinar series aims to help leaders of academic, government, and social profit (501c3) institutions who are invested in creating open, diverse workplaces.
Each lecture was presented by PhD professors from the University of New Mexico who have dedicated their work to addressing issues of systemic and institutional racism as well as providing strategies on how institutions can address and combat systems of oppression.
The series proved to be extremely popular. Initial registration capped out at 400 within a few days of the first announcement. The attendance rate for each lecture averaged 200 people, and around 80 people stayed on for the Q&A after each lecture. Institutions represented include UNM, APS, and various government and nonprofit organizations.
“I very much appreciate the effort to bring great sessions with great thinking to our communities and I hope for many more of these going forward.”
— Racial Contract Lecture Series Attendee
2021 Goals and Programs in the works
Chisholm Table
Named for Shirley Chisholm, the Chisholm Table initiative will convene leaders of Black organizations to change our community from the inside out.
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
— Shirley Chisholm
In addition to bringing our own chairs, we are building a new table. The Black community has been invisible in the state of New Mexico for far too long. Help us build visibility in our state so that we can capture a full picture of the people and organizations that are doing the work to change our community from the inside out.
See Something, Do Something
The See Something, Do Something violence prevention and intervention program focuses on the International District.
The New Mexico Black Leadership Council is creating a spectrum of advocacy to engage landlords, residents, business owners, community benefit organizations, and neighborhood associations in addressing issues that are prevalent in the International District to promote community vibrancy and deal with root causes.
You Make it All Possible
The New Mexico Black Leadership Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and its work is made possible by sponsorships from forward-thinking organizations and by the generous support of community members like you. Thanks to you, the NMBLC officially launched and made huge strides in fulfilling its mission to serve the Black community in the areas of mental health, youth development, civic engagement, cultural vibrancy, and leadership development. Much work remains to be done, and you can help make that possible. Consider an end of year donation to the New Mexico Black Leadership, and join us on our continuing journey to create a space to thrive for all New Mexicans.
When Cathryn McGill assembled a volunteer coalition to create the annual New Mexico Black History Month Festival, the New Mexico Foundation became the fiscal sponsor for the Black nonprofit. Now, the New Mexico Black Leadership Council gives thanks to the Foundation that was there from the beginning.
As the year 2020 comes to a close, the New Mexico Black Leadership Council takes this opportunity to give a most sincere thank you to one of its most steadfast sponsors, the New Mexico Foundation (NMF). The New Mexico Foundation has been NMBLC’s fiscal sponsor since its inception as the New Mexico Black History Organizing Committee (NMBHOC) ten years ago. With the New Mexico Foundation’s support, NMBHOC had the ability to grow and flourish from a fledgling festival and summer camp vehicle into the hub organization it is today: hiring two additional full time staff members, assembling a Board of Directors, and providing fiscal and administrative support to other nascent organizations in the Black nonprofit sector.
What It Means to Be A Fiscal Sponsor
Fiscal sponsorship allows charitable organizations that do not have their own 501(c)(3) status to fulfill their mission. With fiscal sponsorship, the New Mexico Foundation (NMF) provided administrative services, oversight, and financial responsibility for NMBHOC, even though the Organizing Committee did not have a federal tax ID or official IRS status as a charitable organization. This relationship with NMF allowed NMBHOC to conduct fundraisers, apply for grants, receive private contributions, and pay vendors and contractors for services needed for events such as the Asante Awards ceremony, the Kumbuka celebration, and the Roots Summer Leadership Academy. For the past decade, the New Mexico Foundation has acted as the fiscal sponsor for not only NMBHOC, but also for the first year of the New Mexico Black Leadership Council.
NMBLC’s Black Nonprofit Goes to the Next Level
Achieving 501(c)(3) status is no small feat. The organization had to first set itself up as a corporation, with Articles of Incorporation and a Board of Directors. It then had to successfully complete the application process, an IRS form that is itself almost thirty pages long. That’s before the organizational docs that have to be included, such as the bylaws.
In August of 2019, The New Mexico Black Leadership Council received official 501(c)(3) status from the IRS.
NMBLC was then in a position to finally hire full time staff to effectively execute the organization’s robust new mission: serve as a hub to create a viable and sustainable Black nonprofit sector for the Black community in the state of New Mexico.
With growth comes change, and this is where the ten-year partnership with the New Mexico Foundation comes to a close. Because NMF does not offer the type of services required to administer payroll and reporting for W2 employees, NMBLC had to take the next step of sustainability. In October of 2020, NMBLC hired a local Black-owned CPA firm to handle the organization’s payroll and tax liability. While the New Mexico Foundation is no longer NMBLC’s fiscal sponsor, NMF has fulfilled its mission to help nonprofits achieve independence and self actualization.
A Statement of Gratitude from NMBLC’s Founder and Director
The New Mexico Foundation has been a huge part of our story for 10 years and we will always be connected to them. The Foundation has helped us through many rough patches and has been there to celebrate our success since inception 10 years ago. We know we have a long way to go, and we are grateful for all of the support that the Foundation has provided for us.
I am forever indebted to all of the people at the Foundation for believing in us and our mission. If you ever need me, as my grandmother used to say, “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”, I’ll be there.
Asante! (“Thank You” in Swahili.)
–Cathryn McGill, NMBLC Founder and Director
The New Mexico Black Leadership Council extends deep gratitude and blessings to the New Mexico Foundation and all of its people.
