Welcome to the I Am Why blog!
Here I Am Why’s consultants, staff and partners write about what’s happening at I Am Why, our values and our take on the issues that matter to us most.
Youth Leadership in Practice
Hi I AM WHY COMMUNITY! Wow has it been a while! In the past 6 months IAW has gone through a transformative transition! We are currently embarking on a strategic planning journey! On October 9-11, 2024, I Am Why gathered staff, consultants, board...
I believe that the “I am why” cohort found me just in time.
Reposted from Destination Innovation. I believe that the "I Am Why" cohort found me just in time. I truly believe it changed my life. I was kind of spiraling in a bad way right before I found out about the cohort, dealing with alot of depression, and hardships. But...
67208
Oh, how I love 67208, 12th and Dellrose. Norfside. Wichita, KS. Home of the Pimps, Players and Hustlers. A hood. My hood. My people. Real Go-Getters. Oh, 67208! You don’t know how much I love you! I wanna give you your flowers while I still can…....
A Southern Momma Taking in a Fledgeling
During the spring of 2019, Justice & Joy National Collaborative organized a conference called In Solidarity, which gathered young women, gender-expansive youth, and organizers. This would be the first time a single mother traveled alone with her firstborn...
National Mentoring Month Spotlight- from the Embrace Creative Freedom Pod
In honor of National Mentoring Month and the release of I Am Why’s white paper on our mentorship model, I want to share my experience and growth in different mentorship roles at I Am Why. During October of 2022, I was granted the wonderful opportunity to co-lead the I...
Building Trust Through Shared Purpose and Vulnerability
In my journey into stepping into my power, I came across many roads and one I did not want to do is work with white women. My whole life has been shaped by my bay area community members mentoring me. I am that seed that slipped through the cracks and...
Power in Mentorships
Throughout my life, I have had many mentoring relationships. I have been both the mentee and the mentor. However, the mentorships I’ve had with I Am Why were the most transformative. My I Am Why mentorships were with individuals I had little to no connection with. We...
America in Color: How Self-Advocacy is Navigated in Our Communites
In September 2023, I Am Why’s Self-Advocacy pod held a listening session to hear from consultants from all across the nation about our hot topic for the month: “What does self-advocacy look like for a Black or Brown person in the U.S.?” Our Self-Advocacy pod believes...
A Birthing Story
How does Reproductive Justice affect your life? Being born female means being the first-born daughter, granddaughter, niece, and great-granddaughter of my family. This has always meant I should achieve the most because it was expected that I would grow up while...
Do You Hear Me?
In the year of 2022, I became more awake to a world that felt like it hated women. Feeling more unsafe everyday. I remember reading so many posts and articles about women’s reproductive rights— CHOICE—being stripped from them. I was angry. I was furious...
A Lesson from Dark History
A controversial issue in my hometown of Espanola, New Mexico, has been the dark side of New Mexican history, specifically the Spanish conquest of the Indigenous communities that were long established. The man who led it was a Spanish conquistador named Juan De Onate....
Who tf is you
Who tf is you Excuse my French but who tf is you Why you think you can take life you didn’t provide Who said that’s what you should do Y’all way of thinking to me is crazy I am black Let’s sit for a minute and discuss the thinning Of ya brain which clearly is...
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