Black institutions provide free spaces essential for building civic capacity

Evidence

Without these organizations and the forms of black politics they facilitate by providing what social scientists call “free spaces”—spaces where folks learn self-respect, public skills, and the value of civic engagement—we lose one of the crucial ways to close the value gap. These institutions enable a political vision of American democracy without white supremacy. — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 347

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Poor black women’s small donations financially sustained their national institutions — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 746; Black churches historically functioned as multipurpose civic institutions — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 798; AfroLatinx students excluded from Latinx spaces find refuge in affirming Black counter spaces. — Tatiana I. Zamora and Amado M. Padilla, Making sense of conflicting messages of…, 112 (+1 more)