Black Brilliance Research Project Update

Black Brilliance Research Project Update

by Research Support Volunteer Team

During the summer budget re-balance, the Seattle City Council allocated $3 million for community-led research into identifying non-police alternatives for public safety. The Black Brilliance Research Project (BBRP), in collaboration with King County Equity Now and Freedom Project Washington, was awarded a contract to spearhead this project. Black Brilliance Researchers are seeking to answer three primary questions:

• What creates true community safety?
• What creates true community health? and
• What do folks need to thrive?

The goal of the BBRP is to identify the people, resources, systems and support structures that answer these questions. BBRP has hired over 100 paid researchers, many of whom are Black youth, to conduct surveys, community meetings and literature reviews as part of their research.

The BBRP will inform decisions about the Participatory Budgeting (PB) process this year, ensuring these funds are used in a way that maximizes benefit to community. The work has been made possible via collaborations between members of The Silent Task Force, Forever Safe Spaces, Bridging Cultural Gaps, The Black Trans Prayer Book, Sacred Community Connections, East Africa Community Services, Wa Na Wari, Freedom Project Washington, King County Equity Now, Africatown Community Land Trust, among others.

On December 14, 2020, the BBRP presented their preliminary research findings to the City Council. The presentation provided recommendations to Council members for action, priorities for further collaborations between Council and BBRP and BBRP team spotlights. Below are some highlights from the presentation:

BBRP identified 5 primary issues that are critically important to community:

1. Housing and physical spaces, including Black-led residential and commercial spaces
2. Mental health
3. Youth & children
4. Economic development
5. Crises & wellness. Here researchers emphasized the need for the new 911 civilian crisis response center to hire people who have relevant lived experiences

BBRP issued 5 overall recommendations to Council members going forward:

1. Stop causing harm — acknowledge the systems that harm community members, and stop punishing individuals for the failures of systems
2. Create inclusive policies that prioritize lived experience and address the root causes of harm
3. Follow Black leadership. Effective and innovative solutions will come from people who are living closest to the issues.
4. Pay for community expertise
5. Invest in community-led solutions

For their partnership to be successful, City Council is asked to follow community leadership and work with community organizations to disburse funding in ways that are responsive to community needs. This should go beyond simple advisory roles and should include the establishment of grantmaker and/or financial support positions.

The presentation concluded by highlighting the efforts of specific BBRP teams and partners, including Freedom Project Washington, East African Community Services and The Silent Task Force.

You can watch the full presentation here (2:45–1:23:00). You can take and share the community needs assessment survey and find other BBRP links including further opportunities to get involved here: eztree.me/blackbrillianceresearch