A Black Paper: Racial Liberation Ascension Model: Phase Five
International Women’s Day and Bloody Sunday are two powerful markers in our collective memory, and to honor both, we must lift up the Black women of Selma-organizers, strategists, and visionaries whose labor made that movement possible, and recognize that liberation is not escape, but elevation.
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The Black Paper
The Racial Liberation Ascension Model (RLAM) is a framework for understanding the journey from assimilation within oppressive systems to collective liberation. Originally created as a personal tool to make sense of the emotional and spiritual weight of liberation work, it evolved through dialogue with educators, organizers, and community members who recognized similar patterns in their experiences. Using a rocket flight metaphor, RLAM outlines five phases—Ignition & Awareness, Launch & Enlightenment, Separation & Isolation, Liftoff & Acceleration, and Ascension & Orbit—that describe how individuals deepen their consciousness, align their actions with justice, and ultimately work toward sustained, community-centered liberation.
Keeping it Real: Stopping Those Who Trespass Against Us
Black women in America face significant challenges due to political, social, and economic manipulations, with the most recent federal actions causing devastation in the community, and Black women want laws, social programs, education, employment, and economic opportunities to reflect the rights and needs of women and children in the nation.
Deirdre Walker of Deelightful Eats Catering Cares for Others With Her Passion of Food and Family
Deirdre Walker, a self-taught private chef and caterer, launched her catering company Deelightful Eats in…
Finding the Right Care: Episodic vs. Primary Care for Aging Adults
California’s aging population is growing rapidly, and the state’s capacity to support the care of…
The Civil Rights Institute Partners with Empower You Edutainment to Spotlight Black Innovators who Built the I.E.
The Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California (CRIISC) held a free event, “Brick by Brick: Black Innovators Who Built…
State Officials Discuss CARE Act’s Success in Riverside County
California’s Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, launched in 2023, provides community-based behavioral health services and supportive care to…
Op Ed: Black History Month at 100: Honoring Service While Confronting Persistent Inequities for the Inland Empire’s Black Veterans
African American veterans, including those in the Inland Empire of Southern California, have returned home from service to face systemic…
Erin Jackson Carried Team USA Flag In Milano
Erin Jackson, a former inline skater, became the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold in the 500m short…
The Fire Next Time
As California updates its wildfire hazard maps for the first time in nearly two decades, the Inland Empire stands at the epicenter of a new reality: wildfire risk is no longer confined to remote hillsides, but increasingly threatens dense urban neighborhoods and historically marginalized communities. This series is designed to help readers understand the dangers, risks and how to prepare for The Fire Next Time.
BlackLash 2025
Project 2025 is a sweeping policy blueprint driven by the Heritage Foundation and advanced by the Trump administration. It has sparked alarm among civil rights and advocacy groups for its potential to erode hard-won protections in education, health care, housing, voting rights, and economic opportunity, with especially dire consequences for Black Americans.
