The effects of anti-Black racism have created a violent and fragmented world with deeply entrenched patterns of domination. In response, the struggle for racial justice often leaves leaders burnt out, isolated, and, due to the tyranny of the urgent, without the time and space to engage their imaginations beyond problem-solving.
That’s why our 12-month Fellowship Experience invites changemakers throughout the Black diaspora and the wider world into a collective journey of deepening their leadership, grappling with the global complexities of race, and unlocking their creativity for social change.
Water is our symbolic emblem in the Fellowship community. Flowing bodies of water evoke the voyage Fellows embark on in the Fellowship.
They remind us that rivers can speak to the waters within us
–the still and turbulent places–
and the oceans that connect the African diaspora and its histories.
Our Approach
Learn:
Through learning materials and dialogue, Fellows grapple with the complexities of race and racism throughout the world.
Lead:
We support Fellows to expand their leadership capacity and better care for themselves through group activities and body-based exercises.
Lean:
We prioritise interdependence, mutual support, and collective accountability as a way of being and a way of learning.
Leap:
We use futures thinking to nurture Fellows' next impactful idea and to re-imagine how to act powerfully in the present.
Topics We Explore
Racemaking and racialisation
Narrative power and strategy
Global forces of anti-Black racism
The futures of race
Domination and racial capitalism
Somatic and wellness practices
Collective and interpersonal leadership competencies
Personal theory of change
“I’m taking away more grounding and depth in my voice, a clearer and more articulate perspective regarding my theory of change, the concept and practice of durability and self-preservation- and the knowing that it’s okay to just be; to just rest.”
— Deloris “Dela” Wilson’19
Fellowship Outcomes & Expectations
We hope by the end of the Fellowship each Fellow has:
Gained insight into complex histories of race, engaged their imaginations about its potential futures and grappled with the present global forces that perpetuate white supremacy and anti-Black racism.
Developed personal strategies and routines to strengthen their long-term staying power in the fight to combat anti-Black racism.
Supported the formation of meaningful and robust lifelong relationships.
Articulated their next idea for impact and acted on their vision.
We expect Fellows to integrate their learning from the Fellowship Experience into their leadership practice and to work towards improving the quality of Black life throughout the world. We expect Fellows to embody the values of liberation for all people and to demonstrate their commitment to their own leadership and cohort by being fully present for official programming.
Upon graduating, Fellows become members of the Global Atlantic Fellows Community via the Atlantic Institute.
Applications our next cohort open in early 2025.
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