VISION We believe in the power of grassroots leaders, and know that too often brilliant leaders do not get a seat at the table. We also believe in the power of support, affirmation, development, and community. We aim to create a more equitable and community-representative cadre of talent by investing in the growth of historically marginalized leaders. We identify industry and community leaders and provide them with the tools to scale equitable change for our communities.MISSIONThe Kanada Fellowship will empower professionals from Greater Detroit to become strategic leaders at work and in their communities by providing them with the tools needed to enact even greater change. Through a 6-month initial fellowship experience, participants will gain development and support that will help them reach the next level in their service, leadership, and impact. THE LEGACY OF JAMES KANADA James Kanada was an African-American man that escaped slavery in Mississippi and settled in Detroit in the 1860s. At a time when Mississippi had nearly half-a-million enslaved people, and less than 15,000 slaves escaped the state, Kanada was 1 of the 2.5% of slaves known to have escaped to freedom. In 1865, Kanada formed a settlement near what is now Puritan Avenue and was the lone Black frontiersman in the area. Though he faced discrimination and sabotage from his neighbors, Kanada persevered and grew his farm from 15 acres to 25 acres by 1880. Not only defying the odds, unlike millions of other enslaved brothers and sisters who remained in bondage through this horrific era, Kanda not only escaped and found freedom, yet was also a successful entrepreneur and community pillar—becoming known as the ”First Black Frontiersman”. Kanada maintained his farm until his death from tuberculosis in 1885--which is powerfully significant, dying of natural death, given the cause of death of so many Black people during this era. STRATEGIC COMMUNITY PARTNERS (SCP) SCP is a national firm that works with organizations by advising, designing, and managing projects and initiatives that advance equity with and for communities. We partner with organizations to build capacity by pairing strategy with community and cultural context to drive forward powerful and equitable missions. We are passionate about and focus on capacity building in partnership with organizations and over the past two years have also leveraged our scaling organization to launch SCP initiatives, such as the Kanada Fellowship. The Kanada Fellowship is a tangible act of our commitment to ensuring that those from communities secure a seat at the table and are leading charges in their community. As additional community context, leadership development opportunities exist in abundance in communities such as Chicago, Washington, D.C, and New York. However, in Detroit, we do not have an individual leadership development opportunity that is not pay-to-play (i.e. Leadership Detroit--which costs $5,000-10,000 per participant and truly doesn't develop leaders, but serves as a stepping stone to the Detroit Athletic Club experience). While there is value in these experiences, this does not represent the masses, nor is it accessible. Our team wanted to take our experiences across the country of building fellowships with Fortune 100 organizations and nationally renowned foundations and institutions and bring this experience to the every day community leader and professional who has the potential to impact their community at a far greater scale if they simply receive the leadership development. SCP is committed to curating this space for our community--and we know it will, undoubtedly, impact and serve our greater community.
If our Kanada Fellowship is sponsored through Peerspace, we would use our $1,000 credit to book space for the following: 1. Socially distanced kick-off event and photo shoot (including headshots that our fellows can use indefinitely as a tool in their professional navigation toolkit--which this fellowship, in part, helps them build) 2. Socially distanced monthly intensive sessions, including photography and videography to capture the experience 3. Socially distanced culminating fellowship event (our curriculum calls for our fellows to curate this event) 4. Socially distanced individual interviews with each fellow that will lend to a storytelling campaign that involves individuals such as Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist If socially distanced with 12 people is still not safe, we would remove the event aspects of the above and strictly use the space for socially distanced one-on-one interviews, photography, and videography--which is still a critical aspect of our fellowship and the future of our fellowship.
Peerspace is on a mission to bring people together. We believe it is impossible to achieve that goal unless we also fight for equality and access to resources in the communities we serve.
Having a space to gather, create, and exchange ideas is an important part of any movement. In order to magnify voices that are often quieted, Peerspace will sponsor venues for people who challenge prejudice and fight for social justice and equality.
Each quarter, we will sponsor space for three projects that are relevant to our community. These projects can range from fundraisers and educational initiatives to art exhibits and photo series.
