About Us
We believe in the duality of dreaming big within the social realities that currently exist. Our commitment to liberation exists on individual, communal, and systemic levels. By focusing on the liberation of marginalized individuals, ripple effects will reverberate throughout the world. When we center and uplift those closest to the pain and focus on their liberation, we are, inevitably, all liberated!
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide a centralized and holistic ecosystem of resources that empower young people to successfully navigate their paths into adulthood.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create a community of liberated, values-aligned individuals that empower themselves and their communities to thrive, break generational curses, and embody social justice ideals.
Our Values
Collective Liberation & Healing
“If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." – Lilla Watson, Aboriginal activist, academic and artist
Our liberation is truly bound together. Collective liberation means that we work collectively to center and uplift those closest to the pain and those who are the most marginalized amongst us to eradicate the various and intersecting* systems of oppression. In order to accomplish this, we must work together, sharing power and resources to create space and safety for our marginalized community members. We cannot have liberation without healing; healing our individual and collective trauma will help us heal our own relationships and communities. Our goal is a world rooted in honoring all people's humanity.
*For more on intersectionality, please begin your research with Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined and originated the concept.
Community & Community Care
“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb
We are only as free as our most marginalized community members. Systems of dominance would have you believe that rugged individualism is the answer to success and social advancement, yet time and history have continuously shown us that community is the key. The work of liberation is an active and ongoing process that requires an “all hands on deck - doing what they are best at" methodology. This work can only be done in allied partnership that is rooted in accountability, humanity, equity, restorative practices, and relationships. Together, we are powerful!
Personal Sovereignty
We believe that personal sovereignty is a birthright. We strive to create a world where individuals have autonomy and agency over themselves, their decisions, and their life paths. In a healthy community structure, the collective respects and values the individual's needs and choices so long as they do not infringe upon the liberation or sovereignty of others. We are a richer and fuller society when each of us is able to show up fully and express ourselves uniquely, within the framework of the collective. Like a beautiful mosaic, up close it may look disjointed but as you step away, the small pieces come together as one. We want to begin by empowering the youth in our community to stand in their truth, to practice sovereignty and safety, and to model that behavior to those around them.
Integrity
We believe that integrity is more than just honesty, it is accountability, vulnerability, and most importantly, the right reciprocal relationship. We each have a responsibility to make decisions that keep the well-being, liberation and humanity of others in mind. It is from the seeds of integrity that our collective liberation, communities, and personal sovereignty grow. We are inextricably linked and if we navigate the world as such, we have done our parts to move the needle of equity forward as we re-imagine what the future will look like for the next generations.
Our Approach
Focus on Education
The Asafa Collective seeks to provide information, support, and resource access in order to help those for whom the system wasn’t built. If you're going to play chess with the people who invented the chessboard, you have to understand the game and be prepared to work it. Whether you're going to run for a political position, get into medicine, become a mechanic or whatever career you choose, education and skills training hold the key to navigating through a lot of barriers to accessibility and upward mobility.
We support education to encourage individuals to liberate themselves and gain the tools to liberate their communities.
Focus on Healing
Our success is determined by our ability to connect to other human beings and build connective tissue that celebrates our individuality, but which also understands that we are only as healthy as our most wounded.
Holistic Approaches
All of our programs embrace each participant as a full human – so we provide support to make their liberation and education or training possible. For example, we understand that academic achievement is made possible through security, safety, steady meals, health, and support systems. To learn more about how this works, read more about each of our programs.
Liberation in all Aspects of Operations
Our values and practices are infused into all of our work – from the banks we choose as partners, to the expectations of our employees. We choose community partners, software, vendors, venues, and more with the values of equity and liberation front and center. We are committed to enacting the Asafa Collective mission in every aspect of our business; where we can advocate for better options, we will use our purchasing power to do so.
We invest in living wages for our employees, who also benefit from a four day work week, with unlimited vacation and full benefits. We pay all of our contributors – because we ask far too many marginalized folks to do unpaid labor in the name of “social progress.”