AFROCENTRIC CAPACITY BUILDING: BUILDING AGENCY IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

Abstract

African Americans face multiple inequalities in nearly every category tracked in society (Katz et al., 2005). Although many legal and formal barriers were dismantled by rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and various acts of Congress, profound inequities continue to persist in the African American community due to systemic racism and racist social attitudes (DeGruy, 2017). In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, this researcher has sought intentional, explicit, and effective ways to address these historic inequities in the inland region of Southern California, also known as the Inland Empire. As a social worker, this researcher has utilized the community-based participatory research (CBPR) model as a foundational research design due to its promising uses throughout the nation when addressing the needs of the African American community. Although CBPR is often seen as a tool to address health disparities, it is also a social change model that empowers communities to build political power and the capacity to address community needs (D’Alonzo, 2010). Therefore, this research project sought to empower African American organization executives by building their program or organizational capacity to build agency in the community through Afrocentric practices.