If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past several years (no shade to those who do, cozy cave life with a healthy dose of Wi-Fi is where it’s at), then there’s a good chance you’ve heard of several fabulous, national organizations working towards racial justice and social equity. These include Black Lives Matter (BLM), Color of Change and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), all of which are worth supporting if racial social progress in the U.S. is important to you.
However, sometimes I’ve found that these larger organizations feel incredibly far away from my local community, making it difficult to cognitively connect time and money spent for them with tangible, experienceable effects. Luckily, Fort Collins has a lot of great organizations to support as well, one of which is Queen’s Legacy Foundation. From Juneteenth celebrations to political organization, this Queen’s got it all.
Queen’s Legacy Foundation was founded by the titular majestic monarch, a long-time Fort Collins resident and one of the co-founders of the Larimer County chapter of the BIPOC Alliance. Not only did she create Queen’s Legacy Foundation and help set up Larimer’s BIPOC Alliance chapter, she’s also the sovereign of another non-profit called New Eyes Village, all of which work to support BIPOC people through education, health services and community support.
In order to pursue these queenly goals, the Foundation has organized and invested in several regal programs, including Ubuntu House, which aids in career development and mental health support, and Youth Engaged in Arts and Academics, which seeks to support children of color. On the political side, the group has fostered the B.L.A.C. Council, an organization that courts justice by getting people of color involved in local politics and keeping Larimer’s municipality accountable. They meet each Friday from 5-7 and welcome anyone who wishes to listen or participate.
If you want to keep up with the Foundation’s royal activities, you can follow their Facebook page here. They’ve been working to mitigate the threat of COVID-19 in between starting programs and workshops for kids heading back to school. Otherwise, you can also donate your time or money to the organization here.
After the summer of 2020, we all know how important it is to create systemic change on a national level if we want to improve the lives of Black citizens (and thereby our own). But it’s equally important to make sure attitudes and cultures change at the local level, too, so that the political frameworks created by those such as BLM and the LDF don’t ring hollow.
As such, when it comes to Queen’s Legacy Foundation, I think there’s only one correct response to their regnant responsibilities:
Your ability to weave words in unique and meaningful ways just amazes me. Your writing is beautiful to the eyes and ears.