Our main purpose, as a business called “Visionary,” is to help people to be able to see. We don’t just want them refocused; we want them to have true clarity in order to reach their full potential as human beings. We diagnose and care for the entire patient, no matter the difficulty. We treat our patients with care, dignity, and respect.
None of that makes us special. We believe these tenets are the foundations of care, not the end result. These are what we build from in order to truly be present for our community.
What is happening in our country right now is symptomatic of the inability to see. America has failed, both today and in the past hundreds of years, to treat our fellow black Amercians with care, dignity, and respect. As equals. As human beings. We are unfocused, confusing small steps with radical change. When we see radical change, we mistake it for a threat to our way of life. Meanwhile, the imbalance of power continues to hurt, incarcerate, and kill non-white Americans, especially black Americans, at an alarming rate.
We believe a visionary is someone who sees past the present moment and into a clearer future. They see it by doing the hard work of dismantling a system designed to oppress and harm. They see it by giving freely to others without question. To be a visionary is to have hope, to have focus, and to have the integrity to admit wrong in order to move forward.
We are a minority owned, LGBTQIA+ run business with deep connections to the black community (some of us are part of it ourselves, and some are wonderful partners and allies). We feel the pain that is coursing through our nation right now, and we will do our best to work with you to help guide us all to the other side. We are incredibly grateful to the people who are leading the charge to heal and to assist.
There is no one right answer for how to move forward, but we know it comes one step at a time and with great compassion and listening. We know that we will continue to show up for our community and our patients, and for our families. We hope you will do the same. Listed below are several organizations worthy of your time and donations, should you have the means.
We can all be Visionaries in times of crises. It only takes care and the ability to see.
Places to Donate:
Black Lives Matter Chicago is an intersectional vehicle that values Black people and our right to self-determination. We fight for justice with families most impacted, while working to create just and equitable systems.
My Block, My Hood, My City provides underprivileged youth with an awareness of the world and opportunities beyond their neighborhood. We take students on explorations focused on STEM, Arts & Culture, Citizenry & Volunteerism, Health, Community Development, Culinary Arts, and Entrepreneurism.
Circles & Ciphers is a hip-hop infused restorative justice organization led by and for young people impacted by violence. Through art-based peace circles, education, and direct action we collectively heal and work to bring about the abolition of the prison-industrial complex.
Rooted in the long legacy of liberatory education, Chicago Freedom School (CFS) provides training and education for young people and adult allies to create a just world. Through youth programs and trainings, we equip young people and adult allies with the tools develop actionable strategies for social change.
Assata’s Daughters (“AD”) is a Black woman-led, young person-directed organization rooted in the Black Radical Tradition. AD organizes young Black people in Chicago by providing them with political education, leadership development, mentorship, and revolutionary services.
Brave Space Alliance equips trans people – in particular trans women, trans people of color, poor and working class trans people, non-binary and gender queer people – with the skills to defend themselves and fight back against violence.
The mission of Equity and Transformation is to build social and economic equity for Black chicagoans engaged in the informal economy. We seek a Chicago free from anti Black racism and economic violence in Black communities.
Chicago Community Bond Fund (who provided many of the links above)
Nearly 100 volunteers sustain CCBF’s work, including operation of the revolving bail fund and local and national advocacy efforts to end money bond and pretrial incarceration. These volunteers work tirelessly to follow up on requests for help paying bond, fundraise money to replenish the revolving fund and sustain our other work, support people freed from jail, and push forward CCBF’s educational and campaign work.
