African American Leadership Forum Twin Cities

African American Leadership Forum Twin Cities Official page of the African American Leadership Forum. We operate as a think-and-do tank. The Forum.

We are creating a radical future for Black Minnesotans by advancing Black-Centered policies and solutions that end racial injustice in all its forms. The Forum addresses inequities in economic prosperity, generational wealth building, public safety, education, health and environmental justice. Through a collaborative structure, Black-Centered Design, we engage Black Minnesotans, fostering their co

ncerns into the organizational steps we take to improve lives and revitalize communities. We build the Black leaders of tomorrow; leading programs that connect African Americans, and energize groups to share ideas. We've mastered the process of activating people to take a greater partnership stake in the social, economic and political landscapes that impact their daily lives.

🎉 Welcome Marcus Mills as Senior Policy Impact Associate 🎉We are proud to announce Marcus as Senior Policy Impact Associ...
08/07/2026

🎉 Welcome Marcus Mills as Senior Policy Impact Associate 🎉

We are proud to announce Marcus as Senior Policy Impact Associate at the African American Leadership Forum.

A policy strategist and organizer with deep roots in Minneapolis, Marcus has spent his career moving communities and decision-makers toward shared wins. He has run for Minneapolis Ward 3 City Council, owned his own consulting business, and worked alongside Black Visions and Community Power on successful environmental justice campaigns. That work helped bring to life the 100% Clean Energy Bill, the Frontline Communities Protection Act, the Minneapolis Climate Legacy Initiative, and the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority (MnCIFA).

In recognition, his peers and state and local decision-makers entrusted him with a Co-Chair seat on the Minneapolis Clean Energy Partnership's Energy Vision Advisory Committee, and Governor Walz re-appointed him as the Member with Expertise in Environmental Justice on MnCIFA.

Marcus believes "We all do better, when we all do better."

As Senior Policy Impact Associate, Marcus will guide The Forum's policy framework. Leading community conversations, building coalition and vision, and shepherding decision-makers toward the fulfillment of our policy goals. Since joining in June 2026, he has hit the ground running, determined to improve lives in the Black community of Minneapolis.

Learn more at the link in our bio or visit aalftc.org/leadership

Join us in welcoming Marcus to The Forum 🫱🏾‍🫲🏿

The Forum is thrilled to announce we're hiring a Digital Storyteller & Social Media Producer!Black narrative justice doe...
08/04/2026

The Forum is thrilled to announce we're hiring a Digital Storyteller & Social Media Producer!

Black narrative justice doesn't happen by accident. It's built, frame by frame, by people who understand that how our communities are seen shapes what our communities can become. The Digital Storyteller Producer work ensures the brilliance of Blackness is seen, felt and archived.

We're looking for creative professionals who can hold a camera and design a strategy deck. Who has the experience and understanding, to know reels can move policy. Who is deeply curious about people, culture and the Afrofuturistic forward future we're building for Black communities at The Forum.

The Digital Storyteller & Social Media Producer at The Forum is responsible for transforming community voices, research and advocacy work into powerful multimedia narratives that advance Black narrative justice and liberation. This role centers storytelling as a tool for equity, capturing and amplifying the brilliance, resilience, and transformation of Black communities across the Twin Cities while driving engagement, awareness, and systemic change. The position is full-time with a hybrid schedule.

Apply today and learn more at: aalftc.org/careers/

Join The Forum's Jaralyn Roberts and Dr. Jessica Thompson-Dixon this Friday August 7, 2026 9-5PM at "A Revolutionary Tea...
08/03/2026

Join The Forum's Jaralyn Roberts and Dr. Jessica Thompson-Dixon this Friday August 7, 2026 9-5PM at "A Revolutionary Teach-In" by Blackbird Revolt a one-day Black August gathering.

🎟️ Tickets are still available! Secure your spot: https://vist.ly/5dfkv

A Revolutionary Teach-In brings together organizers, creatives, educators, community members, and changemakers from across the Twin Cities to reclaim our narratives, deepen our radical imagination, and strengthen the collective power needed to build the future we deserve.

The workshop: What grows when we tend different soil?

In this interactive workshop, AALF will introduce participants to its Black-Centered Design (BCD) framework, an approach that transforms research into action by centering the voices, wisdom, and lived experiences of Black communities.

Through reflection, discussion, and hands-on activities, participants will explore how Black-Centered Design can help challenge systems of oppression, reimagine solutions to complex social issues, and cultivate abundant futures rooted in liberation.

Dr. Jessica Thompson-Dixon works to bring innovative, Black-led solutions to persistent social issues by embedding Black voices into systems, processes, and decision-making.

Alongside her, Jaralyn, Leadership Development Director at AALF, leads transformative leadership programs that empower Black leaders across Minnesota through self-discovery, community and collective growth.

The African American Leadership Forum operates as a think-and-do tank. We convert research-based thought on social issue...
07/30/2026

The African American Leadership Forum operates as a think-and-do tank. We convert research-based thought on social issues into action-oriented agendas and solutions, which address the fundamental causes of racial injustice.

That's the definition. Here's what it looks like in practice.

It looks like a design session where the problem on the screen is one we've been told is unsolvable, and we build the prototype anyway.

It looks like two people finding each other mid-convening, and a partnership starting before anyone sits back down.

Our solutions are aimed at impacting the areas of economic prosperity, generational wealth building, public safety, education, health, and environmental justice. We think, and we do because Black Minnesotans face some of the widest educational, employment and health disparities in the nation. We're thinking about the worlds we want to build, with expansive vision.

Think with us. Build with us.

Sign up for The Forum newsletter, tap in and learn how to connect with the work at aalftc.org

07/08/2026

The 2026 Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy has officially begun.

On kick-off day, 20 Black leaders from across Minnesota walked into a room as strangers and walked out as a cohort. This is the sacred work of the Josie R. Johnson Fellowship. A six-month journey rooted in the legacy of civil rights pioneer Dr. Josie R. Johnson, built to nurture visionaries, bridge-builders and change agents who are ready to lead with purpose.

You could feel it in the room. The laughter, introductions and first real conversations turning casual greetings into lifelong community. Because before the coaching, self-discovery and the community leadership projects—it starts with seeing yourself reflected in the people beside you.

This is more than a fellowship. It's a homecoming.

Welcome, 2026 Josie R. Johnson Leadership Fellows. We've been waiting for you.

On Saturday, June 27, 2026, the 2026 Josie R. Johnson Fellows were welcomed into their fellowship with a Sankofa session...
06/30/2026

On Saturday, June 27, 2026, the 2026 Josie R. Johnson Fellows were welcomed into their fellowship with a Sankofa session, a living history journey through the heart of Black Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN.

The 2026 Josie R. Johnson Fellowship Sankofa session was not just orientation, it was an initiation. Fellows were invited into a lineage of community centers and archival collectors who preserved what others might have overlooked.

Welcome & Grounding

The cohort gathered at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center at 9am, beginning with a light breakfast and a welcome and context-setting from The Forum leadership.

Executive Director of Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Benny Roberts, provided a tour to cohort fellows, followed with a presentation on the rich history of the center and the Rondo community. This grounded fellows in one of the Twin Cities' most storied centers of Black life, culture and resilience.

On the Bus: A Living History Tour

By 10am, the cohort boarded the bus for a series of site visits that brought Black Twin Cities history into direct, embodied experience.

Sabathani Community Center

Fellows were joined by Judge LaJune Lange, whose presence added immediate depth—connecting the legacy of Black civic leadership and institution-building to the fellows' own journey ahead.

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

A visit to one nation's oldest Black-owned newspaper, still publishing and still bearing witness. Fellows encountered Black press as infrastructure—a tool for narrative sovereignty, accountability, and community voice across generations.

The Givens Collection of African American Literature

The cohort spent the most time here, sharing boxed lunches and a presentation from the collection's curator Davu Seru. The Givens Collection—one of the largest collections of African American literature and art in the country, offered fellows a direct encounter with the depth and breadth of Black intellectual and creative legacy.

Closing at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center

The group returned to Hallie Q. Brown Community Center for a closing session before dismissal. A moment to process, reflect and begin to name what the day stirred.

🖤✨ Welcoming the 2026 Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy Fellows! ✨🖤The Forum is proud to announce the newest cohort of...
06/27/2026

🖤✨ Welcoming the 2026 Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy Fellows! ✨🖤

The Forum is proud to announce the newest cohort of the JRJLA: 25 visionaries, bridge-builders, and change agents ready to shape the future of Black Minnesota. We are ready to welcome them in with care, true intention, and space that supports honoring their humanity and dreams.

🌟 Meet your 2026 Fellows:
Brittany McClendon • Kehinde Reuben • Manu Lewis • Brianna Edwards • Sam King • Jasmine Ali • Camille Caster-Cyprian • Julian Spencer • Dr. Angel Smith • Tiara Fard • Assata Florell • Bobbi Pratt • Hannah Jackson-Matthews • Michael Jackson • Maxine Hall • Aaliyah Murray • Sam Hall • Erwin Swaray • Christopher McAbee • Nakara White • Emmanuel Duncan • Tamera Owens • Cara Deanes • Marlee James • Binta Kanteh

Over the next six months, these leaders will immerse themselves in a journey rooted in Black identity, cultural affirmation, mentorship, and radical imagination, all in the legacy of civil rights pioneer Dr. Josie R. Johnson.

When Black leaders rise, entire communities rise with them, so let them dream…we need them well, full in their purpose and tapped-in! ✊🏿

The fellows are coming. Tomorrow, we announce the 2026 cohort of the Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy—visionaries, ch...
06/25/2026

The fellows are coming.

Tomorrow, we announce the 2026 cohort of the Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy—visionaries, change agents, and bridge-builders who are shaping the future of Black communities in Minnesota.

For six months, this cohort will immerse themselves in visionary leadership development, one-on-one executive coaching, and mentorship from seasoned Torchbearer leaders who have walked this path before.

They'll build their Legacy Growth Blueprint, expand an intergenerational network of 150+ alumni and be poured into—so they can pour back into us.

Tomorrow, meet the 2026 cohort.

On June 12, AALF was proud to stand alongside Research in Action and the Equity in Action Way Foundation for "Advancing...
06/25/2026

On June 12, AALF was proud to stand alongside Research in Action and the Equity in Action Way Foundation for "Advancing Equity in Action: An Evening of Art and Activation."

The inaugural fundraiser raised awareness of community-led research centered on Black Women, Girls and Femmes.

The convening theme "Building a New Table with Black Women, Girls and Femmes" was woven through every moment of the evening. From the grounding words of the speakers to the gallery walls.

The artists who brought their work to that stage understood the assignment completely.

Art purchases didn't just take home art, they took home a piece of the movement, and their investment goes directly toward resourcing the work of community-led research that centers the people most impacted by injustice.

That, is equity in action.

To every artist who poured yourself into this work, we see you honors you, and are grateful to have stood beside you. To and the entire team:

Thank you for showing us, what it looks like when community expertise is treated as the blueprint.

Address

1625 Hennepin Avenue , Suite 200B
Minneapolis, MN
55403

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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