06/17/2026
Every level in the Roots & Reach Founding Donors Circle carries a name.
Mr. Yusef Harris created spaces where people could exchange ideas, build networks, and find their way.
Freshman year at Tennessee State University, Erika explored every corner of campus. When she walked to the bright yellow building facing the entrance of the university, Alkebu-Lan Images, Nashville’s only independent, Black-owned bookstore, a whole new world opened. The owner could tell she was on a mission, hungry for knowledge, thirsty with curiosity.
Mr. Yusef handed her a book and invited her on a lifelong journey of wayfinding and meaning making.
We named this level for Mr. Yusef because the people who give here are choosing to carry what he built forward: community architecture that creates the conditions for someone else’s becoming.
Donors at this level are recognized as Ambassadors of the movement. Because that is exactly what he was.
Join the Roots & Reach Donors Circle today.
https://www.nashvillevillage.org/roots-and-reach