Pacific Northwest Sees Establishment of the Black Rural Network
Black leaders and community members from Oregon convened at the first meeting of the Black Rural Network and discussed the need to understand and improve the lives of rural, Black folk.
(Click here to read article published in Daily Yonder)
Black leaders and community members from Oregon convened at the first meeting of the Black Rural Network and discussed the need to understand and improve the lives of rural, Black folk.
(Click here to read article published in Daily Yonder)
A Look Behind and Forward!
An Update from LaNicia!
Happy 2023! As I look back at 2022, I want to share some of the joys and sorrows of our year. The greatest gift and success of last year was meeting so many of you. I moved to Oregon in 2014 and was pretty limited to the northern part of the coast until last year. Connecting with you gave me the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone of Highway 101 and venture out into rural Oregon and all it's beauty. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Last year was also the first year since moving to Oregon I can say I have a community of Black folks! This desire as well as a need to prove some folks wrong led me to you. When someone told me there weren’t enough Black people in my community to engage in conversations around DEI beyond translation services it ignited a fire in me. What I didn’t know is how much my life would be impacted in such a positive way by trying to prove a point!
Creating a nonprofit from scratch has been the most challenging experience of my career. It’s not something I had in my mind to do but the need started when I hosted the first series of MLK events in 2017 in Nehalem and Manzanita. I was also building a niche as a private chef specializing in soul food using locally sourced ingredients. That’s why you see the tag line, seasoned with love. Coastal Soul was building a brand, and it’s stuck with me.
Every time I have wanted to throw in the towel, life always gives me an opportunity to continue reaching higher. That’s when I began to meet you. With our efforts combined we have been able to shed a light on what the experience is for Black people living in rural communities throughout the state, hosting events for Black people and other people of color as well as share the inequities of access in rural communities as a whole. I was honored to be ask to serve under Governor Kate Brown on the Racial Justice Council Environmental Equity committee. I also serve on the board of the ACLU of Oregon.
A lot of you don’t know the last couple months of 2022 were extremely difficult for me. After traveling almost 20,000 miles across this state things came to an abrupt halt for me the beginning of October. I was attending a conference in Bend and had an accident of sorts. Ultimately the change in elevation affected me and I passed out in the middle of the night. I don’t know what happened outside of the last thing I remember before falling and the first thing I remember when I regained consciousness. I gave myself a concussion and some bruised ribs. I also came to the realization I had an incredible encounter I could have not survived and extremely grateful I did wake up to tell the story. This is the beginning of a shift in perspective for me.
A couple weeks later, many of us lost a friend and colleague, Denise Bacon, a field coordinator with The Ford Family Foundation. This loss hit me at my core. Please keep her family and close friends in your thoughts and prayers. The city of Newberg, where she served on the city council, the state of Oregon as well as the entire world lost a great soul. Many of us have made a pledge to remain in touch and keep some of her work alive.
Honestly, I spent the last couple months of the year stuck. I had several other people close in my life die over the course of a six week span. Grief, compounded with a concussion lead to depression. I had to fight like hell to get unstuck. It wasn’t until I woke up to the news that another celebrity had committed suicide I told myself it was time for me to make a shift mentally. I’m sharing this for a couple reasons. I know many of you have been wondering where I’ve been the end of the year. We talk so much about normalizing mental health challenges but we’re still expected to show up. I couldn’t. I knew people were expecting things of me but I just couldn’t show up. I could barely verbalize what I was experiencing and why. I truly appreciate those of you who supported me during a very difficult time.
All in all, I have had a lot of time to reflect, re-evaluate and reimagine what my life and this work looks like moving forward!
What’s next? After a lot of soul searching and identifying what was the biggest needs are for Black rural Oregonians, I believe it is supporting Black women, one of the smallest populations throughout rural Oregon (which is over 70% of the state).
2023 the Black Rural Network will be living out our vision differently. Our goal will be building a network for Black women who live in rural communities to find community in each other, to host spaces for Black women in rural communities to restore and to support Black women who are working to make their rural communities better. Click here to see if you live in a rural community. If you’re a Black woman living in a rural town and are interested in building community with other Black women please click here. We have some wonderful things planned for this year and want to also hear from you what your needs are to support your wellbeing in your communities.
If you have opportunities to enrich the lives of Black women in rural areas, please click here.
Last year the net was cast far and wide. This year we are bringing our focus to a place that is manageable as I continue to learn how to build and grow a sustainable organization. We will also continue to work with Black initiatives statewide that align with our values. I want to also thank The Ford Family Foundation and Oregon Community Foundation for their unwavering support especially since I’m no grant writing expert.
I’ll share more soon and I hope we do stay connected.
2022 in review!
Check out our YouTube Page!
Here is the full video of the Black Rural Network Conference we hosted in May, 2022.
You can also watch interviews with Mayor Alexander Johnson II, Taylor Stewart, Noni Causey, “The Real Lady A” Anita White and myself.
Do you know of an organization looking for a bookkeeper?
M.R. Best Bookkeeping partners with organizations who are out to make a difference in the world. We support the success of our client organizations by creating clarity and ease around the financial records required for smooth, seamless compliance. Our clients focus on doing what they do best without being bogged down by data entry nor being surprised by unexpected expenses or deadlines.
We provide accurate bookkeeping services which include but are not limited to:
An Update from LaNicia!
Happy 2023! As I look back at 2022, I want to share some of the joys and sorrows of our year. The greatest gift and success of last year was meeting so many of you. I moved to Oregon in 2014 and was pretty limited to the northern part of the coast until last year. Connecting with you gave me the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone of Highway 101 and venture out into rural Oregon and all it's beauty. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Last year was also the first year since moving to Oregon I can say I have a community of Black folks! This desire as well as a need to prove some folks wrong led me to you. When someone told me there weren’t enough Black people in my community to engage in conversations around DEI beyond translation services it ignited a fire in me. What I didn’t know is how much my life would be impacted in such a positive way by trying to prove a point!
Creating a nonprofit from scratch has been the most challenging experience of my career. It’s not something I had in my mind to do but the need started when I hosted the first series of MLK events in 2017 in Nehalem and Manzanita. I was also building a niche as a private chef specializing in soul food using locally sourced ingredients. That’s why you see the tag line, seasoned with love. Coastal Soul was building a brand, and it’s stuck with me.
Every time I have wanted to throw in the towel, life always gives me an opportunity to continue reaching higher. That’s when I began to meet you. With our efforts combined we have been able to shed a light on what the experience is for Black people living in rural communities throughout the state, hosting events for Black people and other people of color as well as share the inequities of access in rural communities as a whole. I was honored to be ask to serve under Governor Kate Brown on the Racial Justice Council Environmental Equity committee. I also serve on the board of the ACLU of Oregon.
A lot of you don’t know the last couple months of 2022 were extremely difficult for me. After traveling almost 20,000 miles across this state things came to an abrupt halt for me the beginning of October. I was attending a conference in Bend and had an accident of sorts. Ultimately the change in elevation affected me and I passed out in the middle of the night. I don’t know what happened outside of the last thing I remember before falling and the first thing I remember when I regained consciousness. I gave myself a concussion and some bruised ribs. I also came to the realization I had an incredible encounter I could have not survived and extremely grateful I did wake up to tell the story. This is the beginning of a shift in perspective for me.
A couple weeks later, many of us lost a friend and colleague, Denise Bacon, a field coordinator with The Ford Family Foundation. This loss hit me at my core. Please keep her family and close friends in your thoughts and prayers. The city of Newberg, where she served on the city council, the state of Oregon as well as the entire world lost a great soul. Many of us have made a pledge to remain in touch and keep some of her work alive.
Honestly, I spent the last couple months of the year stuck. I had several other people close in my life die over the course of a six week span. Grief, compounded with a concussion lead to depression. I had to fight like hell to get unstuck. It wasn’t until I woke up to the news that another celebrity had committed suicide I told myself it was time for me to make a shift mentally. I’m sharing this for a couple reasons. I know many of you have been wondering where I’ve been the end of the year. We talk so much about normalizing mental health challenges but we’re still expected to show up. I couldn’t. I knew people were expecting things of me but I just couldn’t show up. I could barely verbalize what I was experiencing and why. I truly appreciate those of you who supported me during a very difficult time.
All in all, I have had a lot of time to reflect, re-evaluate and reimagine what my life and this work looks like moving forward!
What’s next? After a lot of soul searching and identifying what was the biggest needs are for Black rural Oregonians, I believe it is supporting Black women, one of the smallest populations throughout rural Oregon (which is over 70% of the state).
2023 the Black Rural Network will be living out our vision differently. Our goal will be building a network for Black women who live in rural communities to find community in each other, to host spaces for Black women in rural communities to restore and to support Black women who are working to make their rural communities better. Click here to see if you live in a rural community. If you’re a Black woman living in a rural town and are interested in building community with other Black women please click here. We have some wonderful things planned for this year and want to also hear from you what your needs are to support your wellbeing in your communities.
If you have opportunities to enrich the lives of Black women in rural areas, please click here.
Last year the net was cast far and wide. This year we are bringing our focus to a place that is manageable as I continue to learn how to build and grow a sustainable organization. We will also continue to work with Black initiatives statewide that align with our values. I want to also thank The Ford Family Foundation and Oregon Community Foundation for their unwavering support especially since I’m no grant writing expert.
I’ll share more soon and I hope we do stay connected.
2022 in review!
Check out our YouTube Page!
Here is the full video of the Black Rural Network Conference we hosted in May, 2022.
You can also watch interviews with Mayor Alexander Johnson II, Taylor Stewart, Noni Causey, “The Real Lady A” Anita White and myself.
Do you know of an organization looking for a bookkeeper?
M.R. Best Bookkeeping partners with organizations who are out to make a difference in the world. We support the success of our client organizations by creating clarity and ease around the financial records required for smooth, seamless compliance. Our clients focus on doing what they do best without being bogged down by data entry nor being surprised by unexpected expenses or deadlines.
We provide accurate bookkeeping services which include but are not limited to:
- QuickBooks Online software set up and training
- Clean up and Catch up of backlogged financial data (including receipts management)
- Ongoing maintenance of your QuickBooks file
- Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable