The Center for Ideas, Equity & Transformative Change is a resource hub of sustainable innovation. We provide strategic support to people and communities that are committed to responsible building of power through cultural change. Data science, cultural strategy, capacity building, resource generation, relationship building and economic development are our areas of expertise. We are fully invested in supporting the self determination of indigenous, black and brown communities and their self assertive cultural productions that lead to self reliance and impacting local/regional economies and system change. We are committed to racial equity, human rights, economic justice, environmental justice, health equity, food sovereignty, and ethical leadership. Our theory of change is rooted in the framework of social equality that centers health, wellness and healing of peoples and places as informed by the pedagogies of the oppressed from various parts of the world, and particularly from the Global South, the Gulf South and the Deep South, which are home to us.
Who We Are
Lacey Glencora Loftin
Data Scientist
Noel Didla
Cultural Worker
Alex Lawson
Economist
Our Processes
We engage in deep political education with partners to develop a responsible understanding of change. We believe that people and places are sacred. We, therefore, develop an analysis of change and power by being fully informed of the truths and legacies of the communities we support. We are committed to principled struggle with our partners to nurture sustainable innovation.
We will use participatory research processes to evaluate ourselves, evaluate the strategic plan we develop, the programmatic structure we design, the processes we engage in with the community, and the trust and support of the community. The Center for Ideas, Equity, and Transformative Change have data science expertise that will support the development, implementation, visualization, and cultural interpretation of the data. The Center believes in being accountable to the self-determination and cultural assertions of our grassroots communities and we believe in grounding and upholding the truths and legacies of peoples and places through how we responsibly imagine and engage with data. We believe in practicing economic justice and ethics in data work. So we honor community wisdom through just compensation and by equitably crediting all wisdom givers as knowledge producers when we curate our data, data visualizations, cultural data interpretations, and analyses.
What We Provide
Resource Generation
We work with partners to identify and access resources that support sustainable innovation.
We have generated 1.25 million dollars in covid rapid response to communities across the Gulf South. We generated 400k in strategic support to communities across the Deep South.
Strategy Development
We engage in deep political education about people and place and provide strategy support that is culturally appropriate, responsible and regenerative.
We support the development of the 1) MS Food Justice Collaborative and the MS Food Systems Fellowship cultural strategies 2) Another Gulf Is Possible’s cultural strategy for the Gulf South and Global South just transitions and 3) Center for Livable Future’s food policy network racial equity strategy 4) Footprint Farms’ cultural strategy.
Data Science
We are experts in scoping and curating data that is historical and emergent. We provide data visualization and data cultural interpretation services that will responsibly inform, impact and help scale the work of our partners.
We are providing data visualization and civic engagement mapping support to the Winter Institute.
Economic Development
We are experts in economic equity, economic justice and economic development that builds power of communities to self determine sustainable innovation.
We provide support to NCAT Gulf States in the coastal community economic development project.
Relationship Building
We believe that building trust, transformative justice as the pathway to conflict resolution and principled struggle are the bedrocks of responsible relationship building. We are committed to centering health, wellness and healing as critical outcomes of our relationship building strategy. With that as our framing, we help identify and bring together partners that are regenerative and essential to sustainable innovation.
We have supported the strengthening of partner relationships within the MS Food Justice Collaborative, and engaged in building and sustaining relationships within the MS Food Systems Fellowship. We are engaged in strengthening indigenous, black and brown relationships across the state and the Gulf South through Another Gulf Is Possible.
Capacity Building
We are experts in building capacity of individuals and communities to become responsible, regenerative and ethical stewards of sustainable innovation.
We are engaged in building the capacity of the MS Food Systems Fellowship, MS Food Justice Collaborative and its partners, NCAT Gulf States and Johns Hopkins University’s Center for a Livable Future-Food Policy Networks project.
Our Partners
Another Gulf Is Possible aims to bridge our movements and build the world we deserve.
In the spirit of our namesake, Governor William Winter, the William Winter Institute offers programming designed to foster community communications, engage youth leaders and promote civic dialogue on the key issues facing Mississippi and the nation.
Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation
601-557-0056
Center for a Livable Future
The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future—working toward a healthy, equitable, resilient food system from within the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering.
Johns Hopkins University
Center for a Livable Future Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 111 Market Place, Suite 840 Baltimore MD 21202
410-223-1811
The Mississippi Food Justice Collaborative is a partnership of organizations working together to improve health outcomes for vulnerable children and their families in Mississippi and catalyze systemic change in our food system through collaboration on multiple levels.
Farm Fresh, City Sweet
Selling farm fresh vegetables and Fruit Grown Right in Jackson, MS
Foot Print Farms
4945 South Dr, Jackson, MS 39209, USA
601-668-5583
Earth-Bound Building is a collection of craftspeople who share a common love for the land and deep respect for the natural world. We focus on designing and building ecological, affordable and functional homes and farm infrastructure for rural landowners and farmers.
We specialize in Timber Framing using Traditional Joinery, General Carpentry including Tiny Home Construction and Natural Building such as Straw Bale Insulation, Clay Plasters and Cob Construction!
Making democratic ownership work for everyone: CDI brings savvy, focused, and engaged assistance to cooperators throughout New England and New York.