Community-powered change
Community Justice Initiative empowers the Black community through action, service, and education — turning shared concerns into shared momentum.
Our work begins with listening, then moves with purpose.
Our mission
To empower black, Afrikan and melanated life in all facets of society through action oriented advocacy and elevated consciousness.
Our work in motion
Practical pathways for care, collective wealth, and the knowledge that makes both possible.
01 /
Fighting food apartheid and food deserts in poverty-stricken neighborhoods through food giveaways and mutual aid every other Wednesday at 6pm. We are always seeking volunteers and donations. Reach out to Diallo or Niya to arrange food donations, or send monetary donations to $CJI520.
02 /
Practicing cooperative economics (ujamaa) and continuing the work of Claud Anderson’s POWERNOMICS concepts.
03 /
Empowering through education of black history and delivering powerful information for economic empowerment and helpful insight for community needs.
What we believe
01 / Action
We make room for people to organize, participate, and move from concern to a concrete next step.
02 / Service
We connect community needs with practical support, trusted relationships, and care that respects dignity.
03 / Education
We share knowledge in plain language so more people can understand the systems shaping their lives.
04 / Belonging
We create spaces where Black voices are centered, community wisdom is valued, and nobody has to act alone.
Our principles
Our principles are rooted in wisdom that has carried people, families, and communities forward — across generations and together.
01 /
Image: Wikimedia Commons
We honor the people and wisdom that made a way before us, carrying their work into what comes next.
02 /
Image: Wikimedia Commons
We practice truth, balance, justice, and right relationship as daily commitments to one another.
03 /
Image: Wikimedia Commons
We become more fully ourselves through our care, responsibility, and belonging with one another.
04 /
Image: Wikimedia Commons
We move with purpose through unity, self-determination, collective work, creativity, and faith.
Ancestors Reverence
Our ancestors made a way. We believe deeply in honoring them by continuing the work — remembering, gathering, and building what our people need next.
Ancestors Reverence is a living practice at Community Justice Initiative: a commitment to keep Black history close, celebrate the people who shaped Rochester, and turn memory into movement.
Since 2022 /
We founded MALCOLM X weekend in 2022, and we are going into the 6th Annual in 2027 — keeping his truth, courage, and call to action present in our community.
Rochester roots /
We also started a celebration for Rochester’s own Austin Steward, and we are going into the 6th Annual next year. His legacy belongs in the stories we tell and the future we shape.
There is always room for another pair of hands in this work.
Volunteer with usA living archive
The work is meant to be seen, shared, and remembered. We’re making room here for the people and moments that keep community power visible.
Community care
Remembering
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Rochester roots
Cooperative economics
Image: Wikimedia Commons
There is a place for you here