A Letter from DJC Board Member Gregory McKenzie & April Friendraiser Update at Alkebu-lan Village
The African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” isn’t just a phrase, but the foundation on which I’ve built my purpose in life. Born and raised on the east-side of Detroit, I was fortunate to be surrounded by a loving community dedicated to supporting my growth as a child. The first person to ever model such a commitment was my mother, Ruth Mary McKenzie.
Before any classroom, I gained my education at kitchen tables. My mother always kept a folder filled with pamphlets about African history and liberation movements for me to read. She made sure I understood that the pages missing from history books weren’t an accident — and that it was my duty to piece them back together.
When I taught at the historic Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology, leaders in the movement for African-centered education such as Mama Malkia Brantuo inspired me to empower Black youth around their cultural heritage and the importance of collective work and responsibility (Ujima). Doreen Turk White, Founder of the Empowerment Zone Coalition and my former supervisor, was another pivotal figure that inspired my dedication to nurture future generations, specifically Black boys as they grew into young men.
The guidance I received from my elders highly influenced the culturally responsive curriculums I developed at Alkebu-lan Village, where I now serve as Deputy CEO. The village has served as a critical Black institution rooted in youth empowerment for nearly 5 decades. I am often reminded of the many hands that have sustained its longevity, namely Marvis Cofield, CEO, and one of the village’s original founders.
Becoming a board member at the Detroit Justice Center mirrored a similar lesson: there’s power in nurturing relationships to maintain Black-led movements.
It was 2024 when I first heard Nancy, DJC’s Executive Director, speak at the “State of Black Detroit” discussion hosted by the Detroit is Different platform. Her vision of what Black justice looks like in practice and naming Malcolm X as her ancestral guide resonated with me as a fellow panelist.
From there, we maintained contact with each other to better understand who we were as individuals, and the alignment that existed between youth empowerment and abolitionist work.
I invited her to my village as a guest speaker for the 52nd annual African Liberation Day (ADL) and she invited me to DJC’s first-ever Friendraiser event at the Detroit Pizza Bar that same year.
It was there when I discovered her team’s search for new board members with a background in organizational finance, a skill I gained through my family’s accounting business which provided me with over 25 years of experience. Though I came to the friendraiser as a community member, I was granted a clear pathway to co-create the work that inspires my own action.
This year, Akebul-lan will open its doors to carry forward the spirit of collective responsibility by hosting DJC’s second-ever Friendraiser on April 29th! The event will introduce their donor organizing pilot, set to launch in Black August, and will overview lessons gathered from the first cohort of DJC board members. I’ll share insights to what I’ve learned as a participant, and I do hope you can join us as we reflect and build together.
I’ve witnessed firsthand how gatherings like these are more than social events; they are tools for sustaining movements. The strongest opportunity we have to grow our power is when we do things collectively. My life and all of those who surround it are testimony of this.
In radical struggle,
Gregory McKenzie