Michael Donovan Williams (center) with New Era RVA members (from left) James Dangle, Rosetta, Shaddai R, M3, Shifu Tracy, Likwai and Zbey (Photo by Jay Paul)
After several years of working in the nonprofit sector, Michael Donovan Williams (also known as Mike Kemetic) wanted to work with marginalized communities in a more sustainable way.
“Some organizations come in, and they help for a little while, do some great work, but when they leave, the progress made does not continue,” he says.
In August, Williams and James Dangle, a musician he has worked with for many years, co-founded New Era RVA to address the needs of six public housing communities in Richmond — Afton, Gilpin, Mosby, Creighton, Fairfield and Hillside courts. The first community they are working with is Hillside.
An affiliate of New Era Detroit, which was established in 2014, New Era RVA volunteers engage with people using a “blackprint” that models the organization’s seven programs to help people of all ages, Williams says. As of October, there were 11 New Era affiliate sites in the United States, one in Nigeria and another forming in the United Kingdom.
“The idea is for the Black community to empower itself, rather than looking outward,” he says. “For us to build resilience and resistance to challenges we face constantly.”
“Hood to Hood” is an effort aimed at gathering donations to meet community needs and provide resources and supplies. A self-policing program is in the works to mediate, navigate conflicts and minimize the need for calling the police. Youth martial arts and self-defense programs will start this winter, and Donovan says the organization has partnered with the mentoring organization Community 50/50 to provide guidance to school-age residents.
Other initiatives include establishing safe zones to engage businesses to take an active role in the community to help people in distress, an elder care initiative, a “Buy Black” program and a database to connect residents with needed resources.
“A lot of times a group comes into a community to do a project without asking what is needed,” Williams says. “We are coming in to directly engage with the community — figure out what their needs are and build up these programs with the people who live there.”
