Wisdom institute is a grassroot organization dedicated to empowering African American Women and girls through advocacy, education, and spirit centered healing. In addition, Wisdom Institute utilizes art in our activism.
We believe that when artists and organizers work together to create social change, new forms of political mobilization are possible.
Our vision is for African American women to fully recognize our wisdom and invoke our power to build a collective community
Our mission is to help lift the determination of women and girls to further advance the quality of our lives, livelihood and leadership. Wisdom Institute employs a womxnist praxis theory of change model (the x representing standing in the wholeness of our being) that informs our practices, progressive programs and services that champion reproductive justice, maternal child health, healing, gender and racial justice, water affordability, and right to counsel for those facing eviction.
The Wisdom Institute, formed in 1999, evolved from a college campus student program called Sister-2-Sister. It was a near-peer mentoring initiative where first generation women college students who were single mothers encouraged pregnant and parenting teenage mothers to stay in high school and aspire for higher education. The teen moms shared what they were learning in their teenage parenting program, what the college students had missed when they were teen moms.
Recognized for excellence, WI served nearly 200 teens and young women and as a result has a state-wide network of nearly 30 healing and alternate health, fitness practitioners, academicians, and others in the socio-economic-healing justice arenas; was named one of the Governor’s Mentor Michigan programs; awarded a VISTA volunteer; named a United Way Site of Promise; awarded consultant hours by New Detroit to craft a business plan and a strategic vision that addressed our urban context.
The issues around which we are known for advocating are teenage pregnancy, comprehensive sex education, and maternal child health. Our teens and young women mapped the Detroit Health & Wellness Department to meet the health and environmental challenges girls and young women ages 12-25 were experiencing. Over the years our work has evolved from award-winning practices of mentoring and advocating for pregnant and parenting teens to elevating awareness of the intersection of causes that impact African American womxn and girls.