Finding Your Refuge

[View this email in your browser]( Michael’s Monday Motivation Any experience can give you a spiritual rebirth and new grounding. That sentiment is what I experienced this past weekend at the Vernon African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church in the  Greenwood district of Tulsa. Along with 50 national leaders working on Reparations, I am grateful to First Repair, Robin Rue Simmons and Rev. Keith Mayes, Sr. for creating a set of days that give me the new fire to continue running this race, especially inside the Refuge Room. On the first floor of Vernon A.M.E., your life is made better. You walk inside and see a beautiful prayer room and a magnificent library. You get to hold a Reflection book that has been signed by our Ancestors. Then, you go down the hall to a small room in the corner: The Refuge Room. When the new Vernon A.M.E. was built more than 100 years ago, Rev. Ben Hill had the foresight to give it a double brick foundation. That structure led to Vernon being the one building that didn't burn down during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. It led to having a room where people could find their refuge. The advice was - Get to Vernon, you can find refuge there. Reflect on that for a moment. Fire. Bullets. Bombs. But, if you just get to Vernon, you will find Refuge! I took a photo of the room, with my imagination running wild, seeing an old Dictionary on one side and the double brick on the other. Even in the midst of disaster, our Ancestors kept learning! They found refuge in Knowledge, in community and in prayer. I'm not sure what you are going through today or recently, nor what is coming in your future. But, just know that no matter the fire or destruction, you will have protection as long as you Find Your Refuge. Find a place in your home or in a retreat area or some location that only a few can find you. Not just physically, but a refuge emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Protection now, Healing in the Future. No matter what you do, commit to Finding Your Refuge! KAIROS Conversation with Hon. Michael Hancock, Robin Rue and Aria Florant Hon. Michael Hancock Founder, National Nonpartisan Conversation on Voting Rights Managing Partner, Hancock Global Former Mayor - Denver, Colorado Michael B. Hancock is a globally recognized and respected civic leader with more than three decades of executive leadership experience, most recently serving three terms as Mayor of The City and County of Denver, Colorado, the 19th largest city in the United States. Hancock currently serves as CEO and Founder of Hancock Global Services, LLC (HGS). This privately owned company provides C-suite advisement services in the areas of public affairs, governance and policy, crisis management, strategic communications and public-private partnerships. Prior to launching HGS, Hancock successfully completed three terms as mayor for the City and County of Denver, serving from 2011 through 2023. When he entered office in 2011, Denver faced a $100 million deficit. He convened and led a group of regional economic development experts and private sector partners to create his economic strategy. The result was one of the fastest growing economies in the nation. Denver became home to more than 18,000 new companies, spurring billions in private investment. As the chief executive of the city, Hancock developed and managed a budget that grew from $800 million in 2011 to $2.84 billion in 2023. Despite inheriting an enormous deficit, his proactive fiscal management enabled the city to retain an AAA rating or better by national financial rating agencies for each of the years under his leadership. He instituted a continuous process improvement initiative, training and certifying more than three quarters of city workforce to reduce waste in their areas of assignment. The efforts saved the city over $11 million annually. He oversaw more than 12,000 city employees annually, including Police, Fire and Sheriff departments, the appointment of 61 department and agency executives, and the management of the Denver International Airport, the world’s 3rd busiest airport. Hancock prioritized international air connectivity to attract global businesses and to secure direct international flights. As a result of his efforts Denver saw a 30-percent increase in Foreign Direct Investment, 11,200 new jobs, seven new foreign carriers, 17 new non- stop international flights, and over $4 billion in economic impact to the Denver region. Before becoming an elected official, Michael enjoyed a successful career as non-profit executive and small business owner. Hancock earned his graduate degree in Public Administration-Management from the University of Colorado at Denver and his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Hastings College. He has two honorary doctorate degrees. -and- Robin Rue Executive Director First Repair Robin Rue Simmons is the Founder and Executive Director of FirstRepair, a not-for-profit organization that informs local reparations, nationally. Previously, Rue Simmons was the 5th Ward Alderman for the City of Evanston, IL, when she led, in collaboration with others, the passage of the nation’s first government- funded Black reparations legislation. Rue Simmons is a 2023 University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, Pritzker Fellow. To date, $20 million has been committed to reparations by the City. She serves as the chairperson of the City’s Reparations Committee which oversees its initial Restorative Housing Program. It began disbursements in January 2021. Several other governmental entities across the country are actively seeking to follow Evanston’s example. Rue Simmons was born and raised in the largely segregated 5th Ward of Evanston, a city of 75,000 on the shores of Lake Michigan on the northern border of Chicago. She laid the foundation for her life’s work in 1998 when she became a residential real estate broker. Troubled by the wealth disparities and concentrated poverty she witnessed locally and saw in other communities, she wanted to help young adults begin to build wealth through homeownership. As an entrepreneur, she has launched and operated multiple businesses, including a bookstore in the 5th Ward, that also offered free after-school programming. She started a construction company in Evanston that employed Black tradespeople and developed dozens of affordable houses funded by the Illinois Neighborhood Stabilization Program. She continues to manage a handful of residential and commercial properties that she owns in Evanston. Until she started FirstRepair in 2021, Rue Simmons was the Director of Innovation and Outreach for Sunshine Enterprises, a not-for-profit on Chicago’s South Side, which has supported over one thousand entrepreneurs (virtually all African American and three-quarters women) in launching or growing their own businesses. Rue Simmons served as an Evanston alderman from 2017-2021, serving on multiple committees and chairing several. During her tenure, she prioritized improving the lived experiences of and expanding opportunities for Black residents in Evanston, most notably through her work on reparations. Rue Simmons is also a commissioner of the National African-American Reparations Commission (NAARC), a board member of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), and a board member of Evanston’s Connections for the Homeless. She previously served as a board member for the National League of Cities’ National Black Caucus of Local Elected Leaders and as the President of the Evanston Black Business Alliance. Rue Simmons has received numerous awards for her reparations and other public service work including from the City of Evanston; Evanston/North Shore NAACP; Urban One; Dearborn Realtists Board; Democratic Party of Evanston; Route Fifty; Realtists Women’s Council of Illinois; Family Focus; Chessmen Club of the North Shore; Distinguished Alumni – Evanston Township High School and the recipient of the prestigious 2022 American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED) (pronounced triple A ED) Rosa Parks Award. She has been covered in numerous national and international publications, on television and radio, and in podcasts including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, The Guardian, ABC’s Nightline, and CNN. Rue Simmons is also featured in The Big Payback, a documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Festival in June 2022 and began airing nationally on PBS on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, January 16, 2023. Rue Simmons attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she majored in communications. She has two young adult children. -and- Aria Florant Co-Founder & CEO Liberation Ventures Aria is a conduit, constantly bridging worlds; Black and white, movement and mainstream, ethnic studies and finance. She holds multitudes of them all, and the essence of her work is creating for others that which she wants for herself: a world where all people’s whole selves belong. Aria believes that building trust and transformational partnership across differences is the key that can unlock that world, and that building a culture of repair is the path to true belonging for Black people, and all people, in America. Aria loves trekking at high altitude with just a backpack and no cell service, enjoying a Brooklyn (Lenape Land) speakeasy with the fullest-bodied glass of red wine they have, and long, lively dinners with her people. See you Wednesday! Wednesday, June 19 · 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST Video call link: [( Or dial: ‪(US) +1 651-571-1259‬ PIN: ‪460 226 103‬# More phone numbers: [ [International African American Museum]( 14 Wharfside St., Charleston, 29401 June 19| 12pm - 5pm [J.O.Y. | Juneteenth On the Yard]( June 20| 6pm - 9pm [Anniversary Jubilee Soirée 2024]( June 27 | 6pm - 9pm [Salon Marronage Featuring Secretary Lonnie Bunch III]( Our Time. Our Moment. Our Democracy. KAIROS: DEMOCRACY PROJECT exists to promote social welfare and civic betterment by mobilizing and engaging Communities of Color and Young Adults through Issue Advocacy and awareness on the impact of safeguarding our Democracy on their everyday lives. From deploying local Influencers and surrogates of Color from the KAIROS Communications war room to hosting KAIROS CONVERSATION Listen & Learns to executing a targeted media and message mobilization, the KAIROS: DEMOCRACY PROJECT will be the go to place for engaging Leaders of Color around Issues and Democracy in the country, not just for one election but for future generations. Join the fight for Democracy by helping us mobilize and engage Communities of Color and Young Adults through Issue Advocacy and awareness on the impact of safeguarding our Democracy on our everyday lives. [$50 ⮕]( [$100 ⮕]( [$250 ⮕]( [$500 ⮕]( [$1000 ⮕]( [Other ⮕]( Convening for the Culture August 12-15, 2024 Our signature annual event, “Convening for the Culture,” provides an opportunity for leaders of color to gather during one of the Black community’s most prominent weeks of leadership activation each year. About 200 of the nation’s leaders and change makers of color and their allies attend the four-day event on Martha’s Vineyard focused on relationship building, ideation, deal flow and partnership development. [Register Now!]( [Learn More]( [Register For Gabe Amo Reception]( [Register Today]( [RSVP]( June 27th at 4pm EST The Faith Forward Board and Host Committee invite you to attend a [virtual fundraiser]( to benefit Faith Forward. Hear from our featured guest, Stacey Abrams, the political leader and voting rights activist. On the night of the first Presidential Debate, join us for a conversation about why faith voters matter in battleground states. They did in 2020 and will make a difference again in November. [RSVP for this exciting event on June 27th at 4:00 EST and we will forward a Zoom Link.]( Don't miss this opportunity to hear from Stacey Abrams and support Faith Forward's mission. All event proceeds will go to Faith Forward (501c4). Contributions are not tax deductible. [RSVP]( This will be an early evening reception (probably 4pm) in the West Village ahead of the LGBTQ+ Gala. [RSVP]( [Purchase Tickets]( [New York City Alpha Classic Info]( [Check out Online Toolkit]( [When We All Vote]( is a leading national, nonpartisan initiative on a mission to change the culture around voting, increase participation in each and every election, and close the race and age voting gap. Created by Michelle Obama, When We All Vote brings together individuals, institutions, brands, and organizations to register new voters across the country and advance civic education for the entire family and voters of every age to build an informed and engaged electorate for today and generations to come. When We All Vote empowers supporters and volunteers to take action through voting, advocating for their rights, and holding their elected officials accountable. When We All Vote Open Positions Director of National Organizing [ Regional/State Organizing Directors (Multiple positions available) [ Organizing Coordinator [ June 26 Rob Donahue Director, Center for Civic Engagement July 3 Whitney Battle-Baptiste Director, W. E. B. Du Bois Center @ UMass Amherst Professor, Department of Anthropology July 10 Tonya M. Matthews, Ph.D. President and CEO International African American Museum Daniel Barker President & CEO Halcyon House Save the Dates June 12-25 Attorney General Alliance Annual Convening Colorado June 19 Congresswoman Nikema Williams [Du Bois Freedom Center]( Event June 20 | 2pm CT Press Conference with Mayor Michael Hancock for a special announcement Loews Hotel Kansas City, MO June 20-23 US Conference of Mayors Kansas City June 23-26 Models Schools Conference Orlando, FL June 27[Presidential Debate]( Televised July 12-19 National Bar Association Annual Conference Las Vegas, NV July 13-17 NAACP National Conference Las Vegas, NV July 19-23 American Association of Justice Nashville, TN July 24-27 National Urban League Conference New Orleans, LA July 26-28 Dreamcon Anime & Gaming Convention Austin, TX August 12-15 KAIROS: Convening for the Culture Martha's Vineyard[Get Tickets]( August 19-22 KAIROS @ Democratic National Committee Convention Chicago, IL September 21 | 2pm CT Just Vote Rally Save the date: Join us for a major news conference in Kansas City during KAIROS at USCM for an announcement of an upcoming event you won't want to miss in collaboration with Mayor Reed, Mayor Hancock, and Michael Blake: 2pm CT at Loews Kansas City Hotel. KAIROS "a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action : the opportune and decisive MOMENT" "The right or critical MOMENT" [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [Website icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( Copyright (C) 2024 Atlas Strategy Group. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Atlas Strategy Group 1 Bruckner Blvd Bronx, NY 10454 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( [Logo]