Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas: Seattle, WA- $6000: The CD Forum’s mission is to produce and present African-American cultural programs that promote African-American cultural expression and encourage progressive dialogue concerning issues affecting our community.

This grant will provide general operating support for their 2008 programming, including the American Heritage and Which Way Seattle series, which explores the impact of American history and politics on African Americans.

Wind River Alliance- Ethete, WY- $7500: The Wind River Alliance is a Native American-led environmental justice organization based on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, home to the Northern Arapahoe and Eastern Shoshone tribes. WRA is building a grassroots movement to address environmental racism among residents of the Wind River Indian Reservation and everyone who lives in the Wind River watershed through community education, collective action, and leadership development.

This grant will fund a photo and video project between reservation youth and tribal elders, exploring the cultural value of and reverence for water in the hopes of preserving traditional wisdom and developing the leadership of the next generation. WRA will create a video and photographic narrative that will be developed into a traveling exhibit about the history of the watershed region.

Idaho Community Action Network- Boise, ID- $5000: Idaho Community Action Network (ICAN) is a statewide membership organization whose mission is to build unity and collective power among those facing poverty, racism, and injustice and facilitate their leadership in the fight for food security, health care access, and immigrant justice.

This grant will be used to develop street theatre presentations to educate both immigrant and long-established communities about immigrant rights and the effect of the punitive policies that are being passed by Idaho’s conservative state legislature. ICAN will use street theatre to visually illustrate the stories of individuals in order to humanize immigrants and draw connections between the experiences of immigrants and U.S.-born low-income residents of Idaho.

Montana Human Rights Network – Helena, MT $5000: The Montana Human Rights Network is a grassroots, membership-based organization that organizes local human rights groups; monitors and reports on the activities of right wing groups in Montana; develops and pursues public policy initiatives; and holds public officials accountable in the areas of human, civil and political rights.

This grant will support the development of an art exhibit at the Holter Museum of Montana entitled “Speaking Volumes, Transforming Hate.” This exhibit responding to the racist “Whiteman’s Bible” features many pieces that use the racist material itself in the hopes of inspiring discussion resulting in education about issues of tolerance and bigotry. MHRN acquired the white supremacist books in order to remove them from circulation, and then shipped the books to artists who were interested in transforming them into powerful pieces of art.

Khmer In Action- Seattle, WA - $6000: Khmer in Action is a newly forming organization active in the Cambodian immigrant community. The organization facilitates Khmer leadership in improving conditions in the Cambodian community and in movements for immigrant and refugee rights and social justice.

This grant will support Khmer In Action’s youth project, which is using art and culture education to establish a bridge of understanding between generations and to build community unity rooted in a sense of pride in Khmer cultural identity. Through this program, youth will have the opportunity to express themselves through theatrical performances, dance, poetry, spoken word, and photovoice projects.

Sahngnoksoo- Seattle, WA- $5000: Sahngnoksoo is an organization of progressive Koreans and Korean Americans who are building political power for the self-determination and liberation of Koreans of all identities through collective learning, collaboration, solidarity, and organizing.

This grant will support one of two projects: training community members in the pungmul tradition of protest through drumming and performance, or a documentary about SPAM--the canned meat that has followed the US military across the globe and has become a staple food in the diets of many countries that have been occupied by the United States.

Stonewall Youth- Olympia, WA- $5000: Stonewall Youth supports, informs, and advocates for Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth 21 and under in Thurston County, Washington. Stonewall Youth empowers youth by educating the community about the history of oppression in the US, through workshops, panels, theatre, and art.

This grant will support Stonewall Youth’s theatre project, which was also funded by a Social Justice Fund Cultural grant in 2006. The production allows the youth participants to use creative expression to articulate their feelings, ideas, and experiences, and to engage them in conversations about the intersections of oppression.

UNETE- Center for Farm Worker Advocacy- Medford, OR- $7500: Unete is a movement of farm workers and immigrants in rural Southern Oregon that is educating their community and advocating for workers’ rights, humane immigration policy, and full participation for immigrant workers in the decision-making processes affecting their lives. Unete is the only Latino-led non-profit in Oregon’s Rogue Valley, home to one of the fastest growing Latino communities in the region.

This grant will support the Encuentro de Raices project. The project helps Latino youth use their creative resources to reduce inequities in educational access and opportunity. This project was supported by a Social Justice Fund Cultural Grant in 2006.

Lummi Cultural Arts Association- Bellingham, WA- $8000: The Lummi Cultural Arts Association’s mission is to work with Lummi artists living in poverty, to draw upon their talents and knowledge to preserve the place-based identity of the Lummi people and perpetuate traditional cultural and performance arts. LCAA connects artists to art markets in their historical homelands in the San Juan Islands and around Whatcom County in the hopes of addressing poverty, which they believe to be rooted in historical trauma and displacement.