"Wage Love" - Charity Hicks
About Me
My Background
I am a mother, social justice organizer, youth advocate, poet and author. I am intricately involved in water rights advocacy, data and digital privacy education, and racial justice and equity work. I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and I still call it home.
I believe that small collective efforts are what's needed in order to create true safety and sustain and re-spirit our communities.
My Experience
I am the National Organizing Director at Data for Black Lives, former Data Justice Program Director at Detroit Community Technology Project, co-founder of Our Data Bodies -- a five-person team concerned with the ways our communities’ digital information is collected, stored, and shared by government and corporations, a non-resident fellow with the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford PACS, a convening member of the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition, and a former fellow and current anti-racism facilitator with the Detroit Equity Action Lab (DEAL).
I am co-founder and director of Petty Propolis, a Black woman led artist incubator, primarily focused on cultivating visionary resistance through poetry, literacy and literary workshops, anti-racism facilitation, and social justice initiatives. Petty Propolis organizes an annual art festival and artist retreat in historic Idlewild, Michigan.
More About Me
I utilize my talents to facilitate anti-racism workshops and discussions, with a focus on shifting from the optional culture of ally-ship towards the obligatory commitment towards co-liberation and the struggle against anti-Black racism.
I am author of Introducing Honeycomb, Coming Out My Box, the Petty Propolis Reader: My Personal and Political Evolution, and Towards Humanity: Shifting the Culture of Anti-Racism Organizing. I am also a founding member and editorial board member of Riverwise Magazine.
I am a past recipient of the Spirit of Detroit Award, the Woman of Substance Award, the Women Creating Caring Communities Award, the Detroit Awesome Award, the University of Michigan Black Law Student Association's Justice Honoree Award, was recognized as one of Who’s Who in Black Detroit in 2013 and 2015, a 2018 Wayne State Center for Peace and Conflict Studies Peacemaker Award, a 2018 Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, a 2020 recipient of the Art Matters' fellowship award and was identified as one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics in 2020.
In addition to my social justice and community organizing work, I perform and present across the globe. I have appeared on several television and radio programs, and my work and writings have been featured in numerous publications.
Services
Facilitation, Workshops, Public Speaking, Consultation
I am focused on cultivating visionary resistance through poetry, literacy and literary workshops, anti-racism facilitation, and social justice initiatives.
Available for Bookings
Please contact my booking manager at bookings@alliedmedia.org to coordinate efforts.