The understanding that each person’s myriad identities such as race, gender, and class do not exist separately from one another, rather they interact to dictate how a person or group exists in the world.

Anti-Racism

We enthusiastically promote and celebrate the joy, excellence, and inclusion of people of color. Generations of brave individuals fighting for racial justice have brought about vital institutional change, but the ever-present power struggle between white supremacy and freedom remains.

Every day, Bright Beginnings fights to dismantle systemic racism in the nation’s capital, where the rate of homelessness is one of the highest in the country due to lack of resources. BBI operates under the understanding that it is not sufficient to simply be not racist; in order to truly move in the right direction as a society, we must be anti-racist.

Anti-racism is the intentional and active dismantling of systems and daily practices that continue to oppress people of color. We are living within the reality that one’s zip code can have the ability to predict a person’s life outcomes, where we must work to close the racial wealth gap, and end the school to prison pipeline by adopting a two-generation approach in all of our schools, institutions and policies.

BBI dedicates each day to uplifting children and families as they continue to learn and grow despite the challenges of systemic racism. Our students have no shortage of role models considering the contributions of people of color to every part of our history from science to music, poetry, and beyond.

Anti-Poverty

BBI tackles poverty head-on with our two-generation approach that supports both children and families. This creates a long-lasting effect which and their communities for years to come.

We continuously examine the means by which many people of color have been robbed of generational wealth and opportunities due to decades of economic injustices such as the underfunding and over-policing of schools in predominantly Black districts, and restriction of access to employment and homeownership.

We utilize our inherent respect for others and our empathy as the basis for our actions, thus illustrating the depth of our understanding of the economic impact of trauma, poverty, race, class, gender.

Economic Mobility

We operate under the notion that poverty does not exist in a vacuum, and every child and family deserves to thrive and live a life of freedom where they can find joy in doing what they love.

We aim to disrupt the cycle of poverty by connecting our families with resources in every domain that will allow them to build economic assets and accrue social capital. We ask ourselves every day: Why does Bright Beginnings exist, and what can we do to create a future where individuals and communities have guaranteed access to basic resources and excellent education, so organizations like ours are no longer needed?