RIA seeks Black women leaders and organizational partners to advance work to end violence against Black women and girls
Research in Action staff with partners at an event in early 2025
Thanks to the leadership of directly impacted community members and the collaboration of cross-sector institutional stakeholders, Research in Action (RIA) published the nation’s first comprehensive state-level report on the epidemic of missing and murdered Black women and girls in 2022. The report sparked trailblazing progress in Minnesota, including the creation of the nation’s first Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls (MMBWG) and the introduction of federal legislation that mirrors Minnesota’s work in 2023.
But the work isn’t done.
The systems Black women interact with—from social workers to police officers—can be the difference between being harmed or getting on a pathway to healing. Our report showed unequivocally that many supposed safety nets fail or do further harm to Black women and girls.
Partnership opportunities
To continue our work, we are currently seeking partners to help us engage 600 Black women and girls across the state of Minnesota to complete a survey we’re co-developing with directly impacted communities.
This survey will get clear recommendations from Black women and girls to assess the performance of key agencies and propose changes to ensure they are met with dignity and care from county and state programs meant to reduce or prevent harm.
With support from RIA, we envision individual Black leaders and partner organizations supporting the effort by encouraging Black women and girls to take the survey at their events, through their intake processes, or in other ways that make the most sense for you!
Black Women Leaders Coalition
The Black Women Leaders Coalition will include Black women and femme-identifying individuals working in the Black community to support and engage Black women, femmes, and girls.
Coalition members commit to the following:
Recruit individuals for feedback sessions with Black women, femmes, and girls in June to finalize the survey language
Promote and provide the survey to Black women, femmes, and girls ages 14+
Participate in the first wave of the survey in July
Coalition members also have the option to:
Attend monthly coalition convenings to get updates on the survey progress, share experiences, and collaboratively joint problem-solve any issues that may arise
Join the Community Action Council in 2026 to support year two of the five-year project
Participate in a collaborative Data Walk event to review insights from the survey results and provide feedback
Organizational / Rural Minnesota Partners
We are also seeking partnerships with organizations and businesses that serve Black women, femmes, and girls in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota to support the statewide survey.
Organizational partners commit to promoting and providing the survey to Black women, femmes, and girls ages 14+ at an event, during an intake process, or a mutually agreed-upon alternative option.
Additionally, RIA will host optional monthly meetings to share updates on the survey and engage partners in dialogue about their experiences with the survey to collaboratively problem-solve any issues that arise.
Get involved!
To get involved, sign up for our May info sessions below or contact the Statewide Partnerships Coordinator, Cori Knuckles, by June 1st.