Black Researchers Collective

A collective of Black women taking research to the streets.

Black Researchers Collective is a collective of Black women in Chicago taking research to the streets. The mission of the Black Researchers Collective is to train and equip communities with research tools to be more civically engaged and policy informed.

Our Pillars

Community Education via Coffee Chats and Research-Based Community Workshop Intensives

Development of a centralized pipeline of Black researchers

Research, Evaluation, and Technical Assistance

Grassroots policy strategies for community engagement and advocacy

Reflections from the Streets

Facts versus findings in South Shore

Decolonizing research in Woodlawn

Leveraging data in Bronzeville

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that [s]he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and they that dwell therein.“

— Zora Neale Hurston

Anecdotes from the Streets

"My experience with this workshop has been amazing. I truly enjoyed each class. As someone that has not done academia in the research field, I learned a lot. From a principal understanding of research to a better understanding of qualitative and quantitative research. While getting into the basics and coming up with an action plan, from an abstract perspective, it made my vision clearer; analytically, I discovered so many more complex methods, material, and language involved which I would want to learn more about."

Bronzeville Community Workshop Intensive Participant
"Digging into a research study again is very empowering. I really am inspired to elevate my community engagement even more and keep persevering. It's also important to encourage others; I shared this opportunity and got one person to participate. Each one - teach one! I will look more into ways research can fuel my work in my community and keep bringing in more folks. This workshop intensive fell right in line with my prior research experiences. BUT this one was super relevant to my interests now."

South Shore Community Workshop Intensive Participant
"This was very simple and helpful for me. I enjoyed the collaboration, and resources given to assist us in the design process."

Washington Park Community Workshop Intensive Participant
"It really put things in perspective for me in regards to how I can use research to benefit my community. It was like seeing my thought almost come to life - prior to the workshop I had no idea how I could be of better service to my community. I haven’t had a prior experience [with research], but this was definitely a great experience for me, and has allowed me to be able to use these tools and other individuals to make my work see its potential."

Woodlawn Community Workshop Intensive Participant