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BLACK RECONSTRUCTION COLLECTIVE INC
BROOKLYN, NY · EIN 852900752 · Form 990EZ · FY2024 · NTEE A23 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Micro (<$100K) · blackreconstructioncollective.org
revenue
$10K
expenses
$173K
net assets
$218K
employees
—
program ratio
95%
mission · from form 990

PROVIDE FUNDING, DESIGN AND INTELLECTUAL SUPPORT UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES THROUGH RECONSTRUCTION AND SUPPORT EFFORTS.

profile · synthesized from sources

The Black Reconstruction Collective (BRC) is a nonprofit organization founded by Black architects, artists, designers, and scholars to advance emancipation and equity for the African Diaspora. It provides funding, design, and intellectual support through initiatives like the annual BRC Prize, public art projects such as Unmonument, and interdisciplinary events that challenge systemic racism in art, design, and academia. The organization operates nationally, with programming in cities including Brooklyn, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2023

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $56K
    THE BRC PRIZE: - THE BLACK RECONSTRUCTION COLLECTIVE PRIZE IS AN ANNUAL UNRESTRICTED AWARD OF $10,000, GRANTED TO BLACK CULTURAL PRACTITIONERS AT PIVOTAL STAGES IN THEIR CAREERS. THE PRIZE SUPPORTS ARTISTS, WRITERS, AND SCHOLARS WHOSE WORK ALIGNS WITH BRC'S MISSION TO REIMAGINE SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND SPATIAL JUSTICE FOR THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. IN 2023, AWARDS WERE GRANTED TO ZOÉ SAMUDZI AND BLACK QUANTUM FUTURISM, RECOGNIZING THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CRITICAL DISCOURSE AND CULTURAL PRODUCTION. THE BRC PRIZE IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE FLEXIBLE FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FOSTERING CREATIVE GROWTH WITHOUT THE CONSTRAINTS OF PROJECT-SPECIFIC FUNDING.
  2. #2 $9K
    UNMONUMENT: UNMONUMENT IS A YEARLONG, MULTIDISCIPLINARY PUBLIC ART INITIATIVE THAT REIMAGINES THE ROLE OF MONUMENTS IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY. CONCEIVED AS A NOMADIC, COLLABORATIVELY BUILT SCULPTURE, IT CHALLENGES TRADITIONAL NARRATIVES OF POWER AND PERMANENCE ASSOCIATED WITH PUBLIC MONUMENTS. THE PROJECT HONORS THE HISTORIES OF BLACK LIBERATORS AND SELF-LIBERATED COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE AMERICAS THROUGH AN ADAPTABLE STRUCTURES THAT FOSTER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, DIALOGUE, AND COLLECTIVE MEMORY. INSTALLATIONS WERE ACTIVATED IN MULTIPLE CITIES, INCLUDING BROOKLYN, LOS ANGELES, AND CHICAGO, FEATURING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BLACK ARCHITECTS, ARTISTS, AND DESIGNERS. PUBLIC PROGRAMMING, INCLUDING WORKSHOPS, TALKS AND SCREENINGS, ACCOMPANIED EACH INSTALLATION TO ENCOURAGE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION.
named programs · 4 · from sources

What they call their work

Black Reconstructions Public Programs
A series of free public events, including panel discussions and workshops, on topics such as Black spatial futures, environmental justice, and the kitchen as a social space, held in collaboration with institutions like MoMA and USC.
The BRC Prize
An annual unrestricted $10,000 award granted to Black cultural practitioners at pivotal stages in their careers, supporting artists, writers, and scholars whose work advances social, political, and spatial justice for the African Diaspora.
Unmonument
A yearlong, multidisciplinary public art initiative featuring a nomadic, collaboratively built sculpture that reimagines the role of monuments by honoring Black liberators and self-liberated communities through community engagement, dialogue, and collective memory.
Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon with Black Lunch Table
Workshop training participants to edit and expand Wikipedia entries on Black architects, artists, and designers, focusing on figures from the Reconstructions exhibition to improve representation in digital knowledge platforms.
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Architecture and Design Public Education Programs 3 activities
    • Co-presenting public programs with academic institutions
      Co-presents public programs in collaboration with academic institutions such as the USC School of Architecture, expanding the reach of discourse on Blackness and design.
    • Hosting public conversations on Black spatial futures and architecture
      Hosts public discussions and virtual events that explore Black spatial futures, urban equity, and environmental justice through the lenses of architecture, Blackness, and self-determination, featuring theorists, practitioners, and exhibition organizers.
    • Providing free public access to virtual events on Black art and architecture
      Offers free virtual public programming on topics including Black architecture, art, urban equity, and environmental justice, expanding access to critical discourse on Black cultural production.
  • Artist Support Grants 2 activities
    • Awarding unrestricted grants to Black cultural practitioners
      Awards $10,000 unrestricted annual grants to Black cultural practitioners—including artists, writers, and scholars—at pivotal points in their careers, supporting work that advances social, political, and spatial justice for the African Diaspora.
    • Funding Black designers, architects, and artists in Black Reconstruction
      Provides financial and critical support through a grantmaking program for Black designers, architects, and artists engaged in projects related to Black Reconstruction, selected via an annual review process.
  • Community-Engaged Public Art Projects 1 activity
    • Operating Unmonument: a nomadic public art initiative
      Runs Unmonument, a yearlong nomadic public art project featuring collaboratively built sculptures that honor Black liberators and self-liberated communities, with installations and public programming in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
  • Arts Professional Advocacy & Equity Initiatives 1 activity
    • Organizing Wikipedia edit-a-thons for Black cultural representation
      Hosts Wikipedia edit-a-thons to expand and improve entries related to architecture, design, and Black cultural production, including training for new editors and provision of reference materials.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Hosting thematic public conversations on Black cultural spaces
      Hosts public events exploring cultural and social dimensions of Black life, such as a conversation on the kitchen as a social space through the lenses of ritual, labor, gender, and food.
financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$10K
Contributions & grants$10K100%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$3
expenses
Total expenses$173K
Program expenses95%
Admin / overhead5%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$3K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$249K
Cash$404K
Investments$0
Liabilities$0
Net assets$218K
Liquid reserves28.1 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024
relationships · 18

Who they work with

  • American Library Association Partner — Co-hosts or collaborates on events, with Tracie Hall, its executive director, moderating discussions.
  • Black Lunch Table Partner — Co-hosts a Wikipedia edit-a-thon focused on architecture, design, and Black cultural production.
  • Black Quantum Futurism Partner — Recipient of the BRC Prize in 2023 for contributions to critical discourse and cultural production.
  • Black Quantum Futurism Partner — Recipient of the BRC Prize, recognized for interdisciplinary creative practice weaving quantum physics and Afrodiasporan concepts of time.
  • Black Reconstruction Collective Network — Member of a collective advancing Black Reconstruction through design and spatial practices
  • Black Reconstruction Collective Network — Self-organized collective of Black architects, artists, designers, and scholars
  • GRAHAM FOUNDATION Funder — Provides support to the Black Reconstruction Collective for projects responding to contemporary challenges and expanding the field of architecture.
  • Ife Salema Vanable Partner — Recipient of the BRC Prize, recognized for architectural research and speculative spatial practice rooted in Black interior geographies.
  • Museum of Modern Art Partner — Co-hosts a public program in conjunction with the exhibition "Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America".
  • Museum of Modern Art Partner — Co-hosts public events related to the exhibition Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America.
  • Museum of Modern Art Partner — Collaborates on programming related to the exhibition Reconstructures: Architecture and Blackness in America.
  • Museum of Modern Art Partner — Collaborates on public programming related to the exhibition Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America.
  • THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION Funder — Supports the Black Reconstruction Collective through its Humanities in Place program.
  • The Museum of Modern Art Partner — Organized a public event in conjunction with The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition "Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America".
  • Tonika Lewis Johnson Partner — Recipient of the BRC Prize, recognized for her work as a photographer and social justice artist documenting inequity in Black communities.
  • USC School of Architecture Partner — Collaborated with USC School of Architecture to present a public program.
  • Zoé Samudzi Partner — Recipient of the BRC Prize in 2023 for contributions to critical discourse and cultural production.
  • Zoé Samudzi Partner — Recipient of the BRC Prize, recognized as a writer, critic, and scholar in genocide studies and Black radical thought.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Black Spatial Justice in the Built Environment
    methodology: Black spatial justice
    By funding and promoting creative practices that center Black spatial justice, the organization transforms the built environment and challenges systemic inequities, because redefining who counts as a legitimate knowledge producer in design shifts power in urban planning and architecture.
  • Collaborative Knowledge-Building for Visibility
    methodology: collaborative knowledge-building
    Through interdisciplinary and community-engaged events that center underrepresented figures in design, the organization increases recognition of Black knowledge production, because open-access platforms and collective documentation challenge exclusionary canons in architecture and academia.
  • Counter-Narrative and Speculative Futures
    methodology: counter-narrative
    By using speculative and counter-narrative practices, the organization advances Black spatial agency and reimagines equitable urban futures, because envisioning alternative futures disrupts dominant historical narratives and creates space for self-determination.
  • Intersectional Analysis of Racism and Environment
    methodology: intersectional-environmental-justice
    By examining the intersection of climate change, racism, and the built environment, the organization identifies pathways for transformation in Black communities, because environmental justice must include socially constructed spaces shaped by systemic inequality.
  • Unrestricted Grantmaking for Collective Power
    methodology: unrestricted_grantmaking
    By providing unrestricted funding to Black cultural practitioners, the organization supports sustained creative practice and builds collective power, because financial autonomy enables self-determined expression and long-term resilience in communities historically excluded from institutional resources.