The past year plus in America has been a glaring reminder of the unfair and unequal conditions that exist in this country, especially for Black Americans. In an effort to change that reality, The Highland Project founder Gabrielle Wyatt wants to create the change she hopes to see for women that look like her.

Wyatt shares that The Highland Project — a non-profit organization created to help Black leaders support one another and build power — was founded with a mission to cultivate a coalition of Black women who are leading in various institutions and systems to help generate multi-generational wealth.

“As Black women, we are tired of performative activism when real and meaningful policies and practices are needed to close the racial wealth gap,” she said in a press release shared with ESSENCE. “Black women do so much for this country, but our contributions are rarely appreciated and certainly don’t always benefit us.”

According to her, her non-profit will reverse this truth and “help bolster our leadership in building multi-generational wealth for ourselves and our communities.” She believes that The Highland Project is the answer to the problem that will allow Black women to avoid “waiting for empty promises” and be “the solution we seek.”

Over the course of the next few months, The Highland Project has come up with a five-year fundraising plan that will help “identify leaders and amply the voices and experiences of Black women,” ESSENCE reports. The inaugural cohort of its participating leaders will reportedly launch by next spring.

In Wyatt’s press statement, she shared that the cohort will consist of 15 impactful Black women who span across education, economic empowerment, political agency and well-being, and will then invest $100,000 in each leader and their ideas.

“The Highland Project brings clarity, community, and capital to the most powerful and inclusive force of social change in our nation: Black women,” Samantha Tweedy — Chief Partnerships & Impact Officer at Robin Hood Foundation — said in a statement. “History tells us that investment in Black women is an investment in a better future for all.”

The cohort program will last for 12 months, both in-person and virtually, where all Highland leaders will learn together and use their funds to “continue commitment to lifelong learning and effective solutions,” “explore new solutions [to potentially] launch initiatives, public awareness campaigns, or organizations,” and/or “expand solutions that are ready for scaling,” ESSENCE shares.

For more information about The Highland Project, visit its website.

Highland Project

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