AMARA’s First Public Step: Honoring Black Power Building

Last week marked an important milestone for AMARA as we made our first official public appearance under our new name at the Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy (CAAIP) Annual Awards Celebration.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Norman Clark, Executive Director of CAAIP, whose leadership and vision brought together leaders from across philanthropy, nonprofits, and community to celebrate the people advancing Black liberation and collective power throughout Illinois at the Obama Presidential Center.

As the evening’s presenting sponsor, we joined colleagues from across Black philanthropy to celebrate the leaders, organizations, and movements transforming our communities. The event reflected the values at the heart of our work—that lasting change is built through relationships, collective action, and investments in Black leadership.

The evening also marked another significant first: the presentation of the inaugural AMARA Black Power Builder Award, a new annual honor created in partnership with CAAIP to recognize extraordinary leaders who are building community power across Illinois. We are proud that CAAIP has agreed to make the Black Power Builder Award a standing recognition at future annual celebrations.

Honoring Tanya Watkins
The inaugural Black Power Builder Award recognizes a community leader who exhibits a fierce devotion to Black and collective liberation by building power, guided by love.

These leaders are not always the most visible voices, but they are indispensable to the movement. They cultivate deep relationships with directly impacted communities, organize toward lasting change, and lead with a clarity of values that inspires others to imagine what is possible.

We were honored to present the first-ever Black Power Builder Award to Tanya Watkins.

A mother, writer, Black womanist, community organizer, and prison abolitionist, Tanya has dedicated her life to advancing justice across Illinois. As the former Executive Director of Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), she led transformative campaigns to reimagine community safety, including the successful movement to end cash bail in Illinois through the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act in 2023.

Our partnership with Tanya began in 2023 through a pilot grantmaking initiative supporting BIPOC-led organizations advancing integrated voter engagement. That work helped shape what has since become a core component of AMARA’s Community Power Building strategy.

Today, as Deputy Director of Capacity Building at the Illinois Community Power Fund, Tanya continues to strengthen organizers and power-building organizations across Illinois, ensuring that communities have the tools, relationships, and support needed to create lasting change.

Her leadership embodies what Black power building looks like in practice: rooted in community, sustained by love, and committed to liberation.

What Comes Next
While the CAAIP celebration served as a soft introduction to AMARA’s new identity, it represented something much deeper than a new name.

It reflected our continued commitment to funding power, liberation, and justice by investing in the people and organizations building an abundant future for Black communities across Illinois.

We are grateful to CAAIP for their partnership and for creating space to celebrate the leaders who often do the essential work behind the scenes. We congratulate all of the evening’s honorees and look forward to continuing this tradition of recognizing Black Power Builders for years to come.