“The South is the origin point of Black culture in America. It is impossible to be a proud Black person in America and to be ashamed of the South, to be averse to the South, to consider southern Black culture inferior and wanting. Southern heritage is intertwined with the very concept of American blackness.”
CHARLES M. BLOW
LATEST REFLECTIONS
BLK South seeks the development, vibrancy, and well-being of underserved, historically Black neighborhoods in the South through community development, cultural reclamation, and spiritual formation.
In May 2025, we made our reverse migration from Phoenix, AZ to Durham, NC—returning not only to the South, but to a specific street where Kendall’s second-great-grandmother, Fannie Enoch McCoullough Latta, once lived before she was displaced by Urban Renewal (aka, Negro Removal). Today, we live on that same block in the Historic Hayti District. Our move was a deliberate act of remembrance and repair—rooting ourselves in a place where our family’s story was interrupted and now has a chance to be continued.
We chose Durham because it is a living archive of Black resilience, creativity, and community-led brilliance. It is also where we are invited into partnership and accountability. We serve as the Social Justice & Outreach Ministers at Monument of Faith Church, we are members of the Grant Street Community—where Erin serves as Secretary—as we steward a 15-year neighborhood plan focused on cultural preservation, community wellness, and youth development. As this work grows, we hope to cultivate future partnerships with local institutions such as North Carolina Central University (NCCU), especially around student presence, mentorship, and spiritual formation when the time is right.
BLK South was birthed from the call of reverse migration: to return to the Black South to mend narratives, reclaim cultural identity, and participate in the ongoing work of healing places harmed by displacement, divestment, and erasure. Our contribution in Durham includes healing through play and leadership development, creative justice through art and storytelling, and spiritual formation rooted in the lived experience of Black communities.
Now rooted in Durham’s historic Hayti District, we are carrying out our mission through:
Healing Through Play and trauma-informed leadership development
Creative justice through art, memory, and storytelling
Spiritual formation shaped by the margins
Our focus is on unlearning and relearning Jesus through the lens of those on the margins, while honoring the rich tapestry of history, voices, and identities that continue to shape Black life in the South.
As we serve the city of Durham, our intention is not to overshadow, replace, or assimilate, but to walk in step with the community’s wisdom. We practice Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)—recognizing the strengths, gifts, and resources that already exist here. Rather than centering deficiency, we center the inherent beauty and agency of the communities we join.
And this is only the beginning.
We are actively forming partnerships with local nonprofits, churches, and community leaders who share our commitment to healing, joy, justice, and belonging. In the coming year, we will launch three community-based initiatives designed to amplify Black stories, leadership, and sacred spaces in Durham.
Our hope is that what takes root here will ripple outward—inviting other cities to reimagine their future through the lens of justice, memory, and sacred place.
→ Learn more about our pilgrimage to Durham
→ Support our ongoing work through our Matching Campaign
Our Vision
BLK South Offerings
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Soulwork
Soulwork is a community-led theological experience designed for Black souls seeking a deeper, more liberating spirituality. It’s a space to unlearn harmful theologies shaped by White Supremacy and reimagine faith through the lenses of justice, beauty, and belonging. Through story, contemplation, and shared exploration, we cultivate spiritual formation rooted in solidarity, creativity, and collective wisdom.
This isn’t traditional seminary—it’s formation for everyday life. Our long-term vision includes partnering with HBCUs and local communities to offer theological education in unconventional, accessible, and life-giving ways.
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Healing Through Play
With a Black Belt and over 20 years of experience in Martial Arts, Kendall is now launching a trauma-informed program for youth that centers healing through play, movement, and creative expression. Rooted in practices like art-making, breathing exercises, and embodied movement, the program draws inspiration from Tang Soo Do—a martial art historically born out of oppression—highlighting its deep connections to emotional resilience, mindfulness, and self-confidence. Designed especially for Black and under-resourced communities, the program fosters safety, joy, and connection while helping youth process trauma and discover their inner strength.
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Creative Justice
Imagine using all forms of art (storytelling, film, dance, writing, music, painting, drawing, etc.) to create a community that is collectively focused on truth-telling in art form. A seasonal, project-based initiative that platforms the voices of those most marginalized, to tell the truth and further the process of healing and liberation in a community. This is what we like to call Creative Justice!
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The Land Speaks
In collaboration with Durham Cares and Amplify Peace, "The Land Speaks" is a pilgrimage into the soul of Durham, NC, centering the powerful Black story of the Hayti District—a place rich with history, resilience, and cultural significance. This journey is designed to engage every part of the body and spirit, awakening what we see, hear, feel, taste, and create. Participants will walk the sacred grounds of Hayti, listen to its stories of triumph and struggle, touch the spaces where history was made, savor the flavors of its culinary traditions, and create art inspired by its legacy. This immersive experience is more than education—it’s a holistic journey of connection, healing, and renewal, where the land itself speaks to the stories we carry and invites us to reimagine how our own lands and lives might flourish in justice, dignity, and hope.
Buy Clothing
Buy Clothing
Introducing the BLK South Saint Collection – honoring the impactful legacy of Black ancestors who left an unforgettable mark on the South and our nation at large. Designed by Erin, our tees celebrate these figures, affectionately called "saints" for their profound impact on the Black community and culture. Click below to explore their stories and support our work in Durham, NC.
“Black culture is in the jazz and blues that were born in the South, and in the Black social welfare organizations and Black fellowship organizations that thrive there. ”
In the South, Black culture is primary: it is expressed in powerful Black churches and impressive Black colleges, which, according to a Newsweek report citing United Negro College Fund data, ‘produce 70 percent of all Black dentists and doctors, 50 percent of Black engineers and public school teachers, and 35 percent of Black lawyers.’”
Excerpt From: Charles M. Blow. “The Devil You Know.”
“Lately I’ve been listening more closely—not just to the world around me, but to the echoes within me. What do you hear when you sit with the truth of your own formation? What do you hear when you listen for what your faith, your church, your practices are shaping you to become? As a descendant of enslaved people—specifically a Black woman whose foremothers were bred like cattle to create this nation’s wealth—I find myself asking what it means to now use my voice to ask for that wealth back, to reclaim what was extracted from our bodies and redirect it toward the flourishing of Black people.”