Who We Are
Our Story
The Black American Tree Project started in 2019, is a collaborative participatory history lesson/immersive performance experience. Freda Epum, then program manager at Public Allies, and L. Danyetta Najoli, then senior community builder at Starfire, met in October 2019 when Freda shared with Tim Vogt, co-author of The String Exercise at Starfire, about wanting to write about issues that resonated with her. Tim introduced Freda to Danyetta who had attended several trainings on Social Role Valorization, most notably a 4-day intensive in West Virginia in 2016. She was deeply struck by the parallels that people with disabilities and Black Americans experience around devaluation in America and began seeking out peer review journals and other people to write about the African American experience when she met Freda.
Developed with advisement from Pan-African educators, artists, writers, and non-profit professionals, the project was created in response to the Kairos Blanket Exercise by Indigenous Canadian leaders, the Starfire String Exercise by dis/ability experts, the New York Times 1619 project, and Social Role Valorization (SRV). The project is a 90-minute interactive workshop that educates audiences about the legacies of slavery in modern American society—especially in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area—and its after-effects in housing, the medical establishment, prison system, schooling, and other areas in which Black Americans are affected. The practice of design thinking enables the organizers to work directly with each participating host to make the experience more relevant and meaningful. This experience was designed in 2019 to evoke a sense of reckoning during the 400th anniversary since Black Africans were brought to America.
Our Team
L. Danyetta Najoli
Photo by Danyetta Najoli
L. Danyetta Najoli is a consultant and author from New York City, NY. She is the Learning & Development Associate at the Keystone Institute. Danyetta holds a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership from Regent University, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Fisk University. She earned a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from eCornell in 2021. Danyetta has over 23 years of training and development experience in the intellectual/developmental disabilities community.
After exiting corporate America as an officer of a global bank, which included training corporate and municipality clients, Danyetta continued to utilize her professional training and development skills within her professional consulting practice. She has presented at numerous speaking engagements on topics of cultural humility, strengths-based communication, and community building that benefit people and communities through her company, Najoli Learning Group LLC.
Through her work as vice president of Invest in Neighborhoods, she has helped develop an “ideal community council” which includes neighborhood citizens from all walks of life. She was chairwoman of the nominating committee. Danyetta has also been integral in leading the conversation around racial reconciliation in Cincinnati with her work with UNDIVIDED and continues to be an active member of Be The Bridge a growing organization that empowers people and culture toward racial healing, equity, and reconciliation.
Danyetta is a board member of Neighbours, Inc., a values-based community-oriented organization in New Jersey whose vision is for people with disabilities living, loving, learning, working, praying, and playing as valued citizens who contribute to, and receive the benefits of belonging to the communities where they choose to live. Danyetta volunteers her time at Junior Melanin, a local self-compassion girls’ youth group focusing on wellness and sound mental health, She is a well-vetted and sought-after diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) professional.
The Collective is a group of Lower Price Hill residents collaborating on creative projects that beautify spaces in our neighborhood, grow relationships we have with each other and invest in our creative entrepreneurs. Our goal is to create a welcoming space that allows creativity to be transformative and interactive for all. Join us as we explore the intersection of art, music, poetry, craft making, community building, gardening, cooking, good coffee, great people, and whatever else you have in mind.
Freda Epum
Photo by Heba Hayek
Freda Epum (FREE-DUH EYY-POOM) is a Nigerian-American writer and artist from Tucson, AZ. Freda is a Senior Consultant at Third Space Action Lab. Formerly, she was the Program Director at Public Allies Cincinnati.
Freda is a graduate of Smith College (BA) and Miami University (MFA) where she studied creative nonfiction, poetry, disability studies, critical race theory, and Women & Gender Studies. A 2018 Voices of Our Nation/VONA fellow, her work has also been supported by the Tin House Writers Workshop, the Ragdale Foundation, the Anderson Center at Tower View Residency, and the Jordan Goodman Prize. Her work has been published in Vol 1. Brooklyn, Entropy, Bending Genres, Cosmonauts Avenue, Heavy Feather Review, Nat.Brut, Third Coast, Atticus Review, Rogue Agent, and the 2020 Bending Genres Anthology. She is the author of the chapbook, Entryways into memories that might assemble me, and is at work on a memoir about the intersections of race, illness, and belonging in America.
She has experience working with a variety of audience groups in museums, higher education, and learning centers. Her work has led to a passion for increasing accessibility in education, including gender, sexuality, racial diversity, and nontraditional education programs like for ESL students or those with developmental disabilities. She currently serves on the board of EquiTABLE, which is helping organizations and communities to build whole new, round table-and-chair sets together, with seats to fit everyone. You can follow her on Twitter @ByThePunchBowl.
Kim Mckinney is a registered nurse focused on healthy communities and is involved in efforts to better understand and support individuals and families as they seek to live a rich and full life. She is currently Vice President of the Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Services Board and serves as President of Good Life Networks, a family-driven association committed to building relationships and creating belonging with a concentrated focus on individuals who live with disability and their families.
She is an active member of the Butler County Suicide Prevention Coalition and Chairs the Taskforce to Improve Mental Health in the African American Community. In addition, she serves on the Butler County United Way Board and is involved in the Health Committee. She is also involved in several Civic Organizations within her community. As a military spouse, Kim has worked overseas as a nurse in various roles as well as stateside.
Kim lives in Liberty Township, a suburb outside of Cincinnati, Ohio where she fuels her passion for networks, Community Building, and helping individuals connect with resources and others to live a "good life".
Kim has been married for 35 years, has a son, daughter-in-law, and daughter who are busy creating their "good lives". Kim thoroughly enjoys reading, connecting with others, and self-discovery, and has a strong passion for supporting and maintaining healthy Communities. She believes inclusion, diversity, and curiosity lead to a strong and vibrant community for “All”.
