PHASE ONE _ LAUNCH: Black Resilience as told by current New Chieftains. The answer to the question “What does BLACK RESILIENCE mean to you” is answered by existing member of the tribe. This phase will be promoted via social media and online platforms in order to gain momentum for phase two.

PHASE TWO _ PROMOTION AND PRODUCTION: The production of the main chapter starts including: Photography, Interviews, Transcription, Creating final interviews, Design and print of promotional material and creating behind the scenes content. This phase will be useful to gain additional support in order to meet the creative targets.

PHASE THREE _ EVENTS: Each launch of a new chapter coincides with public engagement and celebration. These include: Supper clubs, Exhibitions, launch events and Talks.

OUTCOMES AND OUTPUT _ The chapter will become a series of printed and digitally promoted content including book / magazine / posters and post cards.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Since its inception, The New Chieftains has been funded by Agenda Brown and is at a stage where external financial fuel is needed to keep the chapter energised.

LONG TERM FUNDING: The entire New Chieftains story also requires financial fuel to continue and enable the creation of further chapters.

PATRONAGE: As well as financial support to enable creation of chapters, Agenda Brown would benefit greatly from continued support.

CONNECTIONS: Connecting The New Chieftains with those that can make a difference is a great way to add productive energy to the story.

MARKETING AND PR: Help us to gain the relevant attention and traction amidst the sea of creative content that surrounds us.

FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY COVERAGE: Documentation of behind the scenes and also production of a crowdfunding campaign.

VENUES: We will be in need of amazing spaces to hold launch events, talks, supper clubs and more.

CHEF SERVICES: The New Chieftains Supper Clubs are an important way to celebrate new chapters coming to light. Special menus created for our guests set the tone for the evenings.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Please help me to keep track of everything as my grey hairs are multiplying! lol

DESIGN AND PRINTING: A book for The BLACK RESILIENCE chapter and The New Chieftains is an absolute must!

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Our way of keeping the world up to date with the latest happenings.

SPREADING THE WORD AMONGST YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PERSONAL NETWORKS: Let your people know that the story exists and is growing.

BEING BORN IN THE CONGO
A country where you can express yourself freely (except for politics) you must be aware that with this may come some consequences but this can make you stronger and more determined as an individual. In the Congo, life can be hard so you have to be strong, tough and flexible with the ability to bounce back.

We as Congolese throughout history have kept going. We do not just sit down and feel sorry for ourselves, we face difficulty head-on, our mindset is “Did you die? no, then carry on” we are programmed physically and mentally to overcome adversity. I had to leave my family and when I came to the UK, I couldn’t speak any English so I had to learn quickly and gain an understanding of the culture here, this is where my foundations aided me.

England is very different but I wanted a challenge, we as Congolese embrace challenge for it makes you stronger, as long as you are alive it’s okay we keep trying and don’t give up until we are dead! We use our minds intellectually and educational as well as our bodies for sport and physical activities such as Martial Arts which is a huge passion for most Congolese. I was encouraged from a young age to explore Martial Arts and it has been a great asset throughout my life. Though our involvement in sport we access a higher level of tolerance and thinking and we learn the hard way through this. We are not inherently violent as a people.

SPIRINTU
My education was blend of the French and Belgium system back in Congo. My education was not recognised by the English system, which meant that I had to start from the beginning and repeat the entire process. I wanted a particular job, I didn’t speak any English, but I studied very hard to achieve my Master of Science (MSC Network Security and Pen testing) this was possible because of my resilience. I had to use my Congolese foundations and now have ten years of teaching I.T. in English!

We have been through so much as a people, from generation to generation and this gives us a spirit of fighting back “Sprintu” (Fighting spirit) our past and present experiences are what makes us who we are. We ride on the waves of our ancestors, their power, their experiences and they know the atrocities and the injustices that continue to take place (Adama Traore / Amadou Diallo / George Floyd plus many, many, others in the USA and across the world) there is a connection centuries-old.

LEGACY
Education, Education, Education… Determination, focus and discipline, this is how we will instil resilience in the young. Our real history and culture has not been taught and it is time for this to change. Once we understand that misinformed white supremacy has used black nations throughout history, things will change, this is when we will see long term resilience in the young.

Many of us know that the greatest inventions came from black people such as George Edward Alcorn Jnr who was responsible for 20 inventions related to astro physics and semiconductor manufacture and Mark Dean who is responsible for developing the first colour pc monitor and the first gigahertz chip. Our contributions are evident if you just scratch the surface. A lot of the western world’s education is based on fallacy which has been twisted to suit those who are afraid of our resilience!

NO CHOICE!
We do not have a choice, we have to be resilient, we have to persevere regardless of what is in front of us. We need to remember who we are no matter what!