Tag: Advocacy

by Cathryn McGill, NMBLC Founder & Director Let’s be honest: we’ve been to the scene of this accident before. Another housing bill full of promise, weighed down by politics, dies in committee. Again. Meanwhile, families face rising rents, unjust evictions, and unsafe housing—and landlords struggle with damages, nonpayment, and red tape. If this bill were…

by Shannon Yvonne Moreau What’s one thing most Black people can get behind? Hair. That was a lightbulb moment for Neema Pickett as she and her team crafted policy to benefit the Black community. As liaison for the City of Albuquerque’s Office of Black Community Engagement, she’d get calls from people before they relocated here,…

by Cathryn McGillNMBLC Founder & Director Isaiah Taylor was 12 when I met him. Every single time he saw me, he would run up and say “Hi, Miss Cathy.” It always warmed my heart. I felt as though I had a relationship with young Isaiah. A Painful Realization One day when he saw me at…

by Kai Warrior The time has come to celebrate another Pride Month here in New Mexico! The birth of Pride came from the Stonewall Riots, led by 2 trans women of color, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, in the streets of New York City on June 28, 1969. Photo of (from left) Sylvia Rivera…

By Kristin Satterlee Aja Brooks’ journey to become the first Black president of the State Bar of New Mexico began in the far southeastern corner of the state. Deep New Mexican roots Brooks spent her early years in Hobbs. “All of my extended family lived there…. aunts, uncles, cousins on both sides.” Both her parents…

By Shannon Yvonne Moreau “Access to knowledge is the superb, the supreme act of truly great civilizations.” — Toni Morrison Embracing SONKE In 2025, the New Mexico Black Leadership Council (NMBLC) embraces SONKE as our annual theme. SONKE’s all about Sharing Our Narratives, Knowledge and Experiences. “Sonke” means “all of us” in Zulu and encapsulates…

by Samantha Anne Carrillo The North Star has always been more than just a celestial body. Fixed in the sky, unshaken by time, it has long guided explorers, dreamers, and the lost toward something greater. For abolitionist Harriet Tubman, it was a literal lifeline to freedom, a guiding force that could be counted on through…