Supporting & Healing Black Women Survivors

With this episode, we conclude a series of four podcasts which have informed us about a variety of hot-button issues including the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, the shrinking resources available to refugees who were invited to resettle here in America, and the fight against voter suppression in California and across the nation.

Today, we’re going to learn what’s being done to bring healing and hope to some of the most marginalized and oppressed people in our society: black women and other women of color.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and I’m honored to introduce you to Alana C. Brown, the founder and Executive Director of The Safe Sisters Circle—an organization founded by black women in a historically black community serving Wards 7 & 8 of the Washington DC metro area.

Alana knew from a young age she wanted to make a positive impact in her local community. She left DC to attend college in New York and then returned to DC and graduated from Georgetown with her law degree. Then, back to New York where she served as a prosecuting attorney in Manhattan.

You’d think that’s it, right? Nope. Alana’s dream to help women back home never dissipated, it only grew stronger, and she eventually moved back to the area where she worked and volunteered. It wasn’t long before she recognized a need for representation among those serving survivors.

And, sadly, it took even less time for some people to tell her not to do it. They’d say things like “your work isn’t needed here” and “you’ll never make it.”

Obviously, Alana didn’t listen to the naysayers. She founded The Safe Sisters Circle, and she plans to grow and expand her service area. Alana talks fast, so buckle up, and get ready to meet an amazing African American woman who is making a big difference in the lives of women of color in Wards 7 & 8 in our nation’s capital.

The Safe Sisters Circle is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free culturally specific, holistic, and trauma-based services to Black women survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault primarily living in Washington, DC’s Wards 7 and 8.

📌 Check out our Pinterest board on Abuse Survivor Care

🎧 Click here to listen to this episode:

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About Alana C. Brown

Alana Brown is a Public Interest and Human Rights Attorney focusing on nonprofit litigation and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human sexual trafficking as well as at-risk youth within the Washington, DC area and globally.

In 2018, Alana founded a nonprofit called The Safe Sisters Circle, which provides culturally specific, trauma-informed, and holistic services for Black women survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse living primarily, but not exclusively, in Washington DC’s Wards 7 and 8. 

Alana is also the recipient of DV LEAP’s 2020 Tip the Scales of Justice Award for making an impact in the gender based violence field in Washington, DC.

Alana received her B.A. in Africana Studies from New York University and JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

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🔗 Connect with The Safe Sisters Circle:

• Website: https://safesisterscircle.org
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesafesisters
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesafesisterscircle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesafesisterscircle/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-safe-sisters-circle/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGl847PztMrmaRswbO8UMRg
• Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/alanadcgirl

✨ Mentioned in this episode:

• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson
• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”