Black Voices Vol. 20: Inside SDARJ's 10th Anniversary Issue
For a decade, the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ) has turned a single book club into one of Sussex County’s most active racial-equity organizations — and the newest issue of its quarterly magazine, Black Voices Vol. 20, celebrates that milestone.
Founder Charlotte King traces SDARJ’s roots back to a 2015 reading group tackling Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. That conversation grew into an organization behind more than 60 community town halls, a book and film discussion series with over 1,650 attendees, high school scholarships, and the Black American Film Festival — built, King writes, on “God and volunteers” rather than major grant funding.
This anniversary issue is packed with milestones. Delaware’s General Assembly unanimously passed Senate Bill 330, creating a permanent, state-funded African American Heritage and Culture Commission. SDARJ’s Returning Citizens Support Committee helped pass compassionate-release and probation-reform legislation while distributing 200 “dignity backpacks” to formerly incarcerated residents. The Dialogue Toward Ending Racism program has guided over 200 Sussex County residents through seven years of facilitated conversations, several of whom went on to found their own advocacy groups.
The issue also spotlights three SDARJ scholarship recipients on what justice means to them, plus a partnership with the John Dickinson Plantation to center the stories of enslaved people.
SDARJ will mark the anniversary with a Difference Makers Gala on October 24 at Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach. The celebration coincides with SDARJ’s new “Forward Together” membership structure, which replaces the old single tier with five levels — from a Scholar tier for young people through Ally, Advocate, and Champion up to an all-access Visionary tier — so supporters can find a level that matches how they want to engage. Read the full issue and find your tier at sdarj.org.
How to Donate to the Black Voices Magazine
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