Giving in Solidarity

As part of an ongoing commitment to co-create a more just society, 10% of Reverie + Felicity Studio's profits are contributed to the following organizations led by Black, Indigenous and folks of color.

These organziations and Reverie + Felicity Studio are all located in Alamance County, North Carolina. It's in solidarity with them that revenue from this business flows directly into the local community. I very much believe in giving in solidarity as opposed to charity.

Contributions are made on a quarterly basis via Paypal and began for profits recorded in the third quarter of 2021. A record of contributions is shared at the bottom of this page as a practice of accountability and transparency. Thank you for your support in making these contributions possible!

Occaneechi Homeland Preservation Project

The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation is the modern-day Indigenous tribe that descends from the original inhabitants of what is now called Alamance County, North Carolina.

"Tradition holds that the ancestors of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, who called themselves Yésah (the people), came originally from the area known today as the Ohio River valley. Tribal accounts relate that nearly one thousand years ago, a powerful enemy attacked the Yésah, forcing them to migrate east and settle in what is now the Piedmont of Virginia and North Carolina.

The Occaneechi began settling in Orange County just before the Revolutionary War and formed the community of Little Texas (in present-day Alamance County). By 1830 the population of Little Texas had grown to almost 300. Today tribal members reside primarily in this community.

The tribe formally reorganized as the Eno-Occaneechi Indian Association in 1984 with the goal of researching and preserving its heritage. Its people also initiated the tribe’s annual August, June, and October powwows. In 1995 the tribe amended its name to Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, and worked toward its goal of state and federal recognition. In February 2002, the tribe realized one goal when it became the newest tribe legally recognized by North Carolina." - North Carolina Museum of History

In August 2002, the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation embarked on an ambitious project: to begin buying back a portion of its ancestral lands in the “Little Texas” community of northeast Alamance County, North Carolina.

This is the Occaneechi Homeland Preservation Project. For the first time in over 250 years, the Occaneechi own land again as a Tribe, to be used for economic development for the tribal community, as well as for tribal administrative offices. On this small tract of rural land, the Occaneechi have begun a legacy for their children.

Read more about the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation and the Occaneechi Homeland Preservation Project:

A Brief History of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation
Occaneechi Indians from NCPedia
Localwiki entry about the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation
Wikipedia entry about the Occaneechi
Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation Wikipedia entry
Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation from American Indian Made in North Carolina
Latest news articles featuring OBSN

West End Revitalization Association

The West End Revitalization Association (WERA) is a non-profit organization and community development corporation founded in 1994 in Mebane, NC. WERA's vision is to maintain sustainable, historic African-American communities through environmental protection, preservation, stabilization, and planned development.

“Founded in 1994 by Omega and Brenda Wilson, the West End Revitalization Association, Inc. is Alamance County’s first, and only, grassroots 'Right to Basic Amenities' organization. WERA provides service to residents, homeowners, and landowners of five predominantly Black communities in, and around, Mebane. These communities, which are located just beyond the Mebane city limits, were settled by former slaves shortly after the Civil War and are 85% to 95% African-American.

For years, these historic communities have been denied the right to basic amenities like clean water and safe sewage. They have also been targeted for destruction by the NC Department of Transportation (DOT) and companies like Walmart and Lidl. WERA seeks to rectify these injustices by providing environmental protection, planned development, and stabilization to these communities. Additionally, WERA seeks to combat the institutional racism that is inherent in these injustices by empowering residents with financial, legal, and moral support.” - WERA website

Led by President Omega Wilson, WERA works at the intersection of environmental and racial justice. Mebane leaders have historically disenfranchised its Black communities in a variety of ways. This includes not annexing the communities into the city limits so they can enjoy city services like water and sewer and the right to vote in city elections, and locating major road construction projects in the communities without proper mitigation for homeowners or general regard for the residents.

"WERA was founded in part to combat the 119-Bypass/Interstate highway project, which was planned to run right through predominantly low-income and minority areas in Alamance County and would have destroyed several neighborhoods as well as a local cemetery and historic church. However, Mr. Wilson, who was born and raised in the area, is careful to point out that the highway project was not the sole reason for the formation of WERA. WERA was formed in response to decades of being denied access to basic infrastructure including but not limited to paved roads and sidewalks, sewage treatment, and safe drinking water." - The Fight for the Right to Basic Amenities: Community Leader Spotlight of Omega Wilson

Read more about WERA and its impressive accomplishments:

West End Revitalization Association: Demonstrating the Value of Community-led Research to Address Environmental Justice Issues - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
West End Revitalization Association Receives $70,000 Grant - The News of Orange County, December 2010
Letter to the Editor and Response from WERA - Journal of Environmental Health, January 2012
A Place Called Mebane - Scalawag Magazine, August 2016
Community organizing mattered around Mebane-but the struggle isn't over - Scalawag Magazine, August 2016
The politics of sewers - Burlington Times-News, March 2017
Structural Racism on Display in New Exhibition - WUNC Radio, March 2017
In Conditions of Fresh Water - Duke Center for Documentary Studies, March 2017
Black Futures and Black Places - Scalawag Magazine, May 2017
West End Revitalization Association and City Mebane working together - Mebane Enterprise, July 2021

Contributions

2021

Contribution from third quarter (Q3) profits

$115 to West End Revitalization Association on 10/22/21
$115 to Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation on 10/22/21

Contribution from fourth quarter (Q4) profits

$268 to West End Revitalization Association on 1/14/22
$268 to Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation on 1/14/22