We center the Black Church as an anchor for community, recognizing land not only as property but as legacy, culture, and justice. Our work blends faith, planning, and advocacy to protect communities from displacement and build generational wealth.
This work began – and continues – with love for the Black Church and deep belief in the communities it anchors. We exist because too much has been lost: land, legacy, and rootedness. But I also believe in what’s possible, in what can be restored.
The Nehemiah Initiative is not just about housing or zoning, it’s about repair. About helping churches reclaim their agency, protect their history, and become catalysts for beloved community.
Over the next five years, we’re raising $1 M for pre-development grants and $2.5M in recoverable grants to fuel the technical assistance, financial resources, design, outreach, and legal support needed to grow Black homeownership.
I invite you to explore this work with us, to see the sacredness in this moment: a chance to turn faith into action, and land into legacy.
W. Tali Hairston, PhD
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We partner with Black congregations to explore how their land can support long-term community development. Our focus is on vision, not transactions. Together, we imagine what’s possible – affordable housing, income generation, and lasting stability – guided by each church’s values and leadership.
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We’re a faith-rooted partner helping Black congregations reclaim and reimagine land. Our process begins with listening and ends with community-owned outcomes.
We create space for envisioning and planning a different future for those historically left out of housing development and homeownership.
in Black church-owned land assessed for community use
actively engaged in predevelopment journeys
leaders trained in land stewardship and real estate development
shared mission : land that works for the people who steward it
Seattle has a deep and vibrant Black history, much of it rooted in the Central District. Once home to the majority of the city’s Black residents, the neighborhood was shaped by generations of families, faith communities, and civic leaders. Today, the city is no longer widely recognized for its Black population. But the legacy remains, and the Nehemiah Initiative began and continues to exists to help protect it.
Our leadership brings decades of experience across faith, planning, policy, design, and racial justice.
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