In 2023, with funding from the Wallace Foundation, Ithaka S+R began a research collaboration with Cave Canem, a non-profit Black literary arts organization based in Brooklyn, New York. Last week, we published the report resulting from this joint effort: Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Organizations. For more on the report, including an illustrated executive summary and op-eds, we invite you to visit the Cave Canem website.

This report explores the unique characteristics, challenges, and adaptive strategies of Black literary arts organizations, structured around four key themes: the resilience and legacy of Black literary organizations, leadership and planning, operations, and programming. Within these sections, the report highlights the contributions of these literary organizations in nurturing talents and establishing a thriving artistic community, despite operating with limited financial resources. Through a synthesis of interview transcripts and supplemental research, the report addresses critical questions around the financial sustainability of these organizations and also explores their overall impact on American culture and history.

Magnitude and Bond aims to serve a multitude of audiences, including Black arts administrators, leaders, artists, community members, funders, and current or potential donors. Each section of the report identifies the most pressing needs Black literary organizations face and provides targeted recommendations for leaders and funders as they continue to sustain and support these organizations.

The report draws on insights from members of the project’s working group—the leadership of the Getting Word Collective, and two literary experts. The Getting Word Collective, formed in 2020, encompasses five Black literary organizations, including Cave Canem, The Hurston/Wright Foundation, Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora, Furious Flower Poetry Center, and The Watering Hole. Together, these organizations collaborate to raise awareness about the significance of the Black literary arts and to find solutions for sustaining them. The working group members provided guidance through each phase of the project, from the research plan to the final report.

We are grateful to the working group members, literary experts, interviewees, and supporters who dedicated their time and provided instrumental feedback in the development of this important research. We hope this report will serve as a resource for those committed to the sustainability and growth of organizations in the Black literary arts space.

This spring, the Ithaka S+R team will participate in a series of events that will highlight the findings of this report. In March, Mark McBride will join Cave Canem in presenting the report at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Los Angeles, and Deirdre Harkins will participate in Cave Canem’s Faculty and Fellows Circle meeting. In April, the research team will attend Magnitude & Bond in Washington, DC, a two-day conference about the field study at Howard University and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.