ABOUT
US
The Truth Telling Project supports and implements grassroots, community-centered truth-telling and reparations processes to achieve Black liberation and BIPOC solidarity, amplify traditionally silenced and disenfranchised voices, and abolish white supremacy.
We are a diverse community of organizers, activists, artists, writers, teachers, practitioners and scholars. Our board represents a cross-section of individuals who are committed to structural change, truth telling, healing trauma, and repair. Our networks include Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities from rural and urban locales. We share in common a vision for a just, equitable, and sustainable society free of state-sanctioned violence and systemic racism.
Join the Movement
Our Team
David Ragland PhD is one of the cofounders of the truth telling project and former co Ed. He is an advisor and writer at TTP. David is a founder and board member at Kibilio community farms and board member of REPAIR and the Peace Development Fund. He is also a loving girl dad.
Dr. David Ragland
Mercedes Perry is one of the co-ED’s of the truth telling project, where she leads alongside Eric Kayira to build the organizational infrastructure systems behind TTP’s storytelling and reparations work. She aspires to be the most rested version of herself and hopes to model a restful lifestyle for those around her.
Mercedes Perry M.A
Eric Kayira is one of the co-EDs of the truth-telling project and works in tandem with Mercedes Perry to move the organization forward. He has been with the truth-telling project since its inception and brings so much institutional knowledge to the organization. He is a proud father of two wonderful collegiate scholars.
Eric Kayira J.D
Eduardo González is a human rights expert focused on processes of truth-telling and reparations, with a wide experience around the globe. He serves as the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali. He is lucky to have the best friends and daughters.
Eduardo Gonzalez
Luke McGowan is a truth-telling project writer and podcast manager. He is a fervent activist in the reparations movement.
Luke McGowan
Joshua Scarborough is a truth-telling project copywriter and social media editor.
Joshua Scarborough
Our Advisory Council
Cris Toffolo,
Founding Advisory Member
Current Treasurer
David Ragland, PhD
Founding Advisory Member
Current Chair
Vacant
Advisory Member
Current Secretary
Our History
What We Do
The Truth Telling Project (TTP) works to help people understand the deep-seated institutional racism that allows for police violence to occur and the pervasive impact that violence has on families and their communities. We ultimately encourage empathy and anti-racist learning among allied communities, and we lead people to The Movement for Black Lives and other racial justice organizations as supporters.
Our Story
TTP was founded in August 2014 by community activists in the St. Louis area following the shooting of 18 year-old Michael Brown, Jr., the protests that followed, and the anger it generated throughout the community. We engage in the truth telling of stories that galvanize thoughtful, empathetic and educated allies for Black communities and communities of color. By encouraging “witnesses” to listen to and reflect on voices “from the margins,” our hope is that more and more people become active participants in ending the structural and militarized violence in the U.S.
Our Partners
Our Funding Sources
We are a collaborative working group funded by donations from our supporters and grants from philanthropic organizations.
Our fiscal sponsor is NorthEastern Illinois University.