Healing Justice Santa Barbara - HJSB

Healing Justice Santa Barbara - HJSB Healing Justice Santa Barbara aspires to uplift all Black/African-Americans to affirm that they are deserving of safety, love, equity, respect, and joy.

Long before the Black is Beautiful Gala, there was The Cotton Club. In 1924, Otto Hopkins, a pioneering Black businessma...
10/15/2025

Long before the Black is Beautiful Gala, there was The Cotton Club. In 1924, Otto Hopkins, a pioneering Black businessman, and his wife Claire opened The Cotton Club on historically Black Haley Street, the “first integrated business on the Central Coast.” During a time when Jim Crow laws and segregation were still widely enforced throughout the country, Hopkins created a space where Black artistry thrived and the community came together to dance, dine, and be free. Operating as a speakeasy until the end of Prohibition in 1933, The Cotton Club became a popular local venue, known for accommodating nine-piece bands and other musical acts. Hopkins later opened The Brown Derby, another vibrant spot for music, food, and connection, carrying forward the tradition of Black joy and creativity that’s always been at the heart of our community.

For generations, Black joy has been our protest and our promise—a way of saying we are still here. On November 1, we continue that legacy with the Black is Beautiful Gala: Black Excellence Through the Decades. Secure your tickets before they are gone! Tickets available at hjsb.org/bib-2025

Images courtesy of Wilbur Hopkins Tate.

10/08/2025

Debuting with exclusive signed copies at the Black is Beautiful Gala on November 1st, our first children’s book tells the story of Black Santa Barbara written by and for Black people.

As our dear Ms Sojourner said, “You need to know this history. To say what Black folks have done here, what we have created, how we have built and loved community.” To all our collective children, may you be reminded of the way kinfolk have planned for you. To our beloved ancestor, Sourjourner Kindcaid Rolle, we love and miss you. Thank you for loving us 💛

Get an exclusive signed copy of “We Were Here, We Are Here: A Living History of Black Santa Barbara” only at the BIB Gala. Tickets at the link in our bio!

———
Written by Simone Akila-Ruskamp
Illustrated by Reyna “Iman” Harris
Edited by Dr. Michelle Petty, Leticia Resch , and Jazmyn Heggins

Videography by

With Special thanks to Sojourner and Rod Rolle, the , , University of California, Santa Barbara Special Collections, Black Gold Cooperative Library System, Los Angeles Herald, Page & Trumbull, Nicole Hernandez, Frank Rodriguez, and HJSB staff past and present.

Our thanks to for believing in and investing in Black folks to preserve our own histories and tell our own stories.

We’ve got something very special coming soon! 📖 💫Our very first children’s book, We Were Here, We Are Here: A Living His...
10/08/2025

We’ve got something very special coming soon! 📖 💫

Our very first children’s book, We Were Here, We Are Here: A Living History of Black Santa Barbara, tells the story of Santa Barbara’s Black history through the eyes of our beloved ancestor, Sojourner Kincaid Rolle. Take a walk through the city as Sojourner shares the rich Black history of our city with local youth, revisiting the places and moments that shaped her life and our community.

Written by Simone Akila Ruskamp and Illustrated by Reyna Iman. Edited by Dr. Michelle Petty, Leticia Resch, and Jazmyn Heggins.

Thanks to all our beloved past and current staff, Krystle Sieghart who contributed to this research as well as Rod and Sojourner Kincaid Rolle.

We Were Here, We Are Here: A Living History of Black Santa Barbara officially debuts at this year’s Black is Beautiful Gala on November 1, where attendees will get the first chance to purchase a signed copy! Tickets are on sale now at hjsb.org/bib-2025

The 2nd Annual Black Is Beautiful Gala is just one month away! ✨ More than a fundraiser, it’s a celebration of Black joy...
10/02/2025

The 2nd Annual Black Is Beautiful Gala is just one month away! ✨ More than a fundraiser, it’s a celebration of Black joy, connection, and culture in an elegant, welcoming space where Black voices and stories take center stage. From a powerful keynote and youth and community awards to a curated auction, dinner, dessert, live performances, and dancing—this is an evening you won’t want to miss. Your ticket directly sustains Black-led initiatives re-imagining our collective investment in community care. Secure your spot today at hjsb.org/bib-2025

Last year’s Black is Beautiful Gala was unforgettable ✨ Together we celebrated the legacy and future of the Black diasp...
09/24/2025

Last year’s Black is Beautiful Gala was unforgettable ✨ Together we celebrated the legacy and future of the Black diaspora in Santa Barbara with powerful performances, local Black artists, community honors, and the joy of gathering in our brilliance. And we're ready to do it all again in just a few weeks!

Join us on Saturday, November 1st at SBCC’s Great Meadow from 5-9pm. Last year's event sold out—secure yours now before they’re gone! Visit hjsb.org/bib-2025 for tickets and more 🎟️ 🔗

Even a small gift can spark powerful change. Healing Justice SB invites local businesses, organizations, and community m...
09/19/2025

Even a small gift can spark powerful change. Healing Justice SB invites local businesses, organizations, and community members to sponsor the Black is Beautiful Gala as part of our Circle of Pearls. We’re seeking 20 sponsors at $500 each to raise $10,000 for youth artivism, emergency aid, and year-round programming led by and for the Black community.

Like individual pearls strung together, each contribution strengthens the whole—creating something beautiful, enduring, and unbreakable. Ready to join the circle? Email info@hjsb.org

We are just 45 days away from our Black is Beautiful Gala! This event is more than a fundraiser, it’s a celebration of B...
09/17/2025

We are just 45 days away from our Black is Beautiful Gala! This event is more than a fundraiser, it’s a celebration of Black joy, connection, and culture in an elegant, welcoming space where Black voices and stories are too often underrepresented.

Your ticket sustains Black-led initiatives re-imagining our collective investment in community care—from our Sojourner Kincaid Rolle Youth Artivism Scholarship Fund, our Black Community Emergency Fund, General Operating support to expand our Black Student Alliance programming, and so much more. We hope you’ll join us on November 1, 2025 for this unforgettable evening.

Black is Beautiful sold out last year, so be sure to secure your tickets soon at hjsb.org/bib-2025
✨ Theme: Black Excellence Through the Decades
🌹 Dress Code: Formal, Shades of RED.

This year’s Black is Beautiful Gala & Fundraiser celebrates the inspirational brilliance, resilience, and joy of our com...
08/29/2025

This year’s Black is Beautiful Gala & Fundraiser celebrates the inspirational brilliance, resilience, and joy of our community across generations. From the soulful ‘60s to the bold 2000s and beyond, we’re honoring the legacies that have shaped the Black diaspora and fueling the futures we’re still building.

Join us in uplifting Black-led organizations that reimagine community care, creativity, and emergency support. Proceeds will benefit:
🌹 Sojourner Kincaid Rolle Youth Artivism Scholarship Fund (Goal: $10,000) – Scholarships for Black/African American high school students in HJSB’s Black Student Alliance program.
🌹General Operating Support for HJSB (Goal: $70,000) – Expanding free, culturally responsive programming for Black youth and families across Santa Barbara County.
🌹Black Community Emergency Needs Fund (Goal: $20,000) – Providing immediate relief for urgent housing, education, transportation, health, and other needs.

Want to be part of this legacy? Swipe → to explore Black is Beautiful Gala sponsorship opportunities. Visit hjsb.org/bib-2025 for our full sponsorship deck and/or email info@hjsb.org to secure your sponsorship today.

For decades, Black community groups here in Santa Barbara, like the George Washington Carver Club and the Santa Barbara ...
08/22/2025

For decades, Black community groups here in Santa Barbara, like the George Washington Carver Club and the Santa Barbara Eastern Star Jewel, hosted galas that brought people together in joy, care, and purpose. They gathered to raise scholarship funds, to create safe spaces, and to resource their communities facing social inequities.

On Saturday, November 1, we’ll carry that tradition forward with the 2nd Annual Black is Beautiful Gala: Black Excellence Through the Decades. This evening will bring together live music, a keynote speaker, youth and community awards, a curated auction, and a chance to share a meal and dance in a space rooted in Black joy, beauty, and leadership—while welcoming all who care about Black lives.

Tickets are on sale now—secure yours at hjsb.org/bib-2025

07/26/2025

✨Black is Beautiful Gala is back! ✨

Join us for the Second Annual Black is Beautiful Gala, a powerful night honoring Black beauty, culture, and community. This year’s theme, Black Excellence Through the Decades, celebrates everything from iconic fashion and music to groundbreaking art and media.

Get ready for live performances, a keynote speaker, a curated auction, youth and community awards, and a full night of dinner, dessert, and dancing with a live band—all in celebration of Black joy.

Every ticket supports our mission to create safe, empowering spaces for Black/African American communities across Santa Barbara County. Learn more and get your tickets at hjsb.org/bib-2025

Join us in joy this weekend as we fundraise for the upcoming school year! ⛸️⛸️
07/23/2025

Join us in joy this weekend as we fundraise for the upcoming school year!

⛸️⛸️

Y’all This involves us.As a collective of stolen people on stolen landHaving borne witness to arbitrary lines drawn in a...
07/13/2025

Y’all
This involves us.

As a collective of stolen people on stolen land
Having borne witness to arbitrary lines drawn in and around us
Rebuking assertions of 3/5 humanity
Never granted full citizenship
All of this is real familiar
But white supremacy ain’t never bothered to get creative

Immigration is a Black Issue.
Period
To our diaspora kinfolk we will not compromise on your humanity

And to our non-Black immigrant cousins, these strategies, the violence, the disappearing of people while consuming their culture, is familiar. We believe you.

We carry your stories with ours, and we are uplift orgs like




In Solidarity

See links in bio for resources and toolkits created by BAJI | Black Alliance for Just Immigration

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P. O. Box 8628
Goleta, CA
93118

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