21Hundred seeks to seed a movement of individuals, ideas and innovations to solve, dissolve and resolve the problem of the colour line by the year 2100 — the horizon from which we derive our name.

The year represents our line in the sand. We take inspiration from the prescient observation by WEB Du Bois at the turn of the 20th century that what he called ‘the problem of the colour line’ would overshadow the next 100 years. Today, despite remarkable progress towards racial justice all over the world, Du Bois’s words remain relevant in the 21st century and cast a shadow into the next. 21Hundred exists to ensure that, by the year 2100, Du Bois’s prophecy is finally consigned to history. Our mission is to build the networks, narratives and new models for a world beyond anti-Black racism.

21Hundred signals a strategic evolution of AFRE, a widening of the aperture, recognising that unseating anti-Black racism requires an expansive vision. It requires learning from the past to act in the present to create conditions for a future in which we all belong. At the heart of our new organisation’s work lies a three-strand programmatic structure through which we invest in individuals, ideas and innovations to combat anti-Black racism, expand the imaginative landscape for being Black in the world, and seek out patterns for relating across difference as equals. This design is 21Hundred’s cypher for Black liberation.

Fellowship, narrative and innovation are at the heart of 21Hundred’s work. Our signature AFRE Fellowship Experience, which nourishes the individual and collective capacities of racial justice changemakers from all over the world, is set to continue. Likewise our narrative offerings such as Moya magazine, through which we seek to expand the imaginative landscape for being Black in the world. And we will unveil exciting new programming in our innovation space in search of new and forgotten rhythms for relating as equals.

21Hundred has been years in the making. Like AFRE, our new organisation is a limited-life entity, aiming to gift those who come after the repertoire to build a world where differences attributed to race no longer determine human worth and belonging.

The mission before us is generational. It calls for the acuity to see a world that does not yet exist and the determination to strive steadfastly to make it real. 21Hundred is a conduit for this ancestral work. To those already engaged in shaping new possibilities: welcome to our new home. To those searching for a place to work towards freer futures: there is space for you here.