About Us
Co-Powering Black Youth Brilliance and Possibility.
Our Why
Black youth in the United States grow up navigating systems shaped by racial bias, chronic underinvestment, and cultural invisibility, conditions built by design, not by accident.
Their voices are too often absent from the seats of power, while harmful stereotypes shape how they are seen, treated, and disciplined. Many are also more likely to live in communities
disproportionately impacted by violence and trauma, with limited access to mental health support, safe spaces, and sustained economic investment.
These realities are not personal failures. They are the result of long-standing structural inequities that continue to shape opportunity and limit possibility.
Why We Exist
We reject narratives and practices that diminish young people’s brilliance. We focus on the middle school years, a pivotal stage when young people are forming beliefs about who they are and what they are capable of.
We build spaces that honor identity, embrace joy, and affirm leadership potential during this critical window of development. Through healing-centered engagement, cultural grounding, and community-rooted leadership development, TRI creates environments where Black youth are trusted, heard, celebrated, and deeply cared for, and where they are already shaping their communities with resilience, clarity, and purpose.
Our Foundation
Tanesha Peeples founded The Roots Initiative from a simple truth: Black youth deserve spaces
where their brilliance is affirmed, protected, cultivated, and trusted without condition.
For generations, Black youth have been expected to shrink themselves to survive systems that
were never designed with their culture, joy, or leadership in mind. Meanwhile, our communities
have always held the wisdom, care, and cultural knowledge needed to raise leaders.
The Roots Initiative was born at the intersection of resistance and possibility.
A commitment to build the spaces our young people should have had all along.
Through Tanesha’s extensive leadership in education justice, grassroots organizing, and policy
advocacy, she saw firsthand both the harm caused when institutions fail young people and the
power that is unleashed when communities lead.
It became clear that real transformation cannot be handed down from systems that were never
built for us. It must be grown in community, built from the ground up, and rooted in care,
culture, and collective responsibility. At its core, The Roots Initiative stands on the belief that investing in Black youth is an investment in the future of our neighborhoods, our cities, and our collective liberation.
By centering healing, cultural truth, and collective power, TRI creates spaces where young people
are reminded of who they are, connected to where they come from, and supported in leading with
courage, clarity, and purpose. Today, that foundation lives on through a growing movement of young architects, and the communities rising with them, shaping a future rooted in Black brilliance, power, and self-determination.
Our Founder
Tanesha Peeples is the Founder and CEO of The Roots Initiative, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to cultivating Black youth as visionary leaders and architects of lasting change. Fueled by a commitment to justice, equity, and liberation, she launched The Roots Initiative to build a movement where young Black leaders are empowered with the knowledge, resources, and networks to drive systemic transformation in their communities.
Under her leadership, the organization has expanded its impact through innovative programming that fosters leadership, social-emotional wellness, shared vision, and shared action, equipping the next generation to shape their futures with confidence and power.
With over 15 years of experience in grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and storytelling, Tanesha has played a critical role in advancing education justice and racial equity. She has led local and national
initiatives to increase access to high-quality schools, mobilized communities for systemic policy reform, and worked to dismantle oppressive systems that disproportionately harm marginalized groups.
Through The Roots Initiative, she is actively reimagining and rebuilding systems to center Black voices, leadership, and self-determination.
Tanesha is a member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC), and an alum of Surge Institute and the Chicago Urban League’s IMPACT Leadership Development Program. She has been recognized as a “40
Under 40 Game Changer” by Ariel Investments and has shared her expertise across various platforms, including Blavity, Ebony Magazine, The Black Wall Street Times, and Chalkbeat.
A proud Chicagoan hailing from the Englewood community, DJ, and member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, Tanesha is deeply committed to building a legacy of Black excellence, power, and self-determination through The Roots Initiative.
Our Team
Our team brings deep commitment, care, and expertise to advancing the mission of The Roots Initiative. Working with intention and a strong belief in the power of young people, we create culturally grounded, healing-centered spaces where youth can grow, lead, and thrive
Robbie Curry
Founder
Terrence Priutt
Board Secretary
Janene Ingram
Board Treasurer
Dr. Shaniqua Jones
Board Member
Joseph Butler
Board Member
Brittany Hogan
Board Member
Cedric Beard
Program Manager
Mariah Price
Program & Operations