Fall 2025
Dear Friends and Fellow Good Trouble Makers,
We are happy to share The R Word Fall 2025 blog post, where we will share:
Our vision and mission
A review of what we have done
A preview of what we will do
A fund update
A reflection
Vision and Mission
The Zacchaeus Foundation is a non-profit named for Zacchaeus, who repented, repaired, and was healed.
We are working for racial healing in Northwest Arkansas (our vision).
We are repairing truth, wealth, and power (our mission).
We repair truth by educating white people and churches about reparations. We started events.
We repair wealth by raising funds from white people and churches for Black-led non-profits. We started The Zacchaeus Fund for Black-led non-profits.
We repair power by empowering Black people to decide who receives funds. Black board members decide who receives funds.
Review
In June, we hosted an event with Robin Rue Simmons, who led a racial equity training on zoom. We recorded the training in May, and released it three times in June, at different places.
In September, we continued the conversation that we started in June. On Saturday, September 6th, Robin Rue Simmons and Rev. Michael Nabors of Evanston, IL, were with us for two events.
Rev. Evan Garner hosted a lunch with Robin, Rev. Nabors, and leaders of local churches, where we learned how churches in Evanston, IL, are working together for reparations, and how churches in Northwest Arkansas can follow the example of Evanston. Leaders of five churches were at the lunch:
All Saints Episcopal Church (Bentonville)
First Christian Church (Fayetteville)
St. James Missionary Baptist Church (Fayetteville)
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Fayetteville)
St. Thomas Episcopal Church (Springdale)
Then, we hosted an event with Robin Rue Simmons, Rev. Michael Nabors, and local leaders Rev. Evan Garner, Sonia Gutierrez, Min. Monique Jones, Sharon Killian, Dustin McGowan, and Dr. Trisha Posey, where we learned how Robin, Rev. Nabors, and other people in Evanston, IL, are working together for reparations, and how people in Northwest Arkansas can follow the example of Evanston. More than 50 people were at the event.
Robin Rue Simmons shared a Reparations Movement Map, including The Zacchaeus Foundation, showing that we are part of the movement for reparations.
And, Robin said:
“I see Evanston in you. I see the community that funds reparations here in Fayetteville. I want you to be encouraged that the work is not easy. We can share best practices, but it is for you all to do this work hyper-locally, based on your own history, led by your own leaders, informed by best practices that will get you to repair.”
Watch the event below (the views of panelists may not reflect those of the organizations for which they work)
Preview
On Saturday March 7th, from 3 to 5pm at St. Paul’s Church, we will discuss Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair by Kwon and Thompson. Rsvp here.
The Zacchaeus Fund Update
The Zacchaeus Fund for Black-led non-profits is a donor advised fund held by Arkansas Community Foundation. The advisors of The Zacchaeus Fund are the Black board members of The Zacchaeus Foundation.
Our 2025 goal is to raise $100,000, which will enable us to invest $50,000 in a Black-led non-profit in 2026.
Our 2035 goal is to raise an endowment of $1.4M, which will enable us to invest $50,000 in Black-led non-profits annually, perpetually.
As of October 1, we have raised $85,000.
To help us raise $100,000 in 2025, invest in The Zacchaeus Fund here.
Reflection
Dr. Trisha Posey is a board member of The Zacchaeus Foundation. Read Trisha’s reflection below.
At our September event, Robin Rue Simmons and Reverend Michael Nabors provided an inspirational model of racial repair and healing for the Zacchaeus Foundation and the Fayetteville community. The work of repairing wealth gaps caused by racial injustice is difficult, requiring persistence, commitment, and hope in the face of enormous challenges. Learning about the work in Evanston reminds us that change is possible if people of good will work together to make it happen.
It also requires people who know their community—and its history—well. I’m not just moved by the diligence of Robin and Rev. Nabors, I’m struck by their deep knowledge of the effects of redlining on housing in Evanston, by their relationships with community leaders who know the long history of racial injustice and are ready to tell it, and by their commitment to telling the truth about the story of Evanston. Robin’s love for Evanston as a daughter of the city—knowing the stories of every street in her cherished community—has given her insight that is both the heart of her work and the means by which she can bring about effective change.
I wonder how well we really know our communities. Who are our neighbors with knowledge of the “thick histories” of our neighborhoods? What are the stories they have to tell about both the harm that has been done and the resilience, creativity, and strength, of those who experienced that harm? Where are the records of the wounds that still fester and need the healing power of truth’s light? I’m grateful for the work of NWA Black Heritage and others for their work to help us remember Fayetteville’s past so that we might bring healing in the present. But the work of remembering isn’t up to a small group of people—it’s up to all of us.
I would encourage us to spend time getting to know our communities—really know our communities—by talking with our neighbors, hearing their stories, and learning about the very specific history of racial injustice in our own spaces. Then, and only then, can we begin to understand how to restore truth, wealth, and power in the spirit of Zacchaeus.
Thanks for reading The R Word!
With hope for healing,
Lowell Taylor
Board Member, The Zacchaeus Foundation
info@thezacchaeusfoundation.org