Founded in 2006, 1Hood began as a collective of men from various disciplines, ideologies, and belief systems who banded together to address violence within and against our community. We have grown to an intergenerational, intersectional community committed to the same mission. 1Hood Media is a collective of socially conscious artists and activists who utilize art as a means of raising awareness about social justice matters affecting people around the world. 1Hood envisions a world where every person is ensured justice and has an opportunity to achieve their fullest potential and contribute to all aspects of life. Our mission is to build liberated communities through art, education, and social justice.
We offer performance, written, and visual art to connect communities and amplify messages along with workshops, curriculum consultation, media literacy training, conflict resolution, music production, grant writing, photography, and videography through programs like Artivist Academy and Select. Further, we offer consultation to artists seeking to establish a fruitful independent career and organizations that wish to establish a culture of equity and activism. In addition, We offer youth-based cultural and media literacy programming like 1Hood Media Academy, our core program that provides youth based training in media literacy and the creation of media and We Keep Us Safe, a campaign to address & prevent violence in our communities led by Black creatives ages 16-26. Through our civic engagement work, we conduct robust voter outreach and awareness efforts through events like People, Politics, and Power, text-banking, and social media. Media is core to what we do including podcasts like Brunch with a Black Man, a mental health podcast focused on telling stories of Black men, and BlackPittsburgh.com, a website featuring news written by and for Black Pittsburghers, help eliminate the cultural and social hurdles that can block access to news and services for the Black community. Our work takes many forms, all grounded in our five pillars of engagement: Arts and Culture, Media, Education, Activism, Civic Engagement.