Issued by the Steward Council · Announced at the Symposium
100 people. 400 years. One obligation.
The Steward Council is the governing body for the 100 for the 400 program.
We remember the weavers who came before us, and we recognize those who are among us today.
The Symposium · Origin and Authority
What the 100 for the 400 is
Everything in this plan originates from and is organized around the Symposium. The Symposium is not a launch event for something already built. It is the founding moment. The community convenes. The governing body is elected. The covenant is received. The initiative is announced. What follows over ten years flows from what happens in that room.
The founding Community Weavers — Ernest McGowen, LaToya Gray-Sparks, Jajuan Johnson, and Katherine Crosby — are the living precedent.
Origin and authority
This plan is issued by the Steward Council of the 100 for the 400. The Steward Council is the governing body for the program: fifteen members elected from within the cohort of 100, carrying the authority of the full 100 into governance. The plan establishes the Per Ankh Center for Social Economic Analytics (Advancement) as the present operational institution and defines the path toward an educational institution whose specific form will be determined over time through the research record, the partnerships that form, and the decisions of the community governance structure.
100 people. 400 years. One obligation. The obligation is not to do something. It is to be something. They did not just receive the inheritance. By receiving it, they became it.
The Covenant
The program is carried by a shared covenant: community memory, stewardship, recognition, and the responsibility to build continuity for the generations that follow.
AAHA! Virginia provides administrative support for the program. Its public work is held in trust for the community it serves.
Governance Structure
The Steward Council
The Steward Council is the governing body for the 100 for the 400 program. It carries the authority of the cohort into stewardship, planning, and long-term continuity.
Community Weavers
Community Weavers cultivate knowledge, relationships, and purpose. Their work becomes a living record that strengthens community capacity across generations.
Present Focus
The Per Ankh Center for Social Economic Analytics (Advancement)
The Per Ankh Center is the program’s active research institution. It gathers, organizes, and shares community intelligence in service of informed stewardship.
Its public purpose is clear: establish a durable record, develop credible research, and support decisions that strengthen the community’s future.
The path toward an educational institution
The long-term direction is an educational institution shaped by the research, relationships, and decisions of the community itself.
Five phases, ten years
The 10-Year Plan
| Phase | Work |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | The community convenes, establishes stewardship, and begins the shared record. |
| Years 1–3 | The Per Ankh Center develops research, public learning, and community partnerships. |
| Years 3–5 | The program deepens its research record and evaluates its next institutional steps. |
| Years 5–7 | Community governance and educational capacity continue to take form. |
| Years 7–10 | A durable institution is shaped through the work and stewardship of the community. |
The 100 for the 400 Grant Pool
The Grant Pool
The grant pool supports initiatives advanced by Community Weavers. Stewardship and allocation decisions belong to the community governance process.
Its purpose is to support work that strengthens people, places, and the civic capacity needed for lasting progress.
PRAISE · The Named Baton
PRAISE and the Baton
PRAISE (Personal Responsibility And Individual Self Empowerment) is the non-financial generational wealth transferred through the 100 for the 400 program. Spiritual, civic, and social inheritance.
The Baton is earned through the sequence: Now → CHEWS → Community Steward → The Room → The Structure → The Purpose. Each stage is a demonstration, not a declaration. The Baton passes at the Symposium and continues through every cohort that follows.
The Baton is a commitment to carry knowledge, civic responsibility, and community purpose forward across generations.
Rite of Passage
Before · Now · Next
The accumulated institutional record
The Vault
The Vault holds the accumulated record: people, places, scholarship, and community commitments preserved for future work. Its value grows through care, verification, and responsible stewardship.
Steward Council · Community Weavers · The Vault · PRAISE Baton
About
AAHA World presents the public experience of the 100 for the 400 program.
Issued by the Steward Council. Announced at the Symposium.
Nominations, joining and sign-up are handled at aahava.com as part of the Symposium 2026.
Nominate or join at aahava.com