The Initiative Collective

Last updated
The Initiative Collective
Formation2009;14 years ago (2009)
Location

The Initiative Collective (sometimes truncated to simply "The Initiative") is a group of organizations located in cities throughout the United States and internationally .Their goal is to promote personal safety through neighborhood watch activities, self-defense classes, and other forms of outreach. [1] [2] They are a part of the Real-life superhero movement.

Founded in New York City in 2009 by "Zero," "Tsaf," "Lucid," and Zimmer Barnes, the group's initial goal was to patrol the streets of Greenwich Village to stem a rising tide of anti-gay violence. [3] [4] [5] The New York Initiative (NYI) members started by taking on superhero-like personae to attract attention when talking to the media (though not on the streets), [6] patrolling on longboards and donning bulletproof vests as part of their activities. [3] They were profiled in the HBO documentary, Superheroes. [6] [7]

Since 2009, additional Initiative "branches" have been formed across the United States, including California, [8] [9] [10] [11] Washington, [1] Virginia, [12] Illinois, [13] Tennessee, Massachusetts, the central United Kingdom, and Australia. [14]

Related Research Articles

In the broader context of racism against Black Americans and racism in the United States, mass racial violence in the United States consists of ethnic conflicts and race riots, along with such events as:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superhero</span> Type of stock character

A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses superpowers, abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime. Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since the 1930s, in American comic books, as well as in Japanese media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vigilantism</span> Civilian who undertakes law enforcement without legal authority

Vigilantism is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Premier Soccer League</span> Football league

The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The WPSL is the longest-running active women's soccer league as it enters its 25th season in 2023 – the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WPSL is also the largest women's soccer league in the United States, North America and the world with 130 active teams as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bratton</span> American police officer

William Joseph Bratton CBE is an American law enforcement officer and businessman who served two terms as the New York City Police Commissioner. He previously served as the Commissioner of the Boston Police Department (BPD) (1993–1994) and Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) (2002–2009). He is the only person to have led the police departments of the United States' two largest cities – New York and Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood Harris</span> American actor (born 1969)

Sherwin David "Wood" Harris is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his role as Motaw in the Jeff Pollack film Above the Rim (1994), prior to portraying high school football player Julius Campbell in the Walt Disney Pictures film Remember the Titans (2000) and Jimi Hendrix in the Showtime television film Hendrix (2000). He attained further recognition for his portrayal of drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama The Wire (2002–2008). Harris also played the role of cocaine dealer Ace in the crime film Paid in Full in 2002.

A real-life superhero (RLSH) is a person who dresses up in a superhero costume or mask in order to perform community service such as neighborhood watch, or in some cases vigilantism.

America's 11 Most Endangered Places or America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places is a list of places in the United States that the National Trust for Historic Preservation considers the most endangered. It aims to inspire Americans to preserve examples of architectural and cultural heritage that could be "relegated to the dustbins of history" without intervention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neon the Unknown</span> Superhero created for Quality Comics

Neon the Unknown is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comic Books created by Jerry Iger for Quality Comics. Neon first appeared in a story penciled and inked by Lou Fine in Hit Comics #1 and was featured on the cover. His stories ran in issues 1–17.

Hate crime laws in the United States are state and federal laws intended to protect against hate crimes. Although state laws vary, current statutes permit federal prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of a person's characteristics of race, religion, ethnicity, disability, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and campus police departments are required to collect and publish hate crime statistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Kahrl</span>

Christina Kahrl is one of the co-founders of Baseball Prospectus. She is the former executive editor of the think tank's website, BaseballProspectus.com, the former managing editor for their annual publication, former writer and editor for ESPN.com, and is currently sports editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. She is a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

<i>Soon I Will Be Invincible</i> A novel by Austin Grossman, published by Pantheon Books and released on June 5, 2007

Soon I Will Be Invincible is a novel by Austin Grossman, published by Pantheon Books and released on June 5, 2007. The novel uses two alternating first person narratives—the first told from the point of view of Fatale, a female cyborg recruited by the superhero group The New Champions as they investigate the disappearance of a superhero named CoreFire. The other narrative is told from the point of view of Dr. Impossible, a supervillain possessing super-human strength and intellect who suffers from Malign Hypercognition Disorder. The plot follows Impossible's thirteenth attempt to take over the world after escaping from prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superhero fiction</span> Fiction genre

Superhero fiction is a genre of speculative fiction examining the adventures, personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes, who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as supervillains. The genre primarily falls between hard fantasy and soft science fiction spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated with American comic books, though it has expanded into other media through adaptations and original works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congressional Equality Caucus</span> Caucus in the U.S. Congress promoting LGBTQ+ rights

The Congressional Equality Caucus, formerly the Congressional LGBTQ+ Caucus, was formed by openly gay representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank June 4, 2008, to advance LGBT+ rights. The caucus is co-chaired by the United States House of Representatives' nine openly LGBT members: Representatives Becca Balint, Angie Craig, Sharice Davids, Robert Garcia, Chris Pappas, Mark Pocan, Eric Sorensen, Mark Takano, and Ritchie Torres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Lively</span> American activist, author, and attorney (born 1957)

Scott Douglas Lively is an American activist, author, and attorney, who is the president of Abiding Truth Ministries, an anti-LGBT group based in Temecula, California. He was also a cofounder of Latvia-based group Watchmen on the Walls, state director of the California branch of the American Family Association, and a spokesman for the Oregon Citizens Alliance. He unsuccessfully attempted to be elected as the governor of Massachusetts in both 2014 and 2018.

The Transgender Oral History Project is an initiative by and for the transgender community. TOHP collects interviews and produces multimedia content featuring stories of transgender-identified people, and exists to empower trans folks through sharing stories of their lives. The Transgender Oral History Project is also active in the community, hosting events in many states including Massachusetts, Illinois, Iowa, Seattle, Philadelphia, and New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Jones</span> American real-life superhero

Phoenix Jones is an American real-life superhero. Initially wearing a ski mask to intervene in a public assault, Fodor later developed a full costume and adopted "Phoenix Jones" as a pseudonym. From 2011 until its dissolution in 2014, Jones was the leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement, a Seattle, Washington based citizen patrol group that described itself as a crime prevention brigade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rain City Superhero Movement</span> Costumed vigilante organization in Seattle, USA

The Rain City Superhero Movement was a Seattle-based organization active in the U.S. state of Washington between 2011 and 2014. It was composed of costumed activists who describe themselves as a crime-fighting brigade. Witnesses have reported that the group has intervened in crimes on several occasions, while the police maintained they would prefer that individuals other than sworn officers not place themselves in danger, and act as good witnesses instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tea Krulos</span> American writer (b. 1978)

Tea Krulos is the pen name of an American author based in Milwaukee, WI. Krulos is known for writing several books, contributing to publications as a freelance journalist and a creator of sequential art pieces and zines.

References

  1. 1 2 "Free Self-Defense & Awareness Classes for Seattle Neighborhoods". Central District News. 26 June 2013.
  2. ↑ Belonsky, Andrew (4 June 2013). "NYC Superheroes vs Anti-Gay Criminals". Out .
  3. 1 2 Gifford, Kelly (4 June 2013). "Superheroes Step Up to Fight Anti-Gay Crime". New York Observer .
  4. ↑ Shaer, Matthew (7 August 2011). "The Amazing Superheroes of New York City". The Daily Beast .
  5. ↑ Krulos, Tea (13 July 2010). "Brooklyn's Own Superheroes". New York Press .
  6. 1 2 Isla, Frater (14 July 2013). "Don't Call Them Superheroes: An Interview With Zero and Dark Guardian of the New York Initiative". disinfo .
  7. ↑ "Superheroes (2011)". IMDB. 2011. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  8. ↑ Smiley, Lauren (14 December 2011). "The Real Life Superhero Files: Rock N. Roll". SF Weekly .
  9. ↑ Fezzani, Nadia (29 April 2012). "The women of Real Life Superheroes". Metro News .
  10. ↑ McEnroe, Colin (26 January 2012). "Colin McEnroe Show: Being A Real-Life Superhero". Your Public Media .
  11. ↑ "AARP: Super Humans Unmasked". AARP . 2 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Jasek, Marissa (4 June 2013). "'Superheroes' fight crime, help the needy in Hampton Roads". WKTR .
  13. ↑ Gebresilassie, Hannah (18 July 2018). "Real life superheroes lend a helping hand". WSIL-TV .
  14. ↑ "The Initiative Collective" . Retrieved 11 July 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.