Who they are

As Jamii Linguists has expanded since its launch in 2015, it has remained clear on its priorities, which founder, Jamila Craig, Esq. describes as “people first, mission second, and profit third.” For Jamii, “people first” means that before scaling up in any other way, Jamii needs to evaluate by scaling impact, something Craig says is impossible if you aren’t connected to the people around you. So rather than growing its connections, Jamii is looking to deepen the connection they have within their already existing networks. This focus on depth vs breadth is what informs Jamii’s decision to focus on work in its core languages. With a set of core languages, Jamii is better able to direct its efforts to recruit, onboard and vet linguists for both values-alignment and technical skill. While they can vet and onboard new linguists for other languages when necessary with a two-week lead time, they emphasize the importance of having an area of expertise. “Trying to pretend that you can do everything well is going to decrease your quality,” Craig points out. And furthermore, Jamii Linguists doesn’t believe that’s a way of working that aligns with language justice principles. Ultimately, they ask, “why not be collaborators instead of competitors?” While nourishing its immediate community, as Jamii grows, it seeks to connect, amplify, and support the work of others that complements its own. 

Nearly seven years later, Jamii Linguists has a robust team and a network of close to one thousand linguists. Jamii’s core languages are ASL, English, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Spanish, languages they have chosen to focus on because they are some of the most common languages spoken by members of the Black Diaspora. In addition to translation, interpretation, and consulting, a core part of Jamii’s work and impact programming is language learning through their Language & Diaspora program. The Language & Diaspora program is home to Jamii’s conversation clubs and language intensives - all of which are Black-centric spaces open to learners of all backgrounds. Jamii also periodically offers workshops on multilingual organizing and community building. In 2020, Jamii expanded its offerings to a 60-hour simultaneous interpretation clinic, led by Nathalie Sam.

How it all came together

In 2015, Jamila Craig, Esq. founded Jamii Linguists. Jamila had studied to be a lawyer and before, during, and after her law school studies, she spent time doing issue-based advocacy work that centered “Black folks, broke folks, and queer folks.” When Jamila founded Jamii Linguists as a social enterprise organization, she did so primarily with the intention of community building for pro-Black solidarity. In fact, Jamila emphasizes that Jamii Linguists is NOT a language justice organization. Instead, Jamii Linguists organizes much of its work around language to honor the fact that Black people do not all share the same language. Jamii Linguists filled a void that Jamila had closely observed. In the language justice spaces and organizations with which she interacted, she had experienced anti-blackness and found a preponderance of deference and authority given to white anglo & white Latinx interpreters and leaders in the work. 

In the formation of the organization as a social enterprise, Jamila wanted to be sure that when working with and supporting Black linguists, that she wouldn’t be asking them to martyr themselves, like she had previously experienced in non-profits. Neither did she want to be obligated to maximize profits at all costs, as in a fully for-profit model. Instead, the social enterprise model that she chose has allowed her to be accountable to the organization’s impact goals, while also turning a profit and fairly compensating all of Jamii’s team members.