Alana Gracey’s career in social advocacy has served women (mostly of color) in vulnerable states of survival, namely intimate partner violence, teen homelessness, and sex trafficking. She works as the Data Administrator for Alternatives For Girls in Southwest Detroit. As a poet and writer, Alana deeply appreciates the importance of writers of all ages having the opportunity to have their voices and stories heard. While working at Mothering Justice (an organization that focuses on legislative change for mothers of color and their families) as the Basic Needs Organizer, her proudest accomplishment was partnering with a Black woman playwright in Detroit to facilitate a storytelling workshop series for women of color that emphasized the importance of the power of their voices through the telling of their personal stories. Alana also facilitates independent creative writing workshops, reading, and discussion groups and is a Teaching Artist with InsideOut Literary Arts City Wide Poets, an after-school poetry program for teens. She was published for the first time in 2022 and has poems in HIVES Buzz-Zine (Michigan State University) and Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora (Illinois State University).
Alana has enjoyed her first year as a CAG member. For her, coming together with people from different parts of the country who have the same concerns about equity and justice is an important reminder that there are kindred spirits outside of the circles of safety we create. We are not alone in this work.