Know Allegiance Nation (KAN) is a village building organization that seeks to build a nation of knowledge seekers. The organization was founded in 2005. The goal was to help close the educational gap by teaching and working toward increasing the literacy rates of our children outside of an institutional school system. Jamii Tata, founder of KAN, found a need and a solution to fit the need. As a parent, artist and educator, he used skills and talents to leverage creative writing, performance poetry, storytelling, audio production, self-publishing and entrepreneurial training as literacy learning tools to educate inner city youth in community spaces (i.e. libraries, community centers, schools and community gardens) as the lead educator of Know Allegiance since 2005.
KAN Books, the adult literacy program of KAN dedicated to established and emerging authors of color opened in 2017. Due to the pandemic, the storefront closed in 2021. The organization transitioned to having a booth at the legendary Eastern Market in Shed 2 (Shed 5 during the holidays).
Know Allegiance Nation also houses the Illuminate: Literacy Entrepreneurs program, Operation Rebel Community Radio, KAN Magazine and KAN Farms initiatives; focusing on basic literacy through poetry; advanced literacy through journalism and survival literacy through agrarianism and land justice and agriculture and food justice respectively.