** "My question to donors, funders, and trustees: When will you get angry enough to stop waiting?”
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—Rodney Foxworth, CEO at Common Future in The Need for Black Rage in Philanthropy ([link removed])
As a network organization, we are privileged to work alongside exceptional leaders who are taking strides to build lasting wealth in communities of color. The experience of being a Black leader in this work can’t be summed up in one newsletter for Black History Month, but we can take time to cultivate a shared understanding to start remedying the systemic challenges. This month, we are lifting up four perspectives from founders and philanthropists who have shared those experiences.
1. The wellbeing of women of color in the workplace reflects our systems and institutions that prioritize whiteness.
“Many of us are embedded in the media/nonprofit/philanthropic industrial complexes even as we are trying to change the very culture that created that complex. We’re struggling to ensure our organizations’ sustainability within the constraints of the system as it exists today — the hamster wheel of conferences and seeing and being seen, foundation opaqueness, the creation and preservation of celebrity leaders, donor cultivation that can feel inauthentic. And these are just external factors.” —Sayu Bhojwani, Let’s Get Real About Why Women of Color Are So Tired ([link removed])
2. Your social network is almost everything if you’re a Black or Brown female founder.
“Black Girl Ventures is rooted in the values of hard work, innovation, and—most importantly—community. In addition to creating access to financial capital, we offer Community-Building As a Service. I have experienced firsthand how relationships and introductions are essential to open doors to new opportunities as a serial entrepreneur. I can not emphasize this enough: Black and brown entrepreneurs, especially women, need access to new networks. That’s why I see providing access to social capital as a critical business offering to ensure the development and growth of small businesses.” —Shelly Bell, Why community matters for black and brown female founders ([link removed])
3. Listening to people’s first hand experiences reveals a lot about what they need and want for their future.
“Because our community is extremely complex it is impossible to sum up — that’s scientific racism… historically, these data points have been used to disenfranchise. I see data and research that can either be liberatory or can continue marginalization. For us, we collect data on our communities and the complexity of our communities. If we don't, we get stale data that is used to continue to marginalized or disenfranchised.” —Alicia Garza, Black Futures Month: Alicia Garza & Economic Justice Across Gender ([link removed])
4. Black Americans are overrepresented in low-wage, service jobs with little or no room for growth. There are ways philanthropy can remedy this.
“The findings indicate that Black Americans are overrepresented in low-wage, service jobs with little or no room for growth. These jobs are more likely to be automated—reducing or eliminating the need for human workers—and could hit Black workers the hardest, as in the past. Compounding the matter, Black workers are underrepresented in job categories most likely to grow, offer higher wages and be performed by people. If we act now, we may be able to stem the most harmful effects of the next major shift in the economy.” —Loren Harris, How Philanthropy Can Shape The Future For Black Workers ([link removed])
** In other news:
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Catch up on the webinar ([link removed]) , "How to put racial and class equity first," with Rodney Foxworth and Next City. In ImpactAlpha, read Katheryn Witt's (Director of Funder Learning and Investment) response ([link removed]) to the question: what new tools will reshape finance, shift investor mindsets, and drive systemic change? And if you haven't seen it yet, check out our new website at www.commonfuture.co.
—The Common Future Team
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