Mitchell Kapor Foundation Weblog

This week, Cedric forwarded me a recent CompassPoint article entitled “What about the Next Generation of Leaders of Color? Advancing Multicultural Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector.”  The leadership vacuum in the nonprofit sector with particular emphasis on the lack of future leaders of color has been a hot topic for the last few years. Some statistics cited in the article show that while one third of the U.S. population is people of color, staff within the nonprofit sector is 81% white with the vast majority of nonprofit executive directors being white.  The other major decision-making entity within nonprofit organizations, boards of trustees, are 86% white, and over half of all nonprofit boards are 100% white. This article gives insight into why CompassPoint, a reputable Bay Area nonprofit organization that provides capacity building support to many Bay Area organizations, feels developing future leaders of color is important and relevant.

The Mitchell Kapor Foundation is definitely thinking about ways to deepen the pipeline of nonprofit leaders of color and want to make sure you’re linked to these broader discussions of how to strengthen that pipeline.

Photo from a May 29, 2008 blog by Michael Seltzer.

The Foundation staff were lucky enough to be the special guests of NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous at last week’s 2009 NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles. What an amazing ceremony at an amazing time!

The program took place on the 100th anniversary of the NAACP’s establishment by WEB DuBois and Ida B. Wells, among distinguished others.  Al Gore received the Chairman’s Award (along with Dr. Wangari Maathai) for his climate crisis work. Back in 2006, Gore – a friend of the Kapors – came to our offices to do the presentation that was highlighted in An Incovenient Truth. Seeing him up close and in person back then, along with hearing the urgency of the message, was a life-changing experience for me, so I was glad to see him recognized by America’s most renowned civil rights organization last week.

There was also a special buzz in the room whenever the image of President Barack Obama flashed on the presentation screens. Just imagine the pride and excitement in marking the NAACP’s 100th anniversary just 23 days after the inauguration of the nation’s first black president! That was incredibly moving, even for a low-key cynic like me!

Of course I was star-struck by all of the glitterati in the house (which I list on my Facebook page, LOL).  Who would’ve thought that we’d see performances by Beyonce, Seal, Will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson (lawd, that chile can saaang!) and Stevie Wonder in the same night!! I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to have been part of a very memorable evening.

(BTW, the pose in the picture was NOT my idea! LOL)

On February 17th, 2009, Tiffany and I had the pleasure of participating in Mayor Ronald V. Dellums’ Model City Summit on Women, where amazing women (and a few men) from throughout the Bay Area came together to talk about how to develop a healthy, strong, and sustainable community. At the Summit, the mayor and his wife gave Women of Greatness Awards to recognize individual women for their exceptional contributions within the Bay Area. We are excited to note that Vivian Chang of APEN (one of our grantees) was recognized for her work in communities throughout the East Bay, where she has expanded environmental justice’s scope to include land use, planning, affordable housing, and transportation.

In addition to recognizing a number of the Bay Area’s phenomenal women, the summit also provided participants an amazing opportunity to reflect on their places in the world, their physical, emotional, and spiritual health and well-being, as well as how they could play a meaningful role in the current federal administration. We also had access to experts to learn more about how to do everything from strengthening a business to how to develop more collaboration amongst women of different racial backgrounds or sexual orientations, among other great topics.

Because of the many strong and wise voices Tiffany and I heard from at the summit, we both feel challenged to continue trying to make a large, positive impact on our communities through our work while also taking care of ourselves. At the event, Essence Magazine’s Susan Taylor encouraged us by saying you won’t be able to make the impact you desire “unless you give yourself what you need everyday to feel empowered.” So, continue doing the good work for the communities that you’re all passionate about, but remember to take care of yourself in the process.

Hi Everyone! I could not have made the transition to a full-time employee in a more exciting moment. My first two full weeks of work took place between We Act’s (West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc.) National Advancing Climate Justice conference and the Blue Green Alliance’s Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference. Both of these conferences offered an important look into the pressing climate justice issues, the opportunities of a new presidential administration, and the future of communities of color within a green economy. The following post offers a look into both of these events as well as highlights from these two conferences.

Advancing Climate Justice: Transforming the Economy, Public Health, & Our Environment:
We Act for Environmental Justice is a non-profit, community-based, environmental justice organization dedicated to building community power to fight environmental racism and improve environmental health, protection and policy in communities of color. We Act’s Advancing Climate Justice 20th Anniversary National Conference took place the 29th and 30th of January at New York’s Fordham University and brought together leading climate justice activists and key policy makers pushing an environmental justice agenda at the national level. There were a number of highlights including presentations by our grantees, which moved conference participants, but the closing plenary by Lisa Jackson, the new EPA administrator, was fantastic. In her first public appearance as administrator, she made her commitment to a climate justice policy, which positively impacts communities of color clear and encouraged advocates, organizers, and activists to continue pushing the administration so the needs of communities of color are met.

Blue Green Alliance Good Jobs, Green Jobs: Making a Down Payment on the Green Economy
Through workshops, plenary presentations and media events, the 2009 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference focused participants on a combination of policy changes, public investments, and funding mechanisms that are necessary to accelerate the growth of the green economy; quantified and illustrated the job growth potential of global warming solutions and green chemistry; demonstrated the breadth of the coalition that supports the transition to a clean, renewable energy economy; and highlighted the potential of the green economy to forge a new social agenda that lifts Americans out of poverty, improves public health, and strengthens our middle class. With over 2,000 participants, this conference built alliances between environmental justice advocates, union members, policy makers, labor scholars, and environmentalists in order to identify a clear path towards achieving a justice green economy. Held in Washington D.C. from February 4th through the 6th, it built on the excitement of the new administration and created a number of opportunities to hear from incoming policy makers. With such a rich conference, there are a number of highlights, but for my own learning it was meeting with the Just Green funders and working with leaders in philanthropy to develop an agenda for funding and supporting the efforts of a green jobs movement.

I used to watch old black and white footage of the March on Washington and wonder what it must have been like to be alive and present at such an historic event. I never laid eyes on Martin Luther King Jr. so it’s hard for me to see the face of thirty-four year old when I watch that old footage. I also never had a chance to hear Malcolm X with my own ears and experience the love and passion with which he spoke to his people. For years I had felt as if I had missed out on the defining moments in African-American history, but now I realize that every generation has its moments.

Witnessing Barack Obama’s inauguration was my moment. I’m not sure if there will be another one in my lifetime, but while I was out there, gazing at his face and hearing his voice, I understood why I had to fly across the country just to stand there. The television cameras captured perfect images of Barack’s cleanly shaven face and the microphones recorded his every intonation and utterance, almost to perfection. But the cameras didn’t show you our anticipation, anxiety, confusion, and excitement as we stood amongst herds of people waiting for Barack to deliver his inaugural address. The microphones didn’t pick up the grunts, groans, and complaints from other imaptient ticket holders, eagerly awaiting their chance to squeeze through the security gates.

Our feelings of hope and dreams of change momentarily turned to confusion and frustration as we tried our best not to step on each others toes (literally). The soles of our shoes gave way to frozen concrete after standing motionless for almost 45 minutes and waiting for an unidentified gate to open. I was losing feeling in my toes, but still I waited. I didn’t travel 3000 miles with every piece of wool and down I owned just to turn around out of fear of catching a cold. Whether I liked it or not, the lack of personal space kept my body temperature a few degrees above freezing. I tried to burrow my way through the madness, but found that I was better off waiting for the occasional crowd undulations to carry me to the front. At this point, my feet were barely touching the ground; I was practically crowd surfing. As much as we were all competing to get in, we actually benefited from the presence of others.

I’m thankful for the frustration; it revealed passion. People had worked for countless days and traveled thousands of miles just to be there and now their moment was threatened by chaotic crowds on Constitution Ave. So many years of emotional investment just to hear an hour long speech. And after the lines, the waits, and the cold, I’m so thankful that I got to be there.

Guest contributor Trevor Parham is the Creative Director at Kapor Enterprises, Inc.  He is also a filmmaker and director; see his work at www.eklectyk.com.