Archive for May, 2010

On a panel last month at the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy pre-Council on Foundations Conference, I presented  four suggestions for social justice funders to consider.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll write on each of these four and hope you’ll share your own thoughts with us.

Of the many approaches to social change, I turn most towards movement-building strategies.  As a funder, then, I’m constantly searching for the ways that my practice and work best align with the demands of such an approach.  Below is the first of four such ways that I’ve come to believe strongly in.

1.  Find a Political Home

Social justice movements require scale and scale, in turn, requires a level of consistent connectivity among people and organizations.  Political homes – community-based and led social justice institutions or organizations that individuals are members of and with whom there is mutual investment and accountability – provide exactly this. We should find and join such places not only to contribute to an organization’s work, but, more so, as a space in which to be grounded, to continuously learn, to develop organizing skills, and to be only a phone call away for when those unpredictable political moments that can define social justice movements occur.

CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities has been my political home for the past seven years.  Time and again, CAAAV has not only responded to events and political openings, but also intentionally expanded the opportunity for others like myself to participate in those responses, from the ’06 immigration marches to the first United States Social Forum in ’07 to ’08 voter engagement efforts in Virginia.  Just as important, CAAAV allows me to participate in the often unrecognized day-to-day contributions that have been the backbone of every social movement. CAAAV, in short, facilitates my choosing to engage in action over indulging in apathy. And, it does so by offering strategic and coordinated ways to act with a community of people I’ve grown to trust.

As a funder, being a member of a community-based organization allows me to be in dialogue with those to whom I most want to be accountable.  It affords me the opportunity to understand at a deeper and more personal level the conditions faced by organizations that I support through grantmaking and to understand the realities of building such organizations.  Only through having a political home have I’ve been able to access the experience, political analysis and honest feedback with which to ensure that my work is relevant and complimentary to the many moving parts of our social justice ecosystem.

Like any home, political homes bring their own sets of challenges and demands on our time.  But, in the same spirit, they also position us to engage and engage better the world around us, allowing you and me to start from a place of love and support to which we can always return.

Next post in the series:  2) Build the Vehicles to Move us Forward

What makes someone a pioneer? Do they have to be the first in their field to do something — like being the first black man in space, the first black man to play in the Major Leagues, or even the first black president?  Are they trendsetters who are capable of revolutionizing an industry similar to what Micheal Jackson did for music and Micheal Jordan did for basketball?  I want to share a story of a pioneer whose name is not in the index of U.S. history books but what she was a part of definitely is.  Her name is Dorothy Jean (Fitzgerald) Brown.

As a young school girl in Topeka, Kansas, Fitzgerald, along with her cousin, Jean Williams, would make a daily trip across town to the all-black school because the school down the street from her home was all white.  Years later, they shared their experience with their uncle, Attorney Charles Bledsoe, and these girls became the catalyst for what would become the  legendary  Brown vs. Board of Education lawsuit.  Although these two women were college graduates by the time of the 1954 Supreme Court decision that struck down the concept of separate-but-equal segregated public schools, they were truly pioneers in their own right.  As a senior at Topeka High School, Fitzgerald was the first black to be a member of the Glee Club  and was also the first black soloist at the 1945 THS commencement.

Fitzgerald eventually moved to Vallejo, CA, were she taught elementary school.  As a teacher, Fitzgerald had the opportunity to educate children of all colors under one roof,  something that  was not even thought of when she was a young girl.  She even taught my mother and many of my mom’s siblings.  Ironically, none of them knew of Fitzgerald’s  journey and the influence she  had already had on their lives.  It was not until Mrs. Dorothy Jean Fitzgerald Brown passed away April 27th, 2010, that my family and many others in the Vallejo community became aware of this woman’s significance in U.S. history and education.  You always hear people who have accomplished great things acknowledge those before them who helped “paved the way,” and historically for blacks, this meant enduring discrimination, bigotry, and unimaginable levels of racism just so there could be equality and fairness across the board.  Mrs. Dorothy Jean Fitzgerald Brown definitely paved the way for all children, and her legacy in education and life shall not be forgotten.

Photo source: printed pamphlet

The San Francisco Foundation, in collaboration with National Community Development Institute, has launched a new directory of San Francisco Bay Area capacity builders of color.  This database includes all kinds of consultants and technical assistance providers of color, many of whom specialize in working in low-income communities and communities of color.  The directory was created to help community-based organizations, nonprofits, and foundations find consultants of color and to assist local consultants of color in marketing their services in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

My favorite feature of the website is the Specialty Search.  Using this function, you can find consultants who specialize in everything from community organizing to health and technology.  This directory is a much-needed resource, so get the word out to your friends and colleagues.  If you or someone you know would like to be added to the database or have comments and suggestions about the database, please provide feedback using the ‘Contact Us’ link on the database website.

Image source: The San Francisco Foundation website

This past week at the University of California Los Angeles, UCLA’s  Black Male Institute hosted the 2010 Think Tank.  The two day conference consisted of thought provoking, sincere and unapologetic talk focused on African-American males and their educational development.  Having a platform to speak candidly about the educational and social disparities between black males and their racial counterparts provided me with an opportunity to hear from a select group of brilliant and inspiring speakers that are committed to a) identifying problems for why young black males are not succeeding and b) developing adequate and lasting solutions to increase the number of black males that are graduating high school and are college ready.

Speakers varied from principals and professors to community activist and PhD candidates. It is important to note that these accomplished, yet concerned and committed individuals were all African-American, and all were male, except for one.  Why is this relevant?  The fact that there were black males leading a discussion on the issues black males are facing demonstrates that black men are not only concerned about the future welfare of their younger brothers, but also want to find immediate solutions to help them knock down the educational and social barriers.  This is extremely important for the young black males in California,  in which  African-Americans perform far worst academically then any other racial group, and are consistently out-performed by their female counterparts.

The event’s keynote speaker was Dr. Shaun Harper.  Dr. Harper has done extensive research on black males in education and is currently on the faculty in the Graduate School of Education, African Studies, and Gender Studies at University of Pennsylvania.   Dr. Harper began with the question, “What do we need to do improve Black males access to college?” and then focused his talk around what actions need to be taken to answer that question.  Dr. Harper took serious issue with how research is being done to even  answer that question.   He believes that we need to re-frame and restructure the way in which research is being done and spend more time talking with individuals who have beaten the odds and are now doing successful things (i.e. Edward Smith Lewis – a West Oakland native that overcame tremendous obstacles in his pursuit towards academic and professional success ).  Dr. Harper also believes that more needs to be done to help prepare the black males who are moving on to higher education.  He illustrated that there is a college culture that black males often  struggle adjusting to and as a result often leave school.  Dr. Harper’s address ended with him emphasizing the importance of there needing to be just as much effort to get more African-Americans into graduate school as there is for undergraduate.  He insisted that for there to be real systematic changes there needs to be more African-American’s in powerful positions to address the concerns of African-American’s in education.

photo source: http://www.addmanagement.com/thinking%20man.jpg

I’m pleased to announce the launch of phase two of our College Bound Brotherhood!

Last year when we closed out the first phase of the Brotherhood, then called the Black Boys College Bound Initiative, we decided that we needed to be more inclusive of organizations that do not receive any of our limited grant money but would benefit from the greater community of people interested in and dedicated to young black men’s wellness. The renaming of the initiative to “Brotherhood” is meant to convey a larger movement of organizations, families, and individuals. I hope that everyone will join us – and vice versa – in creating this college bound culture in the Bay Area.  Sign up for our listserv (collegebound AT lists DOT mkf DOT org) to receive updates on workshops and events, both sponsored by us and by others we hear about.

We’re opening a call for grant requests between now and June 15, looking to provide $25,000 grants for up to 15 nonprofit organizations that work on college readiness with young black men in Bay Area public high schools. Click HERE for more information on how to apply!

I’m especially excited to spread the word about Collegeboundbros.org, an online searchable database of college readiness programs for young men. Over the next several months, we’re making a concentrated effort to encourage all appropriate Bay Area organizations to create profiles on the database, which we’ll then begin sharing directly with students and schools. Click HERE to add your organization to the database!

As we already know, creating positive opportunities for our youth – both young men and young women – is CRITICAL to the future well-being of black communities. In the spirit of Harambee, let’s all pull together to ensure that young black men, who are all too often in particularly perilous situations, know that we’re invested in their happiness and success! (And yes, our young brothas CAN and DESERVE TO be happy!)

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Council on Foundations Conference in Denver under the theme of “Intersections: Social Change, Social Justice, and Social Innovation.”  I got to hear great presentations and to network with some inspiring people, and the conference was filled with a stunning cadre of speakers like Al Gore, Geoffrey Canada, Ben Jealous, and more.

I started the conference with a session starring the Kapor Foundation’s Mario Lugay on ‘Organizing for Impact: Making the Case for Advocacy and Organizing.’  During the session, I listened to various foundation folks talk about their organizations’ efforts to integrate advocacy and social justice into their missions.  One foundation told a horror story of program staff wanting to do more progressive funding but having to ‘hide’ their social justice agendas in conservative language that got presented to a conservative, high-powered board.  Most of the board members had served 15-20+ years with no term limits. The board finally approved a 16-year term limit this year, but existing board members start the countdown anew.  After hearing this story and others like it, I am even more proud to work for a foundation that wears social justice on its sleeve!

I got to witness three great individuals get awarded by the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), including Rashid Shabazz and our own Cedric Brown!  The third person was Crystal Hayling, ABFE’s James Joseph Lecture Award recipient, who mentioned the following ‘5 Things We Know But Keep Forgetting‘ in our work efforts.

1) Take more risks. Heart-stopping risks.
2) The time is now. Re-envision relationships and communities. The problems we’re facing are big and require new, outside-the-box approaches, conversations, and partnerships.
3) Design matters. Hayling mentioned the power of design in the example of an innovative $20 blanket solution to the high death rate of third-world low-birth-weight babies due to the unavailability of $20,000 incubators.
4) Technology is just a tool, but it’s a power tool.
5) We need new leaders. Hard power is getting people to do what you want.  Soft power is convincing and inspiring people to want what you want.

These are just a few nuggets I took away from the conference that I wanted to share with you.

Image source: Council on Foundations website