How do we support leaders to be free in their work fighting for and building a racially just world?
The number of times I have asked this question—to myself, to my colleagues in philanthropy, and to MCF staff—in my year and a half as President and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation is incalculable. I came to this role with the unwavering belief that foundations have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support leaders on the frontlines to build a truly representative democracy and economy. A democracy and an economy where those long excluded from them are not victims due to their exclusion. Instead, a democracy and an economy where these people, our people, have their dreams, desires, and ambitions reflected at the center of these systems and structures. In order for this type of representation to be realized, foundations must be committed to centering racial justice as a part of all of our work. Three ways we can do that is to activate the full extent of our resources to balance the democratic field so that activists have a fair chance to be heard; to help ensure the holistic safety of organizations and leaders on the ground; and to offer resources in a way that provides leaders the freedom to approach their work in innovative ways.
Centering racial justice in philanthropy means combating the systems and structures that prevent freedom and justice for all in the United States as well as supporting leaders to dream, experiment, and build clear examples of what a racially just world looks like. As we live through a public health crisis, through an economic crisis, through racial and social crises, we in philanthropy must move beyond playing the role of observer with deep pockets or supporter from afar. We have a moral obligation to use the full weight of our resources to help shift power in all its forms and to support leaders to create the conditions we need for all of us to thrive. We must wholeheartedly accept this role and use all the tools at our disposal—grantmaking, investing, positional power, and access—to think outside the box and create examples that embolden true freedom.
True freedom means supporting leaders with the resources necessary to create a level playing field in the fight and future of racial justice. It also means acknowledging the forces that oftentimes prevent true representation in a multiracial democracy. We have seen waves of voter suppression legislation throughout the U.S. in recent years, legislation that disproportionately affects people of color and poor people. We have seen evidence that federal policy making does not reflect all of our needs. And we have seen the attacks on science and truth, the promotion of “alternative facts” as legitimate beliefs. In the last decade, our grant recipients have faced increased direct and indirect threats to their well-being, to their participation in our democratic process. One of the best ways to support them is to use our resources and influence to create a culture shift that would make their work easier.
Leading with racial justice in philanthropy also means that the leaders we support must be safe in all aspects of the word. There is no doubt that our ideas and commitment to a multiracial democracy will face opposition. Yet leaders and their organizations across our country cannot and should not be constantly under attack, facing financial, legal, digital, and even physical risks. Leaders should have the opportunity to make mistakes without threats to their funding. Leaders, especially leaders of color, should have the right to assemble and protest on the streets without a threat to their life. Foundations must provide the support that allows leaders to develop strategies, programs, and content that can diffuse backlash, confuse, or disrupt racist fervor, neutralize the culture wars, and more.
Finally, philanthropy must facilitate advocates’ freedom to innovate. While money alone—that is, merely increasing grants—cannot completely transform our playing field, it can be of tremendous help in eliminating the barriers that leaders face as they engage in innovative work. The less time they spend worrying how they are going to keep the lights on, the more time they have to dream. Leaders cannot push society without pushing against the boundaries that constrain society; that requires money, support, encouragement, training, and most of all, time.
It’s not enough for communities to be merely represented in our economy and democracy—they must be powerful enough to shape them. Centering racial justice in our work requires us to look at the systems that created our world as it is, and invites us to change those systems so we can create the world we want to see. We must support leaders to gain the freedom they need to lead so our communities can gain the power they need to change how society works.
The fight for freedom is always imbalanced, and it is always deeply unfair. Whether or not it’s right, philanthropy is one of the strongest forces that exist for rebalancing that fight. To use all of our resources to create a more even terrain to fight white supremacy, and plant the seeds for the multiracial democracy and representative economy we all know is possible will be the noblest way to show up for our partners on the ground.
For more insights from Carmen Rojas, join her at Confluence’s upcoming Practitioners Gathering on March 9th where she will participate in a Riverside Chat entitled, ‘Intersectionality: A Provocative Discussion About the Intersection of Race and Gender for Investors.’ Follow this link to learn more and to register.
