At the end of 2021, NPQ convened an advisory committee on racial justice and asked the question: What is the edge of current racial justice work? The group converged around “building pro-Black organizations,” and the Spring magazine issue will focus on the topic.

I had several experiences around the same time that reflected a deep schism in racial justice work, depending on where one is situated. The crux of this schism is the line that divides nonprofit organizations and philanthropic ones.

One experience: While participating on a panel on media covering philanthropy, I was asked to speak on the recent controversy in a large philanthropy network. I was unaware of the controversy, but when a fellow panelist eagerly weighed in, I learned that it was that conservative philanthropists feel the philanthropic sector is too radical, which made them feel there was no room for them. Upon hearing this, I shared that I did have a perspective on this. It perfectly illustrates the lack of alignment of which I’d been speaking earlier between the field and the funders: that no one I knew was accusing philanthropy of being radical—in fact, quite the opposite, it is being held accountable for not living up to its touted values; and, finally, that we needed to consider what, in fact, is the purpose of philanthropy. This caused quite a stir and excitement in the audience, some of whom emailed me later to tell me what “a breath of fresh air” it had been to hear me speak what they know to be the truth. Though it also made me wonder: why are so many in philanthropy sitting on their truth? What are we waiting for?

Read the full article about pro-Black organizations by Cyndi Suarez at Nonprofit Quarterly.