Giving Compass' Take:

• Alice Y. Hom shares lessons from a recent webinar about the definition and consequences of anti-Black racism and what it will take to get rid of it.

• What are you doing to end the chronic, global affliction of systemic racism?

• Read about the detrimental impact of racism on Black men's mental and physical health.

These days it’s rare to leave a zoom webinar with wanting more but that’s the feeling I had with the 2020 Forum Virtual Conference session, Taking Action on Anti-Black Racism: A Call for Philanthropy. The conversation facilitated by Susan Taylor Batten (ABFE CEO) with panelists, Pat Eng (AAPIP CEO), Kathleen Enright COF CEO) and Marcus Walton (GEO CEO) provided the space to name anti-Black racism and discuss what a few philanthropy-serving organizations are doing around the specific call for philanthropy to step in, step up, and stay in for the long haul.

What struck me the most about this plenary and the other Forum conference sessions on racial equity was the specific naming of anti-Black racism, the reference to the multiple crises of the coronavirus pandemic and the killings of Black people by the police, the on-going systemic disparities on Black and Brown communities, and the historical roots of structural racism based on enslaved Africans and Indigenous peoples.

Each person had nuggets of wisdom and experience to share such as:

  • Heed the advice of letting Black-led organizations lead the way and trust and invest in them with multi-year, general operating grants
  • Be in solidarity with BIPOC organizations and move up or move back depending on what’s needed
  • Our destinies and liberation are intertwined
  • Follow the lead of peers who are closer to the issues and amplify their voices and leadership
  • Take time to reflect on white supremacy and how you and your organization may be enacting white supremacist practices

While there isn’t ever enough time to devote to anti-Black racism and what has and can be done about it, this plenary session definitely opened up the space to inspire and encourage the audience to act.

Read the full article about anti-Black racism by Alice Y. Hom at Alliance Magazine.