Giving Compass' Take:

• In this Stanford Social Innovation Review article, the authors discuss the role race plays in our society and why it's time for the nation to address longstanding injustices. 

• What are the ways that philanthropy can help transform and rebuild American society to be stronger and fairer to all?

• Learn more about promoting racial equity and fighting racism. 

As the new coronavirus pandemic continues to inflict immense suffering around the world, it is also spotlighting Americans’ ongoing failure to recognize and respond to the powerful role that race plays in society and people’s lives.

Leaders like President Trump and Andrew Yang, for example, initially appeared taken aback by coronavirus-related racist attacks against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Yet such animus in the United States is unfortunately not new. Additionally, as concerns grew around racial disparities in testing, infection rates, and mortality, it was revealed that White House officials and experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) failed to collect and analyze critical data about the virus by race. They struggled to explain why, even though racial disparities in health and access to health care are well documented.

As social scientists who work on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), we know that people often fail to recognize race for well-intentioned reasons. Many people embrace colorblindness, claiming they “don't see race” out of a genuine but misguided hope that it will bring racial disparities to an end. But if people don’t acknowledge race, they can’t understand where racial disparities come from or how to remedy them. At Stanford SPARQ, we aim to help people recognize when, where, how, and why race matters, and how racial disparities arise and are reproduced. We work with organizations of all types, from investment firms to foundations. Our goal is to help people recognize racial disparities and respond to them effectively.

Read the full article about understanding racism for a more equitable America by MarYam Hamedani, Hazel Rose Markus & Jeanne Tsai at Stanford Social Innovation Review.