Black philanthropy is ancestral. Prioritizing community well-being and collective progress are the backbone of what it means to be Black in America. It is epigenetic, or hard-wired into our DNA, given the experiences of our ancestors. When we lacked external support during our time in bondage and had no lasting remediation for enslavement post-Reconstruction, we had each other.

In considering all that we have been through, combined with our country’s penchant for capitalism, a complex philanthropic identity begins to emerge.

Historically, the Black philanthropic identity has been nuanced because dominant culture has considered Black people to be philanthropy’s beneficiaries, not its proponents. This definition is exclusionary at best, given that Black philanthropy cannot be confined to gifts of treasure.

Black Philanthropy Month (BPM), founded by Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland and the Pan-African Women’s Philanthropy Network, celebrates our identity as communal givers. This giving should be elevated as the most altruistic version of philanthropy since Black Americans, regardless of personal resources, gave of what they had to support each other.

Economic opportunity cannot be divorced from public policy in America.

As BPM is observed every August, there are events that demonstrate the need to include political and collective action within our definitions such as:

  • The March of Washington for Freedom and Jobs (8/28/1965)
  • The anniversary of the murder of Emmett Till (8/28/1955)

Read the full article about Black philanthropy by Erinn Corbett-Wright at Generocity.org