This morning I am off to the first official day of the National Center for Black Philanthropy Conference. Today I look forward to some great sessions:
- Racial, ethnic, and tribal funds – the future of philanthropy: led by New Ventures in Philanthropy at the Forum of Regional Association of Grantmakers
- A speaker’s panel on the role of the Black community in responding to the needs of foster children, sponsored by Freddie Mac Foundation, featuring Wanda Mial from Annie E. Casey and Cheryl Clarke from Freddie Mac Foundation
- A panel of speakers reflecting on the “Being a Black Man” series by the Washington Post, featuring Ron Moten of Peaceaholics
Now before I start blogging my head off about the goings-on of the conference, I want to talk a bit about what the theme is and what I expect to learn and reflect on during all the knowledge that will be shared. First of all the theme, “Philanthropy and the Covenant with Black America”, based off of Tavis Smiley’s book of the same name, is a wonderful one. Tavis’ book came out last year and highlighted 10 areas of primary concern for African Americans today:
- Healthcare & Well-Being
- Education
- Criminal Justice
- Police Accountability
- Affordable Neighborhoods
- Voting
- Rural Development
- Economic Prosperity
- Environmental Justice
- Digital Divide
I’m looking forward to increasing my understanding and thinking of how philanthropy and charitable giving can work together with nonprofit leadership to bring about the outcomes we need in communities of color in these and other areas.
Cornel West posts to the Covenant’s blog about what I am most interested in: the fact that yes, we are indeed facing a crisis in black leadership. If the steady decline of the NAACP is any indication, we are in a real bind. Cornel says “In Need of Statesmen (and Stateswomen too!)”, that I must quote here in its entirety:
We are facing a crisis in the quality of leadership in our country. Our people and our country need more statesmen (and stateswomen), as statesmanship is qualitatively different than the garden-variety leadership that we’re experiencing.
Statesmen take seriously the ability to be themselves, as opposed to the many spinsters who are willing to pose and poster, to pander to a particular group, rather than be real. Opportunism is pervasive and has left us with just a few folk who will not allow themselves to be grinded up by a mechanical formulaic structure. There are some who are shaping the climate of opinion; they’re our thermostats and not thermometers. They’re not satisfied with simply recording, but shaping the dialogue. Our brothers and sisters who are engaged in that kind of education elevate the citizenry of this country.
The continuing challenge at hand for statesmen and stateswomen is to operate above the political fray, to preserve their integrity. True statesmanship is rooted in the hopes and aspirations of the people, and is also informed by the voices of the people.
Throughout our history, ordinary people who believed enough in themselves to try to transform the cynicism and the threat to statesmanship have been the crux of social movements. As a people, we are capable of producing great social change. Look within and you will realize that YOU are the leaders you’re looking for.
I’m in the amen corner here. So many nonprofit leaders of color are working to address the 10 issues laid out in the Covenant. So why are we still in such a messy state of affairs? The answer, for me, will always be leadership. Every cause needs effective and brave leadership to really move the solutions forward for our communities. So while I think philanthropy can play a huge role in advancing causes specific to people of color, we also need to focus on developing and strengthening the leadership within communities of color. We need more Cornel Wests, Marian Wright Edelmans, Geoffrey Canadas, and Van Joneses leading our communities. If we can get that part right, then philanthropy just becomes the natural icing on the cake.
I look forward to what conference participants share on this topic. And I’m also looking forward to meeting Tracey, from an awesome new blog that highlights black philanthropy, Black Gives Back!
