Race | Rosetta Thurman

Diversity is the Wrong Word

July 13, 2010 by rosettathurman · 21 Comments

This morning, I moderated a panel called “Rising Through the Ranks: Race & Gender in Nonprofit Leadership.” The discussion was a joint event between the Nonprofit Roundtable and YNPNdc geared toward emerging leaders in philanthropy and nonprofits.

The conversation opened with Kelly Reid from the National MultiCultural Institute sharing some of the statistics in the Urban Institute’s recent report, Measuring Racial-Ethnic Diversity in the Baltimore-Washington Region’s Nonprofit Sector. We were joined by a racially and gender diverse panel, including:

Bomani Johnson, Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
Amy Loudermilk, DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Christian Gonzales, CentroNia
Linda Nguyen, Alliance for Children and Families

Each panelist shared a story about how their leadership experiences in the nonprofit sector have been affected by race and/or gender. It was an amazing discussion and I wish you had been there.

One Really Important Thing that stuck out for me during the conversation was this:

Diversity is very often the wrong word to use when we’re talking about efforts to bring in more people of color or LGBT or men or women into our organizations. We have to get increasingly more specific about what we mean when we say diversity, because we all think something different in our minds when the term is used.

In my case, what I’m usually talking about on my blog is racial justice.

The Applied Research Center defines racial justice this way:

We define racial justice as the proactive reinforcement of policies, practices, attitudes and actions that produce equitable power, opportunities, treatment, impacts and outcomes for all.

I’m talking about inclusion and equality and I’m talking about power. Which is far more complex and involved than diversity. It goes beyond “diversity workshops” and “sensitivity training” and reaches into sector reform, advocacy and policy change.

What many of us do goes way beyond diversity as a blanket concept. But in nonprofit circles, diversity seems to be a much more accessible word for the conversation.

Or is it?

Filed Under: Leaders of Color, Race · Tagged With: Diversity, Race, racial justice, YNPNdc

32 Nonprofit & Philanthropy Blogs Written by People of Color

June 29, 2010 by rosettathurman · 18 Comments

Last year, I compiled this list of 20 nonprofit and philanthropy blogs written by people of color, which is still the most viewed post on this site to date. Since it’s so popular for readers, I decided to update it with some more great bloggers of color writing about nonprofits, philanthropy and social change. I’m excited that this list has increased by 50% since last year, but I know there can be so many more of us out there sharing our voices! In the meantime, read the bloggers on this list – all brilliant, thoughtful writers and thinkers in the nonprofit field. And please add any that I missed in the comments!

Editors note: While I do recognize that there are numerous people of color who write about different niche social issues, what I was searching for were those that are offering thought leadership to the field of nonprofits, philanthropy and social change overall. A little more about who is and is not included here:

Sometimes it is not easy to tell if a blogger is a person of color unless they self-identify. So again, if I missed some obvious thought leader bloggers writing about nonprofits & philanthropy, please do drop their blog link in the comments. I really appreciate it.
You will notice that I have included here links to blogs authored by Jewish bloggers, although I recognize that while not all Jews identify as a person of color, many of them do. So I’m happy to include their perspectives here as well.
I tried, for the most part, not to include bloggers of color that were writing exclusively under the auspices of any particular organization or institution, i.e. an African American blogging for the NAACP or something like that. I was looking for those who maintain thought leadership in their own right.
You’ll also notice that most of these bloggers have a focus on nonprofits and philanthropy in the United States, which mirrors my own focus and interests for readers of this blog.

This list is in no particular order. You’ll also notice that I removed a couple of the original bloggers from this list because they had not posted anything new within the last six months. Hopefully, they’ll start writing again soon!

Black Gives Back by Tracey Webb
South Asian Philanthropy Project by Archana Sridhar, et al.
New Voices of Philanthropy by Trista Harris, et al.
White Courtesy Telephone by Albert Ruesga
Leadership as a Field of Study by Lindsey McDougle
Entry Level Living by Allison Jones
Asian American Giving by Dien S. Yuen, et al.
Marketing for Nonprofits by Jocelyn Harmon
Being the Difference by Darius Graham
Nonprofit Connectors by Antonette Artiz
Nonprofit Law Blog by Gene Takagi
Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology by Michelle Murrain
The New Jew: Blogging Jewish Philanthropy by Maya Norton
Jewish Donor Blog by David Rubin and Yoav Kaufman
The Fabulous Giver by Karyn Brianne
Beacons on the Frontline by Asia Hadley
Mission Paradox by Adam Thurman
eJewish Philanthropy: The Jewish Philanthropy Blog (group blog)
Work in Progress by Tanya Simpson (NEW)
Nonprofit Adventures by Anh Phuong Tran (NEW)
Cabinet of Curiosities by Adrianne Russell (NEW)
More Than a Gift by Ayofemi Hunter Kirby (NEW)
From Our Perspective by Alfonso Wenker and Kevin Watson (NEW)
Social Change Diva by Ericka Hines (NEW)
Shannon Marshall (NEW)
Done by People by Joe Brown (NEW)
Of Service by Niecy Taylor (NEW)
Irene Agustin (NEW)
Cherita Smith | social media + social change (NEW)
Justice for All by Akhila Kolisetty (NEW)
Minnesota Rising by Diane Tran (NEW)
A Note or Two by Jenny Guerrero (NEW)

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Filed Under: Leaders of Color, Philanthropy, Race, Social Media · Tagged With: african american bloggers, asian american bloggers, bloggers of color, hispanic bloggers, jewish bloggers, nonprofit bloggers, Philanthropy, philanthropy bloggers

The Decline of Leadership Development for Nonprofit Professionals of Color?

June 24, 2010 by rosettathurman · 3 Comments

AGM Diversity Fellowship Program

Yes, it’s 2010. And no, diversity is not dead.

Businesses like PriceWaterhouseCoopers understand that “diversity and inclusion is essential for business success,” especially when it comes to cultivating and supporting their talent. I and many of my colleagues often wish that more nonprofit groups would share this same priority in our work.

So of course, I was really sad to see that two longstanding leadership development programs for emerging foundation leaders of color are going away — at least temporarily. The Associated Grant Makers Diversity Fellowship and the ABFE (Association of Black Foundation Executives) Connecting Leaders Fellowship Program list both similar and different reasons for ending or halting their leadership development program for leaders of color.

Read the rest of my post on the Chronicle of Philanthropy here.

P.S. Do you know of any other leadership development efforts geared toward supporting people of color in the nonprofit sector? If so, please share them in the comments! I’d like to cull a list to share with you dear readers at a later date.

Filed Under: Leaders of Color, Leadership Development Programs, Philanthropy, Race · Tagged With: Diversity, nonprofit leaders of color, nonprofit leadership development, racial diversity

Council on Foundations Finally Welcomes Tribal Philanthropy Organizations as ‘Full Voting Members’

June 23, 2010 by rosettathurman · 2 Comments

There’s not really much I can say about this without scratching my head. This recent press release from the Council on Foundations raises some serious questions for me about why the organization is just now recognizing tribal philanthropy, “the oldest philanthropy in the country” as full and equal partners in their work.

The Council on Foundations is initiating a greater level of partnership with tribal philanthropic organizations by welcoming them as full, voting members of the organization, a move that was approved recently by unanimous decision of the Council’s board. Prior to this policy change, most tribal programs were eligible only for associate membership. Now the Council and its members will have more opportunity to support, learn from, and collaborate with tribal philanthropies.

The Council has been around since 1949, which means that it’s taken them six decades to become fully inclusive of tribal philanthropy. Those of us who fight for social justice might find ourselves with a queasy feeling in our stomachs as we read a little bit between these lines of the Council’s press statement:

The stronger partnership will give greater voice to issues affecting those communities and is an ongoing recognition of tribal philanthropy’s tremendous contributions to the public good.

It makes it seem as if we – and by we I mean communities of color – have to wait to be “anointed” by mainstream philanthropy before our contributions can be fully legitimized. How is it that the oldest form of philanthropy has been relegated to the sidelines for this long? The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers offers a few clues that underscore the importance of the Council’s recent decision:

Mainstream philanthropy has not done all that it could to engage communities of color as donors, as leaders in decision making, or as partners and grantees. For the most part, these trends have shown little improvement in the past 25 years.
The opportunity for people of color to shape decisions in mainstream grantmaking institutions is extremely limited. Six percent of foundation executive directors and one in ten board members are people of color.
Organizations that serve or are led by racial, ethnic and tribal people are persistently under-funded. Foundation dollars targeting Asian, Latino, Native American and African American communities and organizations collectively add up to 3 – 4% of all foundation giving.

So, it’s no wonder why the Council is making such a big deal about this “partnership,” as Steve Gunderson clearly states that:

“This policy change reflects our commitment to supporting diverse and inclusive philanthropy in all of its forms.”

While I applaud the policy change, it probably goes without saying that the real news item here is the story behind why the Council did not previously allow tribal philanthropy organizations to become full members of the Council. I wish to God that I had that story, but I’m guessing it has more to do with discrimination than with the administration of “policy.”

Filed Under: Philanthropy, Race · Tagged With: Council on Foundations, Diversity, racial discrimination

When the Race Discussion Starts: A Woman of Color’s Reaction to What Takes Place

May 6, 2010 by rosettathurman · Leave a Comment

This is a guest post by Ericka Hines, a.k.a. the Social Change Diva.

“The question is not should we talk about race; the question is HOW to talk race constructively….Talking about race is often considered divisive and unnecessary.”

- john a. powell, Kirwan Institute, Ohio State University, Holding the Whole- Transformative Leadership

The minute I speak about race, my throat tightens, I feel a little on edge and, almost uncontrollably, my fright of flight mode is awakened. And I realize that as an African American woman, the reason that I get that way is because any time I talk about race, I will feel like I am trying to defend my place , my role , my way of being in the place that I have chosen to do my life’s work of working on social change.

Having those emotions can trip me up, make me cranky and create situations where I am unable to even have a conversation without thinking “you cannot understand me because you are not me.” But I know that this is not the way to move any conversation forward, not one about race, gender or any other ism. So I press on.

I refer to the reaction that I have above as my “lens” and I know it’s mine. But what I want to ask you is what is yours?

In the type of work that we do as social change agents, we bring all sorts of “ lens” backgrounds, emotions, reactions to our work that fuel our decision making and the meaning of our work. For the most part those “ lens” allow us to feel the righteous indignation that fuels our work but other times they stand in our way. And when it stands in our way is when I think the work that we do is hurt, the strides we make for our clients are hurt and the strides that we make as a sector are hurt.

A recent situation where I had to put my lens in focus

Two weeks ago, Rosetta wrote this article about racial diversity in the nonprofit sector in the DC area. The information contained in the report mirror the situation that echoed across the country and I was not surprised by any of the results. Simply put, we do not have leaders of color in the nonprofit sector. This is not a shock.

But what I was surprised about is the fact (and I think Rosetta is too) that when we know that this is the case, the comments/discussion that followed her post hit on the themes of “people of color as leaders is still novel” or the “there are enough qualified people to be leaders” or “we don’t know where to hire people of color for these positions”. Haven’t we moved past that already? Isn’t that an argument that has long outlived its utility?

When I read any comments that intimate any of those ideas that I outline above, my lens” is triggered. It becomes very easy for me to drop my jaw and ask “REALLY?” and to feel like anyone who makes that statement does not really want to work at hiring a person of color. What floods through my brain is this:

Do I really believe that this feeling truly reflects the reality of what is happening? Does it move the discussion forward? If I realize that this is what I think right now and it is spurred by my lens, am I open to hearing from other sides?

I try to answer these questions for myself and then force myself to continue to have the discussion.

“We need to talk about race by talking about race. ” - john a. powell

What my lens says about leadership

I want this lens I have to change. I am ready to give up this lens that I have about the world of nonprofits and the leadership gap that exists. I challenge myself and others to see a person of color running the Aspen Institute or Independent Sector and having people of color running all sorts of organizations is not new or novel but what happens every day.

I share all of this in the hopes that you will understand that the reactions that I have, I own those; they are mine to realize, to tame and to deal with and that I will push forward with this and any other discourse of an ( ism) that needs to take place.

My question is, what are your lens? Can you name them, claim it and at times shake them loose when you have to?. Can we open up this discourse even wider and get to solutions that work?

I am hopeful and ready to talk.

Ericka Hines believes her place in social change is in building the skills and promoting the connections of others.You can follow her on Twitter @socialchngediva

Filed Under: Leaders of Color, Race · Tagged With: Race