This special collection includes research from nonprofits, foundations, and university based research centers, who have not only described and documented the issue but who also provide much-needed recommendations for addressing this chronic and tragic problem.
Today, I raise the question for philanthropy, particularly for white and non-black people of color donors and foundation staff: what more is required of us to advance racial justice? It is a question I have been grappling with as a biracial Sri Lankan/white American working in philanthropy.
Are you a funder - grantmaker, affinity group, or donor - looking to find out how to best support community organizing and protests against criminalization and for black lives? Write to us at fundersforjustice@nfg.org.
In cities hit by such crises, one wing of philanthropy is often at the center of reform and policy efforts, while another is supporting activists applying pressure from outside the process. The two sides don’t always work in isolation; some grant makers back both approaches. Still, there are tensions over strategy and tactics, and questions about philanthropy’s proper role in the push for change.
WeCopwatch, a national Copwatch group dedicated to educating the public [...]
Transformative Campaigns are a means to create the operational alignment our progressive infrastructure needs to build a new, and specific, type of power: the power to govern based on our values. The capacities needed to govern are much different than the capacities we’ve needed to successfully elevate grievances and lead protests. In order to govern, we need political power. In order to govern with progressive and social justice values, that political power has to be independent from the two dominant political parties. That’s why a critical mass of progressive and social justice organizations is aligning around a strategic focus on building independent political power.
The rally, organized by Communities United for Police Reform, was attended by the families of victims of NYPD violence, such as Ramarley Graham, Mohamed Bah, and Anthony Baez, as well as local politicians, community groups (like Make the Road, the Arab American Association of New York, Picture the Homeless and the Anti-Violence Project) and many young people who had experienced stop-and-frisk policing first hand.
In New York City, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles, and many smaller cities, the impact of failed housing policies that do not provide affordable living options for residents go back decades. But instead of correcting these policies, local authorities have empowered police departments to pursue strategies of homeless removals, sometimes in conjunction with Business Improvement Districts and other civic groups.
The United States is on the verge of an upsurge in democratic participation in cities and communities across the country, but will traditional civic engagement funders take notice?
April 7th: Please join us for a conversation with Alvin Bragg, New York's first special prosecutor for police-related civilian deaths, and the organizers and victims’ families who campaigned to create his position. Moderated by Kai Wright of The Nation, we’ll get an inside look at the special prosecutor’s role and what work lies ahead.
